FSBI 2022 Annual Symposium

Fish in a Dynamic World

25th-29th July 2022

The symposium will explore the ways in which fish are able to occupy a broad range of naturally dynamic environments, as well as their capacity to adapt to habitat loss and directional environmental change.

We look forward to seeing you online or in-person this July at NTU!

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Fish in a Dynamic World

Aquatic environments across the globe, and the fish that live in them, are subject to myriad threats, including the input of anthropogenic pollutants, over-exploitation, species introductions, physical barriers to movement, the manipulation of flow regimes and global climate change.

Fish respond to these perturbations at all organisational levels, with consequences for gene expression, physiology and patterns of behaviour. The impact of these changes on populations, communities and ecosystem processes is now beginning to be revealed.

The symposium, re-arranged from 2020, will explore the ways in which fish are able to occupy such a broad range of naturally dynamic environments, their capacity to adapt to habitat loss and directional environmental change, and the emerging ecosystem consequences.

Find Out More About The Background to Our Symposium

Although excluded from the terrestrial environment, fishes show a remarkable capacity to adapt to aquatic environments, occupying oceans, lakes, rivers, streams and even temporary pools. They can survive water at temperatures ranging from below 0°C to above 40°C, an altitudinal range from the abyssal depths of the oceans to high mountain plateaus, and salinity ranges from close to distilled water to hypersaline waters. Parallel to this adaptation to an extensive range of habitats, fish also show a striking radiation in modes of feeding, life history, reproduction and behaviour. The aquatic ecosystems that fish inhabit are also often subject to highly dynamic changes, over diurnal, tidal and seasonal cycles, and fish exhibit remarkable plasticity to allow them to prosper in the face of such changes.

However, aquatic environments across the globe, and the fish that live in them, are subject to myriad threats, including the input of anthropogenic pollutants, overexploitation, species introductions, physical barriers to movement, the manipulation of flow regimes and global climate change. Fish are responding to these perturbations at all organisational levels, with consequences for gene expression, physiology and patterns of behaviour, and the impact of these changes on populations, communities and ecosystem processes is now beginning to be revealed.

The symposium will explore the ways in which fish are able to occupy such a broad range of naturally dynamic environments, as well as their capacity to adapt to habitat loss and directional environmental change. The goal of the meeting will be to bring together fish scientists from a broad range of disciplines, to address questions focused on ecological and life-history research, evolutionary biology, conservation and invasion biology, as well as on the anthropogenic impacts on fish populations and communities.

Keynote Speakers

The 2022 Jack Jones Lecture

Talk title; Climate change and the future of fish and fisheries

John pinnegar

John Pinnegar

Cefas, UK

Find Out More About John

John Pinnegar is a Principal Scientist and Lead Advisor on climate change at the UK government’s Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas). He is Director of the International Marine Climate Change Centre (iMC3) and also the Collaborative Centre for Sustainable Use of the Seas (CCSUS), a joint initiative between Cefas and the University of East Anglia. He recently acted as Lead Author for the 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). John’s research interests include long-term changes in marine ecosystems, the impacts of future climate change and ocean acidification on marine animal populations, as well as consequences for commercial fisheries, coastal economies and marine food-webs.

Symposium Themes

Sex and reproduction in a dynamic world

Fish have evolved a remarkable variety of reproductive modes and behaviours that reflect their ecological and taxonomic diversity, and their ability to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions. The physiological, endocrinological and molecular mechanisms that underpin sexual development, and the complex behaviours that facilitate mate choice and sexual compatibility, are all potentially sensitive to changing environmental conditions. This theme will explore this diversity and focus on how changing environmental conditions impact fish reproduction, from sex determination and sexual development through to parental care.

Feeding in a dynamic world

Fish adopt a wide range of feeding and foraging strategies and have evolved an astonishing array of trophic specialisations to exploit available food resources, with these adaptations often forming the basis for species proliferation and diversification. This theme will focus on this diversity and will seek to develop understanding of how environmental change is impacting the trophic interactions of fish in aquatic environments around the globe.

Behaviour in a dynamic world

Fish are studied by behavioural researchers from a wide range of perspectives; as models in molecular genetic, neurobiological, physiological and toxicological experiments and as subjects in behavioural and evolutionary ecological field studies. Increasingly, the results of these studies are being integrated across systems. It is increasingly clear that the behaviours of fish, which have evolved as adaptations to life in myriad complex environments, can be highly sensitive to environmental change. The focus of this theme is to explore our current knowledge of fish behaviours, how they are impacted in changing environments, and our understanding of the broader ecological implications of such changes.

Population & community consequences of a dynamic world

he impacts of changing environments have far-reaching implications for the physiology, behaviour, abundance and distribution of fish, and for their interactions with other species. As a consequence, the biology and ecology of fish populations – as well as the broader communities and ecosystems that fish live in – are often impacted under changing conditions. This theme will focus on developing a greater understanding of how global change is impacting fish populations with implications for aquatic communities, as well as for fisheries and fishing communities that rely on them.

