Biodiversity in tropical areas, from molecules to ecosystems

1. Biodiversity in tropical areas, from molecules to ecosystems Vietnamese-French thematic school Place: Do Son, Hai Phong city, VIETNAM. Schedule time: from 5 to 15 November, 2012 • Main sponsors: Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France) • Organizational unit : Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR) Summary Tropical biodiversity: ecological and evolutionary approaches Tropical regions harbor a disproportionate share of Earth’s biodiversity. Understanding why tropical ecosystems are so species-rich has long been one of the central questions in ecology and evolutionary biology. The question is of more than academic importance. Understanding the mechanisms that have produced this exceptional biodiversity and that maintain it today can provide clues on how biodiversity can be conserved and, where necessary, restored. Examining ecological processes at levels from molecules to individuals, populations and ecosystems, the course will explore some of the principal hypotheses proposed to explain tropical biodiversity, and illustrate the approaches used to test these hypotheses. The physical environments—climate and soils—typical of tropical latitudes will be analyzed, showing how they serve as a peculiar template for the evolution of adaptations. Because intense biotic interactions appear to be a key part of what makes tropical ecosystems special, the course will focus on these interactions—pairwise interactions between mutualists, between competitors, between predators and prey, parasites and hosts, but also intricate indirect interactions in complex networks of species. The course will examine many different approaches, from empirical studies of the biochemical mediation of interspecific interactions to modeling studies examining mechanisms of species coexistence. The course will treat both marine and continental environments, exploring the interactions between them. The threats to tropical biodiversity from global environmental change will be reviewed. Finally, the course will examine the implications of ecosystem degradation for human health, and present ecological engineering approaches to restoring biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in disturbed and degraded tropical ecosystems. Proposed topics • Tropical Biology and Biodiversity • Ecology of Biotic Interactions • Chemical ecology and Biodiversity • Marine Biology and marine resources • Ecological Dynamics and Remote Sensing • Ecological engineering and Phytoremediation • Health ecology • Bio-cultural Interactions in tropical ecosystems • Biodiversity and Conservation Biology in tropical ecosystems • One day off in Ha Long Bay Registration address: 18 Hoang Quoc Viet st., Cau Giay dist., Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: +84-4-37565943; Fax: +84-4-38361196 Email: nvsinh@gmail.com