Apeer-reviewed open-access journal

BioRisk 17: 1-5 (2022) 1 1
doi: 10.3897/biorisk.17.84978 EDITORIAL & B lO R IS k

https://biorisk.pensoft.net

International seminar of ecology — 2021
“Current trends of ecology”

Stephka Chankova'

| Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin street, Sofia
1113, Bulgaria

Corresponding author: Stephka Chankova (stephanie.chankova@yahoo.com)

Received 6 April 2022 | Accepted 6 April 2022 | Published 21 April 2022

Citation: Chankova S (2022) International seminar of ecology — 2021 “Current trends of ecology”. In: Chankova S,
Peneva V, Metcheva R, Beltcheva M, Vassilev K, Radeva G, Danova K (Eds) Current trends of ecology. BioRisk 17: 1-5.
https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.17.84978

Introduction

The term “ecology” was used for the first time in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel, who saw both
the descriptive natural history and observation field studies, as the main objectives of
ecology. During the last 155 years, ecology has evolved to the present multidisciplinary
field by cooperating with biogeochemistry, climatology, evolution, genetics, hydrology,
statistics, economics, social science, and others, in order to clarify and solve environ-
mental problems provoked by climate changes, invasive species, environmental pollu-
tion, etc. (Murrel et al. 2001; Carpenterand and Folke 2006; Corlett 2015). Humans,
as rational beings, aim to reduce and prevent environmental problems some of which
were discussed at the “International Seminar of Ecology - 2021", titled “Current trends

of Ecology“.

About the seminar

The annual Seminar of Ecology has a long-lived history. The first scientific event was
organized in 2007 by Section Biology, Union of Scientists in Bulgaria, and Central
laboratory of General Ecology, BAS as a platform for students, and scientists to share
their results and to discuss major ecological problems. The annual seminar became
a very popular forum for well-known researchers, young scientists, BSc, MSc, and
PhD students from Bulgaria and abroad. Each year, guest lecturers present their latest

Copyright Stephka Chankova. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY
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2 Stephka Chankova / BioRisk 17: 1-5 (2022)

reports at the main thematic areas of the Seminar, covering current and interesting
topics. Over the years, the seminar has been broadened. In 2014 it became a Seminar
of Ecology with international participation, and in 2019 it became known as the “In-
ternational Seminar of Ecology”. Due to the pandemic situation, the last two meetings
of the International Seminar of Ecology were carried out online. Through the years, the
Organizing Committee has kept the tradition to award the best oral presentations and
posters, of students and young scientists, with certificates and books. After a review by
independent reviewers, proceeding books were published with a corresponding ISBN.
In the last two years, selected papers were published in the journals Ecologia Balkanica,

BioRisk, and Phytologia Balcanica.

About this issue

This thematic special issue of BioRisk compiles materials presented at the International
Seminar of Ecology - 2021. The articles published here illustrate, approximately to the
full extent, the problems presented and discussed at the Seminar. During the first ses-
sion, devoted to the biotic and abiotic impact on the living nature, ecological risk, and
bioremediation, two complementary plenary reports were presented to the audience.
“Ecocide” introduced the auditora to the global effect of pesticides, radionuclides, and
petroleum products on target and non target organisms. The “Green and nano- pesti-
cides” report discussed their use, as alternatives to chemical pesticides.

A set of reports focused on the anthropogenic and environmental impact of heavy
metals, fungicides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and natural radionu-
clides provoked the interest of the participants and sparked a serious discussion. Based
on the correlation found between bacterial abundance, soil properties, and heavy metal
pollution, the discussion was focused on soil properties as a factor that can modulate
the effect of heavy metals, present in chronically contaminated soils. Different ap-
proaches to overcome environmental pollution were presented and discussed: zeolites
as detoxifying tools, microalgae for the treatment of contaminated water bodies, and
a newly developed bio-fertilizer, based on activated sludge combined with a bacte-
rial strain with detoxifying and plant growth-promoting properties. There is a clear
need to extend the existing monitoring programs, by including more bioindicators and
markers, in order to achieve a more detailed assessment of the environmental impact.
For example, sexually-manifested variations in the pigmentation of Boeckella poppei
(Copepoda: Calanoida) from the Livingston Island (Maritime Antarctica), were de-
scribed as a suitable indicator, reflecting the ongoing global environmental changes in
Antarctica. Changes in the antioxidant system of commercially important fish species
and mussels from the Bulgarian Black Sea coastal area, were recommended as markers
for the ongoing global environmental changes.

It was shown that by using various markers for the evaluation of environmentally
induced stress response at different levels (microbiological, molecular, biochemical), it
was possible to gain insights of the organisms’ protection and the mechanisms involved

International seminar of ecology — 2021 “Current trends of ecology” 3

in the formation of resistance to environmental impact. The contribution of increased
DNA repair capacity and AOS to the development of environmental tolerance or ad-
aptation was also shown. Important results for understanding the processes of pho-
toprotection, in either cyanobacteria or algae, and higher plants were obtained by in
vitro reconstitution of complexes of stress HIiA protein with pigments. The crucial
role of the cellular physiological state, as a critical factor in determining the resistance
to environmental stress with Q cells was demonstrated. Several papers were focused
on the action of bioactive substances with plants origin. The bioactivity was shown to
depend strongly on chemical composition. Origanum vulgare hirtum essential oil was
promoted as a promising candidate for the purposes of “green” technologies. Analyz-
ing secondary metabolites of plants, it was shown that their productivity in vitro is a
dynamic process closely related to the plant’s growth and development, and is in close
relation with the interactions of the plant with its environmental conditions.

