Workshop genetic monitoring
Genetic monitoring in Wetlands - 2009 Recent methodological developments
| What |
|
|---|---|
| When |
Oct 12, 2009 09:00 AM
to Oct 16, 2009 04:00 PM |
| Where | CLGE - BAS |
| Contact Name | Stephanie Chankova |
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Workshop "Genetic monitoring in wetlands" was organised by the WETLANET project and the Central Laboratory of General Ecology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (recently IBER-BAS). The workshop was held from 12th to 16th October 2009 at the headquarters' laboratories of CLGE-BAS.
The workshop aimd to promote recent methodological developments for genetic monitoring in wetlands and to enhance research collaborations and establishment of multilateral partnership that can result in the formation of a consortium (consortia) carrying out high-level wetland research of socio-economic impact at regional and global scale targeting priorities of FP7). The Workshop was targeted to the scientific community, national and
local authorities and organisations, interested in genetic monitoring
in wetlands.
The main topics of the workshop were as follows:
- Problems of wetlands as a result of man’s impact and pressures;
- Anthropogenic impact on biota and man in wetlands – classical and modern genetic methods for screening, monitoring and biodiversity assessment;
- Strategies for mitigation of man’s impact on wetlands.
Invited guests of the Workshop were leading researchers in the problems of genetic monitoring from the National Institute of Genetic Resources (INETI), Portugal Dr. José Antonio Matos and Dr. Fernanda Simões, Dr Ana Picado from LNEG, Portugal, Dr Nadezhda Yurina from the Institute of Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Sonya Selenska Pobel from the Institute of Radiochemistry — FZD, Germany. About 30 young researchers and PhD students from relevant academical institutions and the Sofia University attended the Workshop.
The programme of the Workshop included 15 oral presentations of foreign and Bulgarian lecturers, numerous discussions. During the event a short excursion to the wetlandс near the town of Dragoman was organised.
The workshop was concluded with a round table involving all the participants and moderated by José Matos as chairman. The main final statements of the participants in the round table were as follows:
- The first in approaching wetland monitoring must be the gathering of all the previous research works performed on the wetlands, followed by sitting around the table all the stakeholders involved in this assessment, such as: scientists (including, ecologists, physiologists, microbiologists, ornithologists, geneticists, molecular biologists, etc.), policy makers, environmental organizations, local governments and national authorities, and/or any further organisms involved in environmental management.
- The “task force” above should have as a first action to define the priorities on “what to monitor”, identifying the most relevant and important wetlands to study, based on previous work.
- Genetic analyses were considered as an important approach that is urgent to implement. Decisions on which genetic tools to use must be based on the particular characteristics of the wetlands to study, on the human, financial and time resources available and on the specific questions to be answered.
- No molecular genetic analysis can be performed when neither facilities nor skilled persons in the art are available. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the actual conditions available and rapidly implement, whenever necessary and adequate, a training program for technicians and researchers, as well as an improvement in equipment and laboratory facilities to increase the level of analysis to be performed.
Some photos from the event are presented here.
Workshop Programme click here
