3 October 2002

 

 

 

Emil Fulajtar

Scientific Secretary

COST Environmental Research Activities

European Commission,  

DG Research, COST Secretariat

Square de Meeus 8, B‑1050, Brussels, Belgium

 

 

COST 626 – EAMN – Request for Working Group 3 meeting 11-14 December 2002

 

 

During last joint WG and MC meeting in Oulu, Finland on May 30-31 this year, we outlined further work and decided what topics to focus our research on. Working Group 3 agreed to focus on scaling issues in aquatic and habitat model applications which links with most WG member’s current national funded research. To avoid overlapping and to ensure integration and motivate research collaboration, Working Group 3 of COST Action 626 would like to organise a meeting in Ghent, Belgium, 11-14 December 2002. In addition to the WG 3 members, a few members from WG 1 and 2 will also like to participate. The local organiser will be Ghent University.

 

Organising Contact person:       Peter Goethals

Aquatic Ecology Research Unit

Department of Applied Ecology and Environmental Biology

Ghent University

J. Plateaustraat 22

B-9000 Gent

Belgium

e-mail: peter.goethals@rug.ac.be

Tel: +32 (0)9 264 37 76

Fax: +32 (0)9 264 41 99

Mobile: +32 (0)479 998 171

 

Site of the Meeting:                   Café Rotonde

Kortrijksesteenweg 1

B-9000 Gent

Tel: +32 (0)9 222 34 43

Fax: +32 (0)9 368 22

 

The most important goals and objectives of the meeting are:

- Information exchange: To present all ongoing research related to scaling among WG 3 members.

- To discuss how to integrate and avoid overlapping within this research.

- Enhance research collaboration among COST Action 626 partners related to the topic of scaling.

 

Agenda for Working Group 3 meeting 11-14 December 2002

 

December 11:                         

Arrival of delegates, dinner and social event in the evening.

 

December 12:                         

Introduction

09:00               Welcome and practical information by local organiser by Péter Goethals.

09:15               Election of “Scaling topics” chairman and meeting rapporteur. Short discussion on common goals for this meeting, by Harm Duel.

09:40               Report from other WG activities and Small Group Meeting on editing our state-of-the-art report, by Atle Harby.

 

Presentation of ongoing research relevant to scaling

09:50               An overview of scale-related problems in the water science and available tools (models, GIS, etc), by Tor Haakon Bakken.

10:15               Morpho-hydraulic characterizations using volume/surface percentage of depth and current velocity cross-classification. The interest of this approach for upscaling, by Yann LeCoarer.

 

10:40               Coffee break

 

11:00               Development of a decision support system for fish management at different spatial scales in the Scheldt river basin, by Peter Goethals.

11:25               Validating meso-scale mapping using detailed spatial hydraulic measurements. British experiences by Mike Dunbar.

11:50               Validating meso-scale mapping using detailed spatial hydraulic measurements. Norwegian experiences by Péter Borsányi.

 

12:15               Lunch break

 

13:15               Use of scaling methods for environmental flow determination in Slovenia, by Natasa Smolar-Zvanut.

13:40               Relations between structural characteristics and macro invertebrate communities in the Zwalm river basin at different spatial scales, by Veronique Adriaenssens, Tom D'heygere, Andy Dedecker & Niels De Pauw.

13:55               Effects of hydraulic changes on invertebrates: Predictions at a reach scale from local observations, by Sylvie Merigoux.

 

14:20               Coffee break

 

14:40               Habitat modeling with CASIMIR: Development of a meso-scale model extension using visually assessed parameters, by Franz Kerle.

15:05               Scaling salmon and trout microhabitat modelling of small river reaches to large rivers. Strategies and application, by Atle Harby.

15:30               Evaluation of stream restoration options using habitat simulation, by Diego García de Jalón.

 

15:55               Coffee break

 

Discussions

16:15               Definition of  “Scale terminology" and discussions. Introduction and preparation by Péter Borsanyi.

 

18:00               End of session

 

19:30               Common dinner at local restaurant.

                                   

                                                                 

December 13:                         

Presentations continues

09:00               Invited speaker: Piotr Parasiewicz, Cornell University, USA:

                        Habitat modelling across the scales using MesoHABSIM.

09:45               Illustrations of the impact of different spatial scales on model based ecosystem valuation outcomes in the Zwalm river basin, by Jan Jaap Bouma and Peter Goethals.

 

10:30               Coffee break

 

10:45               Hydraulic and habitat modelling at different scales – a problem or an advantage? Kjetil Arne Vaskinn.

11:15               Linkages between physical habitats and macroinvertebrates: The importance

                        of scale, by Nikolai Feilberg.

 

11:45               Lunch

 

Discussions

13:00               Examples for scaling problems based on the presentations earlier today, discussions and categorizations of scaling problems. Preparation by Harm Duel.

 

15:00               Coffee break

 

15:20               Discussion in three small groups on the topics:

                        - Uncertainty in scaling.

                        - Is the scaling of different taxa (invertebrates, juvenile fish, adult fish) with same methodology possible?

                        - Downscaling from catchments to local data. A scientific method or just inverse integration?

16:40               Report and discussion from group work in plenary session.

 

17:00               Identification of collaboration within the topic of scaling. Proposed collaborative research for COST 626 members. Discussion and conclusion

19:00               End of meeting.

 

December 14:

Excursions and social events organized by the local organizer.               

 

The participants for the meeting will be:

 

Denmark                      Nikolai Feilberg

Belgium                        Veronique Adriaenssens

Andy Dedecker

Tom D'heygere

Peter Goethals

Niels de Pauw

France                          Yann leCoarer

Sylvie Merigoux

Germany                      Franz Kerle

Netherlands                  Jan Jaap Bouma (works both in Netherlands and Belgium, but not in Ghent)

Harm Duel

Norway                        Tor Haakon Bakken

                        Péter Borsányi

Atle Harby

Kjetil Arne Vaskinn

Slovenia                       Natasa Smolar-Zvanut

Spain                            Diego García de Jálon

United Kingdom           Mike Dunbar

USA                            Piotr Parasiewicz (invited speaker)

 

 

I anticipate that in total there will be 19 Working Group members, and 11 Working Group members eligible for reimbursement (in bold letters in the participant list). We would also like to invite Dr Piotr Parasiewicz from Cornell University in USA. This will be applied for in a separate letter.

 

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

 

Michael J Dunbar

Leader of COST 626 Working Group 3