Past symposia

The CLIOTