ID: 613 / 138

Category: Symposia

Track: Pending

Proposed Symposium Title: BRYOPHYTE DIVERSITY, ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION IN MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE AREAS

Abstract: Mediterranean climate areas are found in the Mediterranean Basin, South Africa, North America (California and Baja California), South America (Chile), and Oceania (Australia). All of them are biodiversity hotspots, and are subject to severe effects of Climate Change. This symposium aims to put together recent works on the bryophytes of the Mediterranean climate areas worldwide. The main goal of the symposium will be a global evaluation of the current state of knowledge on bryophyte diversity, ecology, and conservation in Mediterranean climate areas. For this, special emphasis will be placed on the following topics: -The factors shaping taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity in these areas -Relevant species and their distribution and need for conservation -The areas with the greatest diversity that should be protected -The effects of climate change on the Mediterranean bryophyte diversity -The detection of common problems and how they are being approached in these and other areas -The promotion of new initiatives through setting and cooperating studies

Speaker 1: Belén Albertos University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain belen.albertos@uv.es Achievements, failures, and challenges in bryophyte conservation in Spain

Speaker 2: Terry Hedderson University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa terry.hedderson@uct.ac.za Comparative analysis of diversity patterns in the Cape Mediterranean climate biomas and assessment of threat/conservation status

Speaker 3: Brent Mishler University of California, Berkeley, USA bmishler@berkeley.edu California Bryophytes: Evolution and Conservation in a Biodiversity Hotspot

Topics (Up to three): Bryology

Topic 2: Conservation Biology

Topic 3: Systematics

Justification: The symposium addresses topics of great relevance in the current knowledge of bryophytes, such as diversity, ecology, conservation, and systematics in five areas around the world that share climatic characteristics and therefore have many similarities. Therefore, the potential audience interest is worldwide. The diversity of speakers in terms of gender has been considered (one woman and two men), career stage (one junior and two seniors), and geography (one from Europe, one from Africa, and one from America).