At the beginning of this session will be played a 5-minute presidents welcome video. 

This session examines the physiological mechanisms that enable animal species to shift their ranges or become invasive under global change. By integrating experimental, molecular, and organismal physiology with ecological and biogeographical perspectives, we explore how tolerance limits, phenotypic plasticity, and trait architectures shape species’ capacity to cross thermal and geographical boundaries. The session explicitly aligns with the Society for Experimental Biology’s mission by placing comparative experimental biology at the core of understanding biodiversity responses to environmental
change. We highlight how climate variability, extreme events, and increasing environmental heterogeneity favour adaptable, stress-tolerant organisms, promoting processes such as tropicalization, range expansion, and biological invasions across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial animal systems. Contributions will address how molecular and cellular responses scale up to whole-organism performance, population persistence, and community reassembly, and how shared physiological pathways underpin species establishment and spread in novel environments. Bringing together cutting-edge work in animal physiology, molecular ecology, phenotyping, and modelling, this session aims to bridge experimental biology and large-scale biodiversity
redistribution science. By fostering cross-taxonomic and cross-system comparisons, the session will provide mechanistic insight essential for predicting ecological reorganization and informing conservation and management strategies in the Anthropocene.

Session Organisers: Dr. Sara Carolina Gusmão Coito Madeira & Catarina Maria Batista Vinagre



A11: Crossing Boundaries, Crossing Distances: Physiology of Species Undergoing Range Shifts and Invasions

At the beginning of this session will be played a 5-minute presidents welcome video. 

Biologists are concerned with life, and engineers study technology. Biomechanics is where both meet, as it is the study of the technology of living things - as biomechanists, we study the mechanical principles and function of biological systems, at any organisational level - including the molecular, cellular, meso- and organismal scale - and across all kingdoms - plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and what have you. This breadth is reflected in our name: we are open to and excited about contributions from colleagues that stem from a wide range of disciplines, including zoologists, botanists, molecular biologists, physiologists, kinesiologists, mathematicians, engineers, biomimeticists, computer scientists, chemists and much more.

At the SEB Annual Conference, we host Biomechanics presentations in podium and poster sessions, which cover a broad range of general biomechanical topics, including animal locomotion, feeding, functional morphology, muscle-tendon mechanics, biological materials, evolutionary biomechanics, biorobotics, etc. We also run special sessions, contributed and organised by members of our vibrant, broad and inclusive community. We are friendly, and we are welcoming - come and join us!

**Session Aims & Objectives**

Our sessions are open to anyone interested in biomechanics and/or functional morphology at any scale and in any kingdom - be it molecular, cellular or organismal, and in plants, bacteria, animals or whatever else. We welcome speakers from all scientific and engineering fields, and particularly encourage presentations from post-graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and other early career scientists.

Session Organiser: Dr. Pauline Provini

A16: Open Biomechanics

At the beginning of this session will be played a 5-minute presidents welcome video. 

In evolutionary terms, Homo sapiens are just one terminal branch on a tree of life that has a crown of millions. Because we ourselves are humans, however, research into this one species has a special focus - many scientists who study the human condition never research other species. On the flip side, many animal biologists never study humans, seeing them as a special case and somehow fundamentally different to all other organisms. Siloing humans versus other animals within scientific disciplines impedes the dissemination of ideas, theories and methods. This session seeks to break down some of those barriers between human and animal biologists.

Session Organisers: Prof. Lewis Halsey and Prof. Shaun Killen





A1: We’re just another animal: Sharing ideas techniques and approaches between fields of human and animal study

At the beginning of this session will be played a 5-minute presidents welcome video. 

Aerobic metabolism, or the fire of Life that most efficiently generates the ATP required to support the vast range of animal activity, relies on the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide at the organs of respiration and metabolically active tissues, and the transport of these gases between them. The physiology of respiratory gas transport and exchange is thus at the core of Animal Physiology and many of its sub disciplines and interest groups in the SEB Animal Section, namely the Animal Respiration, Ecophysiology, Osmoregulation, Conservation Physiology, and Thermobiology Interest Groups.

This session will cover mechanistic aspects of respiratory gas transport and exchange across different animal groups and biological scales—from molecular to whole organism to ecosystem levels. A second focus is on examples of environmental and evolutionary integration of respiratory gas transport and exchange.

For example, SEB conferences in the past have heavily featured studies on metabolic rates across animal groups under different conditions. This session aims to integrate mechanistic respiratory physiology with whole-organism biology and environmental constraints, helping to unify (where possible) insights across multiple and disparate studies.

The session features two invited speakers and a series of talks and posters chosen from submitted abstracts. We especially welcome submissions that clearly incorporate the spirit of the session theme.

Session Organiser: Dr. Michael Berenbrink



A6: Integrative Physiology of Respiratory Gas transport and Exchange

At the beginning of this session will be played a 5-minute presidents welcome video. 

