2020 Events
Biogeographers around the world celebrated the inaugural International Humboldt Day during the week of September 12-19, 2020, by hosting and attending free, local, online, or in-person lectures, activities, and presentations, with local organizers finding ways to mark this day in different ways.
Many of the events were recorded, and links to the recordings are hosted by either the local organizers via Facebook/youtube links or by the International Biogeography Society on the ‘Humboldt Day’ Youtube channel.
List of recordings available:
–Alexander von Humboldt: A biogeographic epiphany between Magdalena river and Chimborazo
–Humboldt through the lenses of Macroecology
–Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World – From Humboldt to Big Data and Novel Ecosystems
–The geography of species associations
–Using environmental DNA to test biogeographical hypotheses
–Time machine biology: Fossils and Biogeography
–Islands in the sea, the land, and the sky
–Distance-decay models for beta diversity analyses
–Expression and variety in science communication
–Finding ways to feature and support women in Biogeography
–Snails on islands
–Metacommunities in Tropical and Mediterranean temporary ponds
–East African Mountains: past, present, future
–Humboldt’s legacy for Mexican biogeography
–Temperature and Fire Drivers of Deglacial Vegetation Dynamics in Eastern North America
–Biogeography of Cebidae: patterns and research perspectives
–Serban Proches Research Group – South Africa
–Biogeography down under: New Zealand and the southern ocean
–Humboldt in his Place Jackson
–Journal of Biogeography – overview
–Challenges and perspectives of Biogeography in the Dominican Republic, Greater Antilles: a multidisciplinary approach
–Sobre el estudio de montanas y rios: el legado de Humboldt en las ciencias naturales y humanidades de Colombia
Session
–High-elevational limits of vascular plants: Europe, North America, Himalaya, East Africa, Andes
–Going high: Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning along some of the world’s most striking
Session
–Parasites in Madagascar: Hosts as islands on islands
–Phenology and growth plasticity under climatic variation in a short-lived chameleon
–Frugivory & seed dispersal patterns of white ruffed lemurs in the eastern Madagascar
–Impact of forest exploitation on ground dwelling ants in a new protected area (NPA)
–West Nile Virus seroprevalence and risk factors in wild birds in Madagascar
Session: Protecting biodiversity by modelling climate change, food webs and human disturbance
–Can fungi help to save the future of forests in climate change scenario?
–Integrating phylogenetic and trait-based models to predict extinction risk for data-deficient amphibians globally
–The “New Conservation” Trilemma – how to protect biodiversity, climate and sustainable development?
–Size-abundance scaling across biogeographical gradients in aquatic food webs
Session: Marine Biogeography: Advances and the way forward
–‘Marine Biogeography: Advances and the way forward’: Intro
–Marine Biogeography Advances and the Way Forward in the NW Pacific
–Biogeographic Atlas of the Deep NW Pacific Fauna
–DNA metabarcoding
–Global biogeography of marine amphipod crustaceans: latitude, regionalisation, and beta diversity
–Influence of ice coverage on benthic peracarid crustaceans from the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean and Weddell Sea
–Biogeographic patterns and drivers in the deep North Atlantic
–Contributions from South Atlantic to the knowledge of deep-sea whale-fall fauna distribution
–Recent discoveries of new taxa of colonial anemones from museum collections
–Global warming is causing a dip in marine species richness at the equator
–Cutting room floor, to finish with a smile 🙂
Alexander von Humboldt: A biogeographic epiphany between Magdalena river and Chimborazo
(Speaker: Alberto Gómez Gutiérrez, Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia)
Humboldt through the lenses of Macroecology
(Organizers: David Nogués-Bravo and Carsten Rahbek)
Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World – From Humboldt to Big Data and Novel Ecosystems
(Organizers: Jens-Christian Svenning & Anne Blach Overgaard, Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Aarhus University, Denmark)
Talks:
-Vincent Fehr: Non-native palms (Arecaceae) as generators of novel ecosystems
-Erik Kusch: KrigR – Downscaling state-of-the-art climate data for macroecologists
-Wubing Xu: Late Quaternary temperature changes are the dominant influence on present-day global beta diversity of tree assemblages
-Alejandro Ordonez: A Humbolian perspective of global change: connecting biodiversity, environment and society
The geography of species associations
Organizers: Amanda Bates, Jennifer Sunday, Jonathan Davies and Pedro Peres-Neto
Talks:
-Kate Jones (University College London): Our Planet, Our Health – Ecosystem approaches to forecasting zoonotic disease
-Carissa Brown (Memorial University): Biotic constraints on tree range expansion
-Laura Pollock (McGill University): Biogeography of predator-prey interactions
-Gabriel Muñoz (Concordia University): Biogeography of palm seed dispersal interactions
-Jennifer Sunday (McGill University): What range shifts can tell us about species interactions?
