Arctic Entomology under Climate Change: highlights from the NOVA PhD course in Iceland 20-24 August 2018
NOVA PhD course “Arctic Entomology under Climate Change”, organized by professor Gudmundur Halldorson was also an activity of the UArctic Thematic Network on Sustainable Production and Foraging of Natural Products in the North. The location of the course was at Gunnarsholt, the headquarters of the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland, Hella. Twelve international students participated and enjoyed the teaching of seven Nordic experts.
The PhD course is the second NOVA PhD course in the series “Climate Change Entomology in the North”, which focuses on the fundamental and drastic demands in agricultural entomology in the Nordic countries, associated with climate change.
Climate change is occurring faster in the Arctic than elsewhere in the globe, and we are already witnessing its consequences in natural and agricultural systems in the North. Warmer temperatures could benefit agricultural production at high latitudes, but can also facilitate insect pests that will be able to expand from lower latitudes. These complex interactions need to be considered, when designing sustainable agricultural practices. In this course the consequences of ongoing and predicted environmental changes on Arctic entomofauna, from individual to community responses, and the implications to agriculture and forestry were discussed.
The lecturers involved in the course were:
Guðmundur Halldórsson, Associate Professor, LBHI, Iceland
Bjarni Diðrik Sigurðsson, Professor, LBHI, Iceland
Isabel C Barrio, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Iceland, Iceland
Toke Thomas Høye, Senior Scientist, Aarhus University, Denmark
Heikki Hokkanen, Professor, University of Helsinki, Finland
Leena Lindström, University Lecturer, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Ingeborg Menzler-Hokkanen, Senior Postdoctoral Project Researcher, University of Helsinki, Finland
For the full report on the PhD course, please read here.