Proposed Symposium Title: ADVANCES IN SEED CONSERVATION OF WILD SPECIES
Abstract: Plant biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate. It is estimated that around 40% of plant species are at risk of extinction and thereby in need of conservation action. Given the relative ease of their collection, movement, and storage, seeds have become fundamental to conservation strategies, such as population augmentation, translocation, and seed banking. Until relatively recently, seed banking and seed science largely focused on agronomic crops and other economically important species. Just in the past few decades focus has expanded to include seeds of wild plants. However, these species often present unique challenges compared to crop species. The success of seed-based conservation, including both ex situ and in situ, necessitates fundamental understandings of the complex seed biology of wild plant species, including seed dormancy, germination, and physiological response to storage. Species differ in their levels and type of dormancy, germination requirements, and ability to survive and persist in ex situ seed bank conditions. Not only is there variation between species, but many species also show variation among populations in response to climate, genetics, or other factors. Understanding the mechanisms behind and nuances of inter- and intraspecific seed traits is essential at all levels of conservation - including seed collection, seed storage behavior, and outplanting. This symposium will focus on these and other current topics related to wild species globally, and bring to the forefront the questions that will guide the future of seed conservation science. Confirmed speakers represent a range of geographic expertise, career stage, and gender identity. By uniting researchers with different foci related to seed conservation, we aim to facilitate mutual knowledge exchange thereby supporting novel collaborations and innovative approaches.
Speaker 1: Hector Pérez, The University of Florida, 2047 IFAS Research Drive, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA heperez@ufl.edu Title: “Are seeds of today’s endangered plants ready for tomorrow’s climate challenges?”
Speaker 2: Daniel Ballesteros, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 13. 46010 Valencia. Spain Daniel.Ballesteros@uv.es
Title: “Green and fatty architecture: how chlorophyll, fatty acids and antioxidants modulate ageing rates in dry seeds”
Speaker 3: Uromi Manage Goodale, Xian Jiaotong Liverpool University, 8 Chongwen Road, Suzhou Industrial Park, 215123 Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China Uromi.Goodale@xjtlu.edu.cn
Title: “The conservation of dust seeded species”
To achieve a balance of geography, gender, and career stage it is critical that we propose a fourth speaker.
Speaker 4:
Carlos A. Ordóñez-Parra, Federal University of Minas Gerais, carlos.ordonez.parra@gmail.com
Title: "Functional traits at the service of seed conservation in Brazilian open ecosystems"
Topics (Up to three): Conservation Biology
Topic 2: Global Change Ecology
Topic 3: Ecophysiology
Justification: The proposed symposium is timely, engaging, and leverages global expertise to showcase research at the forefront of seed science for conservation. We predict the potential audience interest to be moderate, as the proposed symposium would be of interest to those interested in seed biology and/or plant conservation. Seed conservation research is a multidisciplinary endeavor bridging multiple IBC topics including Conservation Biology, Global Change Ecology, and, Ecophysiology. Audience interest will be further bolstered by the diversity of speakers in terms of geography (N. America, S. America, Europe, Asia), gender (3M:1F), and career stage (early-late).