-Benjamin Freeman (University of British Columbia): Latitudinal gradient in responsiveness of montane taxa to climate change
-Rachel Germain (University of British Columbia, Memorial University): Pattern, process, and the formation of species distributions at mesoscales
-Amanda Bates (Memorial University): Gaps in biogeographical data and future directions
-Jean-Philippe Lessard (Concordia University): Biogeography of host-parasite interactions
Using environmental DNA to test biogeographical hypotheses
Organizers: Sandra Nogué, Mary Edwards, and Marc Rius (University of Southampton)
Talks:
-Mary Edwards (15 minutes) University of Southampton, UK: The contribution of ancient DNA and environmental DNA to 21st Century biogeography
-Luke Holman (15 minutes) University of Southampton, UK: Marine biogeographic boundaries across the tree of life
-Jamie Wood (15 minutes) Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research, NZ: Who ate all the truffle-like fungi? Using eDNA from coprolites to test a co-evolutionary hypothesis regarding New Zealand’s bizarre truffle-like fungi
Time machine biology: Fossils and Biogeography
(Speaker: Moriaki Yasuhara)
Islands in the sea, the land, and the sky
(Organizers: Suzette Flantua and Aaron O’Dea)
Talks:
-Max Titcomb (Smithsonian tropical Research Institute & University of California Berkeley): Post-glacial sea level rise and the changing shape of the Isthmus of Panamá
-Sietze Norder (Leiden University): Quaternary sea level fluctuations and endemism patterns on oceanic islands
-Yuval Itescu (Freie Universität Berlin): Rethinking the analogy between true islands and island-like systems
-Suzette Flantua (University of Bergen): Flickering connectivity systems of mountain islands and true islands.
Distance-decay models for beta diversity analyses
(Speakers: Carola Gómez-Rodríguez, Sara Martínez-Santalla, Ramiro Martín-Devasa and Andrés Baselga, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain)
Expression and variety in science communication
(Organized by: Suzette Flantua and Aaron O’Dea)
In this session we will be joined by a selection of enthusiastic artists and writers skilled in telling science stories in their own unique way.
-Ian Cooke-Tapía (www.cookedillustrations.com): artist and illustrator
-Julia Heinen: PhD student at the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen, (Denmark)
-Beatriz Diaz Pauli: researcher from Bergen University (Norway)
-Catalina: environmental visual artist who also graduated as a biologist.
-Carlos Guarnizo: expert in neotropical frogs and creator of the independent Science Communication initiative Ciencia Café pa’ Sumerce.
Finding ways to feature and support women in Biogeography
Organized by @madresBDV
Speakers from different scientific areas followed by round table, discussing ways to feature and support women in Biogeography.
Speakers: Maria Dornelas (University of St Andrews, UK), Christine Meynard (INRAE, France), Anna Traveset (IMEDEA), Kathy Willis (University of Oxford and University of Bergen).
Snails on Islands
(Speaker: Cristian R. Altaba, University of the Balearic Islands, and Llevant Natural Park, Govt. of the Balearic Islands)
Metacommunities in Tropical and Mediterranean temporary ponds
Talks:
-X. Armengol: Tropical and Mediterranean ponds: the environment.
