Pensoft and NeoBiota reward student excellence at the 13th Conference on Biological Invasions
NeoBiota and Pensoft were proud to support the 13th Conference on Biological Invasions (NEOBIOTA 2024) on September 3-6 in Lisbon, Portugal.
At the event, NeoBiota and Pensoft sponsored awards for Best Student Poster and Best Student Oral Presentation, awarding free publications in NeoBiota to the winners and special journal issues to runners-up.
Lisa Tedeschi of the Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Vienna won the Best Student Oral Presentation award. Describing her work, she said: "My presentation was about alien populations of mammals which are threatened in their native ranges. The aim was to examine their distributions, pathways and years of introduction, threats, and conservation measures, and re-assess their IUCN Red List category to evaluate the effect of including alien populations in extinction risk assessments. We suggest that while some of these alien populations may have conservation value, conservation managers should carefully consider them case-by-case to avoid negative impacts on biodiversity."
On her plans for her free publication in NeoBiota, she added: "I would like to use this opportunity to publish part of my PhD thesis, specifically a paper regarding the range filling of alien mammals in Europe."
Sahar Chebaane of the University of Lisbon won the Best Student Poster award. Asked about her poster and plans for her free publication, she said: "My poster was an updated list of ascidians in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf, using both morphological and molecular tools. The sampling spanned across the entire Red Sea and Arabian Gulf, providing a comprehensive overview of ascidian diversity in these regions.
"I’m planning to submit a manuscript to NeoBiota focusing on the first-ever non-indigenous species monitoring effort in Saudi Arabia. This study will highlight data from the Arabian Gulf, including coverage of fouling species in marinas, eDNA results, and barcoding information, it is still in the first stage."
See the full results of the awards here:
Best Student Oral Presentation Awards
1st prize - Lisa Tedeschi; Wednesday, September 4 - Room C, 10-12h, A synthesis on alien mammals threatened in their native range.
2nd prize - Shaquille Matthys; Wednesday, September 4 - Room A, 14:30-16h, Dealing with uncertainty and conflicting objectives in the control of invasive alien species.
3rd Prize - Ana S. Lavrador; Room B 14:30-16h, Mapping the Spatial Distribution of Non-Indigenous Invertebrates in Recreational Marinas Across Mainland Portugal and Islands through DNA Metabarcoding.
Best Student Poster Awards
1st prize - Sahar Chebaane (P166_S5), Updates on ascidian diversity in the artificial habitats of the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf
2nd prize - Anna Rönnfeldt (P019_S1), Niche dynamics of non-native plants vary between regions
3rd Prize - Mafalda Moncada (P120_S2), Catfished: how metabarcoding diet analysis increases knowledge on predation by the European catfish?
Learn more about NEOBIOTA 2024 on the conference website.