This year we will be having our first ever annual Optoberfest scientific mini-conference, held at our Opwall HQ in Lincolnshire, UK.
Optoberfest is a chance for us to showcase some of the amazing science stories and research results from our global network of field sites, and for you to ask our speaking panel of international scientists questions about their work. This year we have ten fantastic speakers from all over the World, either giving their talks in person or dialing in remotely; together these cover research in almost all of the sites we currently work in.
This years talks span subjects as diverse as invertebrate taxonomy in Madagascar, elephant behaviour in South Africa, marine sponge ecology in Indonesia, bat parasitology in Honduras, coral reef restoration in Mexico, and a lot more besides!
Optoberfest runs 13:00 -16:30 on Thursday 10th October and 09:30 – 13:00 on Friday 11th October. The full list of speakers and schedule for talks is:
Thursday 10th October
| 13:00 – 13:30 | Dr Tom Martin | Introduction and 2024 science and research round-up |
| 13:30 – 14:00 | Dr Joe Bailey | Updates on research in Târnava Mare, Romania, including long-term stability of bird populations |
| Break | ||
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Alex O’Brien | Ecosystem shifts and lionfish: The implications of coral bleaching in Tela, Honduras |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Imogen Vieten | Elephant Reintegration Trust behavioural research in Gondwana Game Reserve |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Dr Merlijn Jocque | BINCO surveys in Cusuco National park and Mariarano forest – a summary of achievements to date |
Friday 11th October
| 09:30 – 10:00 | James Bell | The rise of sponges in the Anthropocene |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Dr Morgan Hughes | Standard deviation: studying the bats of Krka National Park |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Dr Danny Haelewaters | Fungi and bat fly studies in Cusuco National Park and beyond – a summary of progress to date. |
| Break | ||
| 12:00 – 12:30 | Dr Ian Thornhill | The freshwater invertebrate communities of Dominica |
| 12:30 – 13:00 | James Muir | Monitoring the ecological impact of coral reef restoration in Akumal, Mexico |
If you ever wanted to know more about the scientific research Operation Wallacea is involved with, Optoberfest 2024 is an opportunity not to be missed!
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