-F. Mesquita-Joanes: Diversity in tropical and Mediterranean ponds.
-A. Gálvez: Environmental and spatial effects on species distribution.
-M. Bisquert: Colonization of the ponds: experimental hatching of resting eggs.
-A. Castillo-Escrivà: Simulated and natural metacommunities: effects of time extent.
East African Mountains: past, present, future changes and challenges
(Organizers: Esther Githumbi, Robert Marchant, & Rahab Kinyanjui)
Talks:
-Dr. Esther Githumbi (Lund University, Lund, Sweden): Palaeoecological research on Mau forest giving an insight on the vegetation history over the past millenia and highlighting the importance and challenges in the Mau
-Dr. Rahab Kinyanjui (National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya): Research on Kilimanjaro emphasizing the linkage of human activities/land-use to vegetation change in the highlands which has formed a baseline for a new research project on the Aberdare ranges using a similar approach but in Anthropocene period
-Prof. Rob Marchant (University of York, UK) General perspectives from a series of studies across the region and pick up the themes of shrinking forests, transformed ecosystem services, highland lowland connections, impacts on water resources and future challenges and opportunities
Humboldt’s legacy for Mexican biogeography
(Organizers: Ella Vázquez-Domínguez, Fabricio Villalobos, Leticia Ochoa)
Talks:
-Jorge A. Meave: Alexander von Humboldt: the first ecologist of modern times?
-Ella Vázquez-Domínguez: Holocene phylogeography and rodent abundance patterns along a stratigraphic gradient
-Ricardo Rivera Reyes: Elevational patterns of amphibians and reptiles across Mexico
-Pedro Luna: Elevational gradient of biotic interactions on the Cofre de Perote mountain
Temperature and Fire Drivers of Deglacial Vegetation Dynamics in Eastern North America
(Speaker: John (Jack) Williams, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA)
Biogeography of Cebidae: patterns and research perspectives
(Speaker: Jessica Lynch-Alfaro)
Serban Proches Research Group – South Africa
(Speaker: Serban Proches, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)
Biogeography down under: New Zealand and the southern ocean
(Organized by Ceridwen Fraser, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand)
Talks:
-Prof. Lisa Matisoo-Smith (Department of Anatomy, University of Otago): Reconstructing the human settlement of the Pacific: Lessons learned from a cross/interdisciplinary approach
-Assoc. Prof. Ceridwen Fraser (Department of Marine Science) : Biological dispersal to the Antarctic
-Prof. Hamish Spencer (Department of Zoology): Contrasting phylogeography of the limpet genera Nacella and Siphonaria in the Southern Ocean
-Dr. Felix Vaux & Elahe Parvizi: Genomic footprints of coastal earthquakes in New Zealand
-Dr. Kirsten Donald (Department of Zoology): The biogeography of South Pacific topshells: Realizing Humboldt’s vision of connecting the present with the past
-Duncan Nicol (School of Geography): Biogeography and Evolution of the Celmisia Cass. subgenus Lignosae (Asteraceae: Astereae)
Humboldt in his Place Jackson
(Speaker: Stephen T. Jackson, US Geological Survey, Southwest and South Central Climate Adaptation Centers, and University of Arizona)
Journal of Biogeography – Overview
Challenges and perspectives of Biogeography in the Dominican Republic, Greater Antilles: a multidisciplinary approach
(Speakers: Lissette Rodríguez and Stiward Montero)
Sobre el estudio de montanas y rios: el legado de Humboldt en las ciencias naturales y humanidades de Colombia
(Language: Spanish)
Talks:
-Felipe Lamus Ochoa (MSc, Departamento de Fisica y Geociencias, Universidad del Norte): Curiosidades mineralogicas descritas por Humboldt en Nueva granada (Mineralogic curiosities described by Humboldt in Nueva Granada).