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are no longer viewed solely as damaging by-products of metabolism, but as essential signalling molecules that regulate growth, development, stress responses across all domains of life. Precise control of ROS production, localization, and timing allows cells to translate oxidative signals into adaptive responses that promote resilience under changing environmental conditions. This session will explore molecular mechanisms of ROS signalling, highlighting emerging technologies and how ROS signalling operates in different biological systems. By bringing together researchers working in plant, animal, and microbial models, the session will showcase an integrated view of conserved redox principles alongside context-specific pathways.

Session Organiser: Salma Akter

C1: Reactive Oxygen Species in Cellular Function: Signals of Resilience

At the beginning of this session will be played a 5-minute presidents welcome video. 

Session Organiser: Dr. Shane Austin




C2: Signalling and Cellular Adaptation: Mechanisms of Stress Response and Differentiation

At the beginning of this session will be played a 5-minute presidents welcome video. 

This session will be of interest to anyone involved in teaching in higher education, and of particular interest to teaching-focused staff and early career researchers interested in good pedagogical practice and scholarship. This session will focus on practical strategies for building resilience in bioscience education through formative assessment, reflective learning, and interdisciplinary approaches. It will explore how constructive feedback and learning through failure can help students develop confidence and persistence, mirroring the iterative nature of scientific research.

The session will also highlight the role of skills frameworks and structured reflection in supporting adaptability and career readiness. By connecting academic experiences to transferable competencies, these approaches enable learners to take ownership of their development and respond effectively to uncertainty and change. Finally, the session will showcase how interdisciplinary teaching fosters flexible thinking and collaboration, preparing graduates for complex, real-world challenges.

Participants will gain insights into course designs and practices that encourage creativity and resilience, equipping students to thrive in dynamic scientific and professional environments.

Session Organisers: Dr. Laura McCaughey & Dr. Anna McGregor


OED1: Cultivating Resilience in Bioscience Education: Feedback Failure Reflection and Interdisciplinary Learning

At the beginning of this session will be played a 5-minute presidents welcome video. 

Systems biology enables interactions between plant components to be characterised, often using predictive modelling and large-scale omics datasets. In recent years, the acceleration of Next Generation Sequencing techniques and the development of single cell analyses and other methods have increased the complexity of information that biologists can generate. On the other hand, the emergence of AI technologies broaden the research questions that can be tackled by providing new means for data integration and mining. This workshop will unite researchers across career stages and across these diverse areas of study who are keen to share insights in order to drive new understanding of plant biology.

Session Organisers: Prof. Miriam Gifford, Dr. Gabriel Krouk & Prof. Rodrigo Gutierrez

**This session is proudly sponsored by **

**The Journal of  Experimental Botany**

![](https://assets.underline.io/markdown_image/1/image/0e8eccef669f7eba31f692f3c6a9be82.png)

**The  Plant Journal** 

![](https://assets.underline.io/markdown_image/1/image/44bf32a76c735e5f3fbfd3e5fc752e32.png)

**Fundación Instituto de Biología Integrativa**

![](https://assets.underline.io/markdown_image/1/image/631733e7fa9bab5e0fdf7fcd24e6e26a.png)

P2: International Plant Systems Biology

At the beginning of this session will be played a 5-minute presidents welcome video. 

Plants produce thousands of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) used in their communication within and amongst individuals in interactions with animals (pollinators, frugivores, and pests), pathogens and beneficial microorganisms. VOC profiles are modulated by circadian rhythms, development and stress responses.  We will cover plant VOC biosynthesis, release and perception resulting in communication, with an emphasis on communication resulting in increased stress resilience. As well as fundamental studies on plant biochemistry and signalling we will include applications of VOCs in priming for stress tolerance and as markers in development, and in post-harvest biology to assess changes in metabolism.

Session Organisers: Hilary Rogers & Natasha Spadafora

**This session is produly sponsored by**

**Markes**

![](https://assets.underline.io/markdown_image/1/image/688f184723f3572217fd317db1b8ccfa.png)

**Journal of Experimental Botany**

![](https://assets.underline.io/markdown_image/1/image/4531099d171913ce5ecc208ccca16a23.png)

P3: Talking about resilience: Volatile organic compounds in plant communication

At the beginning of this session will be played a 5-minute presidents welcome video. 

This session will focus on the role of noncoding RNAs in developmental processes. We will consider a broad variety of plant and animal models and put a special focus on siRNAs and long noncoding RNAs, two molecule types that are only beginning to emerge as important players in developmental biology.

Sessioon Organisers: Rainer Melzer & Dr. Zixia Huang

P7: siRNAs and long noncoding RNAS in plant and animal development

SEB’s Annual Conference is celebrated for creating the perfect composition of research, new discoveries, and collaborative connections. Be creative and innovative by exchanging ideas and knowledge with masters of biology from all over the world.

**This year’s theme is “Resilience.”**

Each year at our Annual Conference, we honour George Parker Bidder and Harold Woolhouse with two key Plenary Lectures. These lectures, along with the Cell Biology and OED Plenary Lecture, are given by scientists prominent in their field and are nominated by the committees of their respective sections.<br>

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SEB Annual Conference Florence 2026

SEB’s Annual Conference is celebrated for creating the perfect composition of research, new discoveries and collaborative connections. Be creative and innovative by exchanging ideas and knowledge with masters of biology from all over the world. 

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