National and international researchers specialized in animal behavior will meet in Seville starting today and running until Friday, September 5 for the XIX National Congress and XVI Ibero-American Congress of Ethology and Evolutionary Ecology. The event will take place in the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Biology at the University of Seville.

The Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC) will play an essential role in the development and functioning of the congress. The organizing committee, led by Josué Martínez de la Puente, includes 11 members of the EBD scientific staff, while 5 will participate in the scientific committee. In addition, over the four days, EBD researchers will contribute through oral communications and scientific poster sessions.

The sessions will cover a wide range of topics related to animal behavior and evolutionary ecology and will feature the participation of leading scientists in these disciplines.

The renowned ethologist Dr. Tim Clutton-Brock, from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom), will deliver the opening lecture, focusing on his long-term studies on the evolutionary significance of different reproductive strategies in animals, with special emphasis on cooperative breeding in some mammal species, such as meerkats—charismatic subjects of his decades-long research in Africa.

The congress will also feature the distinguished researcher Dr. David W. Macdonald (University of Oxford, United Kingdom), who will give the closing lecture on his field studies of badgers in Wytham Woods. His nearly 50 years of intensive research have focused on the behavior, ecology, epidemiology, evolutionary biology, and conservation of mammals. His studies have generated extensive data on various aspects of badger life, including their social structures, reproductive strategies, and responses to environmental changes.

The congress venue will be the Aula Magna of the Faculty of Biology at the University of Seville, located on the Reina Mercedes Campus.

The organizing committee hopes that this meeting, held under the auspices of the Spanish Society of Ethology and Evolutionary Ecology (SEEE), will serve as a forum to learn about and discuss the latest advances in animal behavior research. The event brings together not only scientists but also students, conservationists, and enthusiasts who share a common goal: their admiration for nature and animals, and the preservation of biodiversity on our planet.

The congress takes place as the Spanish Society of Ethology and Evolutionary Ecology (SEEE) celebrates its 32nd anniversary. The SEEE was founded with the aim of fostering collaboration and communication among Spanish-speaking ethology professionals, and of disseminating ethological knowledge through publications, conferences, talks, and the teaching of ethology in academic programs.

Congress website: https://xixcongresoetoecoevo.wordpress.com/