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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Dr. Thomas Mehner, limnologist and fish ecologist at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin, took office as 13th President of the International Society of Limnology (SIL) today. SIL is an international specialist society whose members are devoted to the processes in inland waters such as lakes, rivers and wetlands, as well as the changes caused by warming, eutrophication or pollution.
The Societas Internationalis Limnologiae Theoreticae et Applicatae – as the society was originally named – was founded in 1922 by the German ecologist and father of limnology August Thienemann, making it the oldest limnological society in the world. For a long time, SIL was one of the most important platforms for scientific exchange within limnology across German, European and international borders. Almost 100 years later it is time for a strategic repositioning. As the new president, Thomas Mehner wants to push forward the change his predecessor Yves Prairie, Professor of Limnology at the Université du Québec à Montréal, has already initiated: “Since nowadays science has completely different possibilities for networking, we have to – or better yet: we have the chance to – rethink the traditional structures within the International Society of Limnology and develop SIL into a practice-relevant specialist society with clear objectives and research priorities. With our combined international expertise we can address environmentally and socially relevant problems worldwide – and also position ourselves in environmental policy.”
In the future, SIL members from developing and emerging countries shall be much better connected with researchers from industrial nations in order to address local challenges in research and water protection on a global scale. In addition, young limnologists are to be increasingly addressed by the programmatic orientation – their urge for research that makes a difference should then once again infect the ‘old hands’.
SIL and its members have the best prerequisites for this reorientation: The current 1300 members come from 70 countries and the disciplines of biology, chemistry, physics, geology or mathematics. Every two years they meet for six days to combine theory and practice and identify new research needs. In 2022, the SIL Congress will take place in Berlin and will also be an anniversary celebration. SIL and its new president hope that the programmatic renewal will already be visible for the 100th anniversary: “I would like to achieve that the international community of researchers in SIL develops a scientifically founded position on the most important questions of ecology and management of water bodies – and also represents these in public. This is the only way for SIL to fully fulfil its founding mandate.”
About Thomas Mehner:
Dr. Thomas Mehner is an expert in limnology and aquatic ecology. He heads the Food Web Ecology and Fish Communities Research Group at IGB and is a lecturer in fish ecology at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. For the past three years he has been Deputy Director (a. i.) of IGB. SIL, which he joined 25 years ago, was his first specialist society – with a lasting impression.
About the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB):
The Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, IGB, is an interdisciplinary research centre dedicated to the creation, dissemination, and application of knowledge about freshwater ecosystems. Working in close partnership with the scientific community, government agencies, as well as the private sector, guarantees the development of innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges facing freshwater ecosystems and human societies. https://www.igb-berlin.de/en
Media information at a glance: https://www.igb-berlin.de/en/newsroom
Subscribe to IGB’s newsletter: https://www.igb-berlin.de/en/newsletter
IGB on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/LeibnizIGB
Dr. Thomas Mehner
Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB)
Telephone: +49 (0)30 64181 602
E-Mail: mehner@igb-berlin.de
https://www.igb-berlin.de/en/news/sil > Read the interview with Thomas Mehner about his ideas for a realignment of the International Society of Limnology
https://limnology.org/ > Website of the International Society of Limnology
Dr. Thomas Mehner
David Ausserhofer
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Thomas Mehner, limnologist and fish ecologist at IGB in Berlin, took over his office as president of ...
Katharina Bunk / IGB
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Biology, Chemistry, Environment / ecology, Geosciences
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Dr. Thomas Mehner
David Ausserhofer
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Thomas Mehner, limnologist and fish ecologist at IGB in Berlin, took over his office as president of ...
Katharina Bunk / IGB
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