In ten years, more than 80 presentations have shaped the Café con Sal conference series, a pioneering proposal for scientific dissemination launched by the Toralla Marine Science Station. Next week, on Thursday the 30th, a new edition will begin, a very special one, the tenth, which will once again bring together research staff, students and professionals from the marine sector in order to share knowledge, generate debates and new ideas that can serve as a seed for possible collaborations. In total, there will be 13 presentations throughout 2020, which will always take place at 11:00 am, with a concentrated format of 40 minutes, just enough for a coffee break, in this case with salt.
Alba Hernández, outreach technician at the Marine Research Center (CIM), coordinates the organization of this program and explains that “through these conferences, the debate and the minutes we share over coffee, the technical staff of Ecimat and CIM learn in detail about the research projects that are being developed at the center, which allows the exchange of scientific and technical knowledge that enriches both the ongoing projects and the services provided by the technical staff, in addition to fostering personal relationships and a good working environment.” She points out that the research staff of the different groups “need a meeting point where they can exchange ideas and think about possible points of collaboration, in order to establish multidisciplinary projects that allow for a comprehensive understanding of the different problems or threats suffered by the marine environment and provide effective solutions to society.”
The idea is for “students, technicians or researchers” to have a speaker to present their work, on diverse topics ranging from the station’s new services to climate change, marine pollution, sustainable management of fishing resources or genetics, aquaculture, etc. “Transversal topics of general interest are also addressed, such as the history of marine stations or the need for ‘open science’, which will be some of the topics for this tenth edition.” Alba Hernández also adds that, to help disseminate this content and contribute to the dissemination of marine research carried out at the University of Vigo, the interventions are broadcast live by UVigo-TV and are also available in its repository.
“Proud of our Café con Sal”
Keeping this cycle alive for ten years is, for Alba Hernández, a reason for satisfaction but having achieved it “is the result of something very special, a level of camaraderie that is difficult to find in other workplaces”, she highlights. And this environment was fundamental for the start and consolidation of this cycle of conferences, “because the respect and affection for our colleagues (both technicians and researchers), maintained, and continues to maintain, a fixed level of attendance and a basic motivation for the speakers”. She also highlights that the collaboration of UVigoTV and the fact of starting to hold the conferences in English, allowed the visibility of the cycle to increase exponentially, “but without decreasing the level of attendance and interest in participating”. For all this, from Ecimat they are “really proud of our Café con Sal, because we consider that we maintain the spirit and initial objectives of the program, but we improve year after year the visibility, dissemination, and interest on the part of both participants and attendees”.
But Ecimat’s commitment to the dissemination and communication of science goes beyond the lecture series, as each year the station receives more than 500 visitors from educational centers and social groups. “With the help of the CIM research staff and the support of the Xunta de Galicia and the European Union, through their co-financing under the FEDER/FSE Galicia 2014-2020 Operational Program, we carry out around 60 dissemination activities per year such as the celebration of conferences, events, contests, etc. and we participate in national or international scientific dissemination activities,” adds Hernández.
The history of marine research stations, in the first report
The first meeting with this new edition will be next Thursday 30, as always at 11:00 am, in the Ecimat auditorium. The first guest of 2020 will be Ibon Cancio, professor of Cell Biology at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and researcher at the Plentzia Marine Station (PiE), the only institution together with Ecimat that is part of the Spanish node of EMBRC-ERIC, a pan-European infrastructure for research in marine biology and ecology. In his talk, entitled Marine Stations: 20000 leagues under the sea since the 19th century into the Blue Growth, he will take a historical tour of marine stations, which began 175 years ago with the inauguration of the first center of this type in Ostend (Belgium). Alba Hernández points out that Cancio, who is also a collaborator of Ecimat, “is a fantastic speaker with a broad vision of the history, importance and mission of marine stations, which is why he is ideal to inaugurate the cycle”.
Throughout the year, 13 sessions of the cycle will be held, which will end in December. Various topics will be addressed such as the impact of climate change on living organisms in the Rías Baixas; the effects of plastic additives on marine fish; the influence of habitat conditions on key ecological processes for marine benthic fauna or the genomics of mussels.
Source: DUVI
