Invisible allies: the role of microbes in biodiversity conservation

Human activities are causing severe biodiversity losses across Earth’s biomes. There is widespread consensus that passive conservation no longer suffices to minimise biodiversity loss and habitat degradation. Instead, active conservation efforts involving direct human intervention to restore, enhance, or protect ecosystems and species are required in addition to conventional management and efforts to reduce or remove the root causes of ecosystem decline. The manipulation of microbiomes (host-associated or free-living) is a promising but — beyond humans — understudied approach to improve the health and resilience of species and ecosystems. This session aims to bring together researchers and practitioners in the field of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration who study and harness microbes. By sharing approaches, success stories and lessons learnt from different species and ecosystems, we hope the session will facilitate synergies and collaboration between researchers, communities and industries and advance the field of microbial manipulation to help bring about a brighter future for our planet’s wild plants and animals.

Convenors
Madeleine van Oppen, The University of Melbourne and AIMS, Australia
Elin Videvall, Uppsala University, Sweden

Invited Speakers
Suhelen Egan, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Madeleine van Oppen, The University of Melbourne and AIMS, Australia
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