Scientific conferences can be a great way of meeting people, getting and sharing new ideas, and networking with people from, often, all over the world. And they can be good fun too! On October 25th-28th several people in the School travelled to Norway for the annual conference held by the Scandinavian Association for Pollination Ecologists (SCAPE). This meeting is held for ecologists working with pollination, plant reproductive biology and other related fields and it attracts a small but expert crowd from Scandinavia, Europe, and sometimes even further afield (this year there were attendees from Brazil and Israel!).
PhD and MSc students are particularly encouraged to present their work and it is an amicable place to give a conference presentation or poster. In the past the friendly nature did not detract from the quality of the research or of the feedback that’s received, and this year was no exception. It was particularly exciting to hear a talk by Amots Dafni, who literally wrote THE book on pollination ecology. He was discussing work his lab carried out which surprisingly did not support an old hypothesis: that floral heat rewards attract males bees to overnight inside flowers. We also heard about communities of bacteria on plant organs, the effects herbivores can have on the volatile (smell) profiles that attract pollinators, the potential positive effects of bees that “rob” nectar, and a really interesting talk about when pollination limits the yield of crops.
For a conference that sounds so specialized it was amazing to hear the range of topics people were working on. There was also a field trip around the beautiful surroundings of the island of Skjaerhalden where the conference was held, and a Norweigan style party! SCAPE is an example of how a balance of work and play make for a creative and inspiring mix, and where the facilitation of open, non-competitive discussions can lead to a greater understanding of the topics presented, and also sow the seeds for exciting collaborative endeavours. And the catchphrase for the weekend… “see you later, pollinator”!
Author
Erin Jo Tiedeken: tiedekee[at]tcd.ie
Photo credit
Erin Jo Tiedeken