In the plenary report of the ecological agriculture session, the impact of agriculture
on the environment, human health, energy crises, and climate changes was shown to
enforce policymakers and farmers to rethink the recent model of agricultural produc-
tion. It was pointed that, designing and implementing such an agricultural model
requires significant changes in the management of the farming systems, natural re-
sources, food-chain, and scientific approaches, in order to meet environmental and
societal demands. In this aspect, the link and interrelationship between traditional,
organic, and new plant breeding techniques including GMO and precision farming
were also considered.

In this context, the influence of the agricultural system type on essential oil pro-
duction and antioxidant activity of industrially-cultivated Rosa damascena Mill. in the
Rose valley (Bulgaria) was reported, comparing organic vs. conventional farming. The
rose extracts from organic farming were shown to accumulate more phenolic com-
pounds, corresponding to the higher antioxidant potential of organic roses.

A comparative study, based on official data from the statistics office of the Euro-
pean Union and the Member countries, concerning viral infection levels in intensive
and organic poultry farming, demonstrated that free-range production had a higher
incidence of viral diseases with a high zoonotical potential.

Pollinators of Lavandula angustifolia Mill., as an important factor for optimal pro-
duction of lavender essential oil were analyzed. It was concluded that, although laven-
der growers tend to place beehives in the fields for optimal essential oil production, it
was also crucial to preserve wild pollinators.

New data reported that essential oils and alkaloid-rich plant extracts had the
strongest acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity and could be recommended for fur-
ther testing for insect control.

The thematic session “Biodiversity. Conservation Biology” started with 3 plenary
lectures concerning the vegetation diversity on the territory of Bulgaria, genetic di-
versity in cork oak plantations in Portugal, and nematodes in two cold deserts - the
Antarctic and the Arctic. It was reported that the vegetation diversity of Bulgaria was
still not fully investigated. Grasslands, broad-leaved forests, and wetlands are the best-

4 Stephka Chankova / BioRisk 17: 1-5 (2022)

investigated habitats. Data concerning ruderal, shrubland, fringe and chasmophytic
vegetation in Bulgaria are scarce. The second report “Cork oak landscape: a sustainable
multi-use resource” presented the main results from a very long-lasting investigation,
spanning the last 2 decades, in order to understand cork oak genetics and to identify
“genes of interest for high-quality cork production’.

In ,, Nematodes of Extremes: Polar deserts“, both nematodes’ fauna and ecology in
two polar deserts - the Arctic and the Antarctic, were presented along a short historical
review of exploring these regions. Special attention was focused on the specific survival
adaptation strategies of nematodes and the good opportunity for the polar deserts to
be regarded as an ,,excellent model habitat - a natural laboratory to study and monitor
the impact of the global changes in the biotic communities”.

Other important problems were reported and discussed in this session: the oppor-
tunity of pest control using pteromalids as natural enemies of pests in various crops;
the main reasons responsible for the population decrease of bumblebees - habitat de-
struction, loss of floral resources, emerging diseases, and increased use of pesticides
(particularly neonicotinoids); the strong impact of temperature and wind on the dis-
tribution of zooplankton complexes in Mandra Reservoir, in Southeastern Bulgaria; an
alternative approach for the ex-situ conservation of Stachys thracica based on in vitro
shoot culture and its subsequent adaptation under ex vitro conditions.

The plenary report in the session “Ecosystem research and services. Landscape
ecology” asks the question: is it possible for us to become ecosystem-friendly people
again? In this report, ecosystems, as the fundamental functional units of the living
planet were discussed. The main problems, responsibilities, and goals of ecosystem
management were presented, as well as, the necessity to integrate ecological, economic,
and social goals into a unified management approach that requires urgent reorganiza-
tion of science and education.

In the next reports, new information was presented concerning pre-monitoring
geochemical research of river sediments in the area of Ada Tepe gold mining site (East-
ern Rhodopes). The obtained results illustrate that the explored landscapes have been
influenced by natural geochemical anomalies, as well as, impacted as a result of human
activity. The forests habitat diversity of Breznik Municipality was revealed, following
the EUNIS Classification and initial data from the Ministry of Environment and Wa-
ter and the Forestry Management Plans. It was shown that in addition to the domi-
nant species Quercus dalechampii, Quercus frainetto, Fagus sylvatica, Carpinus betulus,
some artificial plantations with Pinus nigra and Pinus sylvestris were also present, as
well as non-native species, such as Robinia pseudoacacia and Quercus rubra. Models for
Predicting Solution Properties and Solid-Liquid Equilibrium in Cesium Binary and
Mixed Systems were created. The results are of great importance for the development
of strategies and programs for nuclear waste geochemical storage.

In conclusion, many results in different areas of ecology were presented in the
Seminar, followed by interesting discussions. A lot of questions were answered, how-
ever many others remained open. A good platform for further discussion will be the
next International Seminar of Ecology - 2022, entitled “Actual problems of Ecology”.

International seminar of ecology — 2021 “Current trends of ecology” 5

Acknowledgements

The annual “International Seminar of Ecology - 2021” was held in September 29-30
in Sofia, Bulgaria online. It was organized by Section “Biology” —Union of scientists in
Bulgaria and Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulg. Acad. Sci. with
the financial support of Ltd Pensoft and BULGAP Ltd. We would like to thank the
organizing committee, scientific secretaries, the scientific committee of this Seminar,
and the participants from Bulgaria and abroad.

References

Carpenterand SR, Folke C (2006) Ecology for transformation. Trends in Ecology and Evolu-
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Corlett RT (2015) The Anthropocene concept in ecologyand conservation. Trends in Ecology
and Evolution [January] 30(1): 36-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2014.10.007

Murrell DJ, Purves DW, Law R (2001) Uniting pattern and process in plant ecology. Trends in
Ecology and Evolution 16: 529-530. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(01)02292-3