After the well-working collaboration with Prof. Dr. Bart Van de Vijver (Botanical Garden Meise in Belgium), resulting in the description of a new centric diatom from Lake Kinneret/Israel, Hannah Vossel got an invitation from the Dutch-Flemish Society of Diatomists (NVKD) to give a talk on their annual meeting in June in Mont Rigi, Belgium.
The meeting started with a taxonomical workshop about the diatom genera Navicula sensu stricto held by Prof. Dr. Bart Van de Vijver. We discussed various species within this genus theoretically and afterwards (if present) in own samples – or original reference material.
The second day was filled with seven lectures of international guest researchers (including Hannah Vossel’s presentation). Presented topics covered wide fields in diatom research, e.g., The usage of metabarcoding for water quality assessment using diatoms; New species concepts affect counting protocol and ecological assessment; Paleolimnological studies from Israel, Scotland and the Netherlands; and Mazedonia showing the diatom response and diversity in ancient lakes under the pressure of Quaternary climate change.
The meeting was closed with a nice conference dinner in the evening and a small excursion on Sat morning, where we visited the Vallée de la Hoegne (Hohes Venn), a small oligotrophic valley.
Group of participants of the annual meeting of NVKD in Mont Rigi, Beglium. Photo: Gert van Ee |
Hannah Vossel giving her talk and explaining the aims of the CRC 806. Photo: Gert van Ee |