 

Plasticity in a dynamic world

Fish often show remarkable levels of within-generation plasticity in morphology, behaviour and physiology, typically as an adaptation to occupying environments that are naturally subject to environmental fluctuations. In a rapidly changing world, it is possible that this intrinsic ability of some fish to respond plastically to environmental change gives them an advantage. This theme will focus on exploring the role of plasticity in fish ecology and developing a greater understanding of the potential role of plasticity in adaptation to environments that are subject to directional change.

Conservation in a dynamic world

As the impacts of global anthropogenic change are becoming better understood, there is an increasing drive and motivation to identify conservation priorities and to make practical changes that will mediate some of the most damaging impacts and improve the situation for fish and fisheries. This theme will focus on showcasing current studies in fish conservation and on developing approaches to improve, replace or restore the habitats, environments and ecosystems that fish live in.

Ecology of species introductions and invasions

The introduction or invasion of novel fish species, fish predators, fish parasites or species that otherwise compete directly or indirectly with native fish present an increasing challenge for fish populations and aquatic ecosystems around the globe. This theme will focus on our current understanding of species introductions and invasion ecology, and showcase recent studies that have developed our understanding of these increasing threats to aquatic biodiversity, fish and fisheries.

Anthropogenic noise, stress and behaviour

Recent advances in the recording and analysis of underwater sound have generated a surge of research activity that is rapidly developing our appreciation and understanding of the critical role of acoustic communication in the biology and ecology of fish. This theme will examine how fish utilise sound in their behaviour and ecology, how anthropogenic changes to underwater soundscapes impact the efficacy of acoustic communication, and how this improved understanding might be used as a tool to benefit the restoration of fish habitats.

The 2022 FSBI symposium is proudly set up by

Nottingham Trent University

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Nottingham Trent University (Brackenhurst Campus)

July 25th -29th 2022 in-person venue will be hosted at the scenic Brackenhurst Campus at Nottingham Trent University (NTU)

NTU has recently won many plaudits for teaching and research and has been a top 10 in the People and the Planet League since 2009, making it a perfect venue for FSBI 2022.

The Locations

The symposium will be based at NTU’s stunning rural Brackenhurst campus, close to the cathedral town of Southwell, with the Symposium banquet and medal awards ceremony to be held at the City campus in the centre of Nottingham. The newly completed Lyth Building will house all scientific sessions.

Our expectation is that this Symposium will be held as a face-to-face, in-person event, with an alternative online opportunity for delegates that are unable to attend in-person to participate in the meeting.

Download the Map of NTU Here

Symposium Programme (Updated 15th July)

The draft programme is shown below, this may still be subject to small changes.

View and download the programme

Symposium Workshops

 We are planning to hold a workshop on Monday afternoon, on the topic of ‘Creating an inclusive, diverse and transparent fish and fisheries research community’. All delegates are invited to this workshop, which will include presentations, discussions, networking opportunities and the opportunity to contribute to an output. Other workshops including a scientific publication workshop will also be arranged, with details to follow.

Our Social Event Programme

Monday 25th

Sponsored by Wiley, publishers of the Journal Fish Biology

Wine reception and poster session

wiley

Tuesday 26th

 

Dinner at Brackenhurst, Pub Quiz, Southwell exploration tour

Wednesday 27th

 

Social Barbeque on the lawn at Brackenhurst

Thursday 28th

 

Nottingham Castle Tour

Nottingham Conference Centre, August 2010

Friday 29th

 

Banquet and medal award ceremony (City campus)

2022 FSBI Medal Winners

We are delighted to announce that all medal winners will be contributing oral presentations to our scientific programme. We congratulate and welcome Katie Peichel (Beverton Medal; University of Bern, Switzerland), Stephen Cooke (LeCren Medal; Carleton University, Canada), and Amy Deacon (FSBI medal; University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago) to the Symposium.

Katie Peichel

University of Bern, Switzerland

Beverton Medal 2022

Steven J. Cooke

Carelton University, Canada

Le Cren Medal 2022

Amy Deacon

University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago

FSBI Medal 2022

Scientific Advisory Committee:

  • Iain Barber (NTU, UK)
  • Andrew Hirst (NTU, UK)
  • Carl Smith (Łódź, Poland)
  • Andy Nunn (Hull, UK)
  • Nick Jones (St Andrews, UK)
  • Penny Watt (Sheffield, UK)
  • Will Norton (Leicester, UK)

 

 

Local Organising Committee:

  • Iain Barber (NTU)
  • Andrew Hirst (NTU)
  • Ilaria Coscia (Salford / FSBI)
  • Nicholas Ray (NTU)
  • Liz Appleton (NTU Admin Support)
  • Esther Triffitt (NTU Conference Team)
  • Andrew Rutkowski (NTU AV / IT support)

For all conference enquiries, please contact our team

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