The ISLAND BIOLOGY CONFERENCE 2023 (3rd – 7th July 2023)

The Aeolian Islands

The 4th Society of Island Biology Conference will take place on the 3rd – 7th July 2023, in the Aeolian Islands, a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea, north of Sicily.

This archipelago (also referred to as the Lipari Islands) includes 7 main islands with a total surface of about 115 km2. There is still volcanic activity here, like steaming fumaroles, thermal waters and two active volcanoes – Stromboli and Vulcano.

The islands are named after the Greek god Aeolus, keeper of winds and king of the mythical, floating island of Aeolia. The legendary Odysseus, on his travels to return home from Troy, visited Aiolos island and was entrusted with an oxhide bag containing all of the winds to ensure a safe voyage home.

Since the Middle Neolithic that human settlers colonized these islands, which had a very fertile soil. Later on, the Greek colony of Lipára was known for its exports of Aluminum, Sulphur, and production of its own pottery wares. The fuelwood used in these industrial activities were most likely responsible for the collapse of the local forests.

Up to the 19th century, the Aeolian economy was successful, with the trade of local agricultural products and mineral extraction. But the economic crisis triggered massive emigration towards the Americas and Australia. This tendency was reversed in the last decades, thankfully to tourism, but this activity is currently a major threat to coastal ecosystems.

3) Evolution of islands and their biotas

Understanding island evolution is essential to explain their biotas. Reconstructing island origin (e.g., land bridge vs. oceanic), age and historical transformations, are of extreme importance for developing and testing ecological and evolutionary hypotheses. Island histories are intimately associated with the evolution of their biotas, and isolated areas offer many exceptional opportunities for evolutionary studies. This section will be focused on (but not limited to) contributions dealing with island geology, paleogeography and paleoecology.

5) Humans and islands 

Some islands are home to million people and human density in small islands can be extremely high. Human presence has profoundly shaped many island landscapes. Consequently, human-induced ecological transformations on islands are paradigmatic of processes and mechanisms of high general interest. Island characteristics obviously conditioned the history of human presence and the ecological trajectories of human populations. This section is devoted to contributions dealing with the influence of island features on the history, evolution, and current characteristics of human populations and societies.