-Natalia Lozada Mendieta (PhD, Departamento del Historica del Arte, Universidad de Los Andes): Los viajes de Humboldt por el Alto Orinoco y su influencia en las investigaciones arqueológicas actuales en la región (Humboldt’s journey to the Upper Orinoco and its influence in the current archeological research in the area).
-Rafael Gasson, PhD. Departamento de Historia y Ciencias Sociales Humboldt y las Construcciones Indígenas de los Llanos. (Humboldt and the Indigenous’ constructions in the Llanos)
-Verónica Uribe Hanabergh (PhD, Departamento del Historial del Arte, universidad de Los Andes): El pasaje más difícil de toda la Cordillera de los Andes: Alexander von Humboldt, la pintura de paisaje y las montañas de Colombia (The most difficult passage in the entire Cordillera of the Andes : Alexander von Humboldt, landscape painting and the mountains of Colombia).
High-elevational limits of vascular plants: Europe, North America, Himalaya, East Africa, Andes
(Speaker: H. John B. Birks, University of Bergen and University College London)
Going high: Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning along some of the world’s most striking
(Speaker: Vigdis Vandvik, University of Bergen)
Session
Parasites in Madagascar: Hosts as islands on islands
(Speaker: Benjamin Rice, Princeton University)
Phenology and growth plasticity under climatic variation in a short-lived chameleon
(Speaker: Miary Raselimanana)
Frugivory & seed dispersal patterns of white ruffed lemurs in the eastern Madagascar
(Speaker: Rindra Nanteniaina)
Impact of forest exploitation on ground dwelling ants in a new protected area (NPA)
(Speaker: Santino Andry)
West Nile Virus seroprevalence and risk factors in wild birds in Madagascar
(Speaker: Miatrana Rasamoelena)
Session: Protecting biodiversity by modelling climate change, food webs and human disturbance
Can fungi help to save the future of forests in climate change scenario?
(Speaker: Celeste Silva)
Integrating phylogenetic and trait-based models to predict extinction risk for data-deficient amphibians globally
(Speaker: Pamela Gonzalez del Pliego)
The “New Conservation” Trilemma – how to protect biodiversity, climate and sustainable development?
(Speaker: Diogo Alagador)
Size-abundance scaling across biogeographical gradients in aquatic food webs
(Speaker: Zeynep Ersoy)
Session: Marine Biogeography: Advances and the way forward
Session ‘Marine Biogeography: Advances and the way forward’: Intro
Dr. Hanieh Saeedi, Biodiversity Information Coordinator & OBIS Data Manager (deep-sea node) at Goethe University Frankfurt & Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Germany, provides an introduction and overview of the session
Marine Biogeography Advances and the Way Forward in the NW Pacific
(Speaker: Angelika Brandt (Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Germany)
Biogeographic Atlas of the Deep NW Pacific Fauna
(Speaker: Hanieh Saeedi)
DNA metabarcoding
(Speaker: Vanessa Arranz, Massey University, NZ)
Global biogeography of marine amphipod crustaceans: latitude, regionalisation, and beta diversity
(Speaker: Tri Arfianti, University of Auckland, NZ)
Influence of ice coverage on benthic peracarid crustaceans from the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean and Weddell Sea
(Speaker: Davide di Franco, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Germany)
Biogeographic patterns and drivers in the deep North Atlantic
(Speaker: Berta Ramiro Sanchez, University of Edinburgh, UK)
Contributions from South Atlantic to the knowledge of deep-sea whale-fall fauna distribution
(Speaker: Maurício Shimabukuro, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark)
Recent discoveries of new taxa of colonial anemones from museum collections
(Speaker: James Reimer, University of the Ryukus, Japan)
Global warming is causing a dip in marine species richness at the equator
(Speaker: Chhaya Cauhdhary, University of Hong Kong, HKU)
Cutting room floor – Humboldt Day Intro
A short clip from the Humboldt Day 2020 Organizing Committee, on what not to do during recording of the Introductory video.
Events with links outside of YouTube: