From 3-5 March, we visited Reykjavik for the fourth conference of the Nordic Society Oikos. The theme of the conference was "ecology in the Anthropocene" and ecologists from all over the Nordic countries and elsewhere gathered to talk about all aspects of ecology. There were interesting sessions on mammal ecology, arctic ecology, biodiversity, herbivores, ecology and society, and urban ecology and a special early career workshop. During the latter we got some great information about how to continue in the scientific world and how to get our next job, but also how the process of publishing works. The key message was to keep in touch with others, not only within the scientific field, but also with people in other fields.
In a great keynote, Prof David Lusseau of the University of Aberdeen stated that we are failing to reach the 2020 targets of the sustainable development goals (most targets are for 2030, but there are some that have an aim for 2020). To increase our chances of reaching the goals, he called for an increased involvement of ecologists in finding socioecological solutions. He also said that we should be more embedded in the political discourse and that we should talk to policy makers in the early stages of our research projects, and not wait until after publication. This links closely to what we do in the MegaSus group, where we try to do science for impact linking our studies to the sustainable development goals. We are working on possible solutions, so we should make sure that we involve relevant stakeholders and policy makers early on in the process.
Both of us presented a poster of our projects and got some useful responses. Next to that, we met a lot of new and old colleagues and made some arrangements for potential future collaborations. On the last day, we joined an excursion to the Reykjanes peninsula, experiencing the rugged and volcanic landscape of Iceland. It was a great conference on a great location!
Nannet Fabri & Tim Hofmeester
Nannet Fabri and Tim Hofmeester presenting their posters at the fourth conference of the Nordic Society Oikos in Reykjavik. Photo: Nannet Fabri and Tim Hofmeester.
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Excursion to Reykjanes peninsula. Photo: Tim Hofmeester
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