Reports of the triennium 2023-2026
Report 2024
Main activities 2024:
The Education in Chemical Ecology for the Anthropocene has formulated an international working committee who will help in the implementation of this program. The program has obtained permission from the International Society of Chemical Ecology (ISCE) to share the link of pedagogical material on Chemical Ecology developed in this project on the ISCE website. This will give wide publicity to the IUBS project.
The program engaged participants from India, Kenya, Malaysia, and South Africa, strengthening ties across these nations and supporting the development of joint initiatives. The outcome of this program will be an online freely available updated textbook in Chemical Ecology which will include “how to” videos and images to enable young researchers in the tropics to conduct experiments in chemical ecology and to understand its relevance in sustainable agriculture, biology of disease vectors, and conservation of biological diversity.
A new website has been created by A. Ankita Rani for the Grand Challenge: Education on Chemical Ecology in the Anthropocene, and it is available for free online access. This informative platform will feature a rich collection of photographs and cover various topics essential to understanding the principles of chemical ecology. The site aims to provide valuable resources and insights into how chemical interactions influence ecological relationships in our changing world, making it a significant educational tool for both students and enthusiasts of environmental science.
The development of the website is advancing steadily, and we are dedicated to creating a platform that offers high-quality, easily accessible information.
Website link: https://chemicalecology.my.canva.site/
Three online meetings were conducted with the steering committee members to discuss the project and website development
Report 2023
Main activities 2023:
We have formulated an international working committee who will help in the implementation of this programme. We have obtained permission from the International Society of Chemical Ecology (ISCE) to share the link of pedagogical material on Chemical Ecology developed in this project on the ISCE website. This will give wide publicity to the IUBS project. Members of the international working committee of this IUBS project participated in the 38th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Chemical Ecology which was held in Bangalore (23-27 July 2023). IUBS was also a sponsor of this meeting. The intention to generate pedagogical material was widely discussed.
Presentations of the programme at meetings/conferences/workshops:
The programme was introduced at the 38th Annual Meeting of ISCE held in Bangalore. There was enthusiastic support for the programme.
Development of partnership:
Members of the Scientific Advisory Committee of ISCE (2023) meeting in Bangalore have agreed to partner in this programme in terms of providing advice and feedback. These are Stefano Colazza, University of Palermo, Sicily, Italy; Etya Amselm, Pennsylvania State University, USA; Baldwyn Torto, International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology, Kenya; Alvin Hee, University Putra Malaysia; Andrés González, University of the Republic of Uruguay; Wei Xu; Murdoch University, Australia; Radhika Venkatesan, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, India; and Jyothilaxmi Vadaserry, National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, India. It can be seen that these members span a wide geography and represent all continents. The partners also have a wide array of expertise and include entomologists, chemists, plant molecular biologists and ecologists, and therefore form a good mixture to cover all aspects of chemical ecology.