In the marine environment, nothing exists independent of other biotic and abiotic features. Food webs and biogeochemical cycles both form tangled networks of interaction. Therefore, their characterization is an initial step in understanding ecosystem function.
Increasing anthropogenic pressures (including harvesting and pollution) and their impacts on species interactions and biogeochemical processes have become important issues in marine environments; an ecosystem-based approach is suggested to understand this entirely. Linking nutrient cycling, trophic dynamics, and ecosystem metabolism might allow for a holistic understanding of ecosystem functions in a changing environment.
We invite presentations that further our understanding of trophic and biogeochemical relationships. These may include studies that are field- and/or laboratory-based, model-based, or any combination of these. Research topics may focus on, but are not limited to, trophic ecology (from feeding behaviour observations and traditional stomach analysis to food web modelling), biogeochemical studies (such as ocean acidification and nutrient cycling), links between food webs and biogeochemical processes, and the development of novel tools and analytical methods to investigate these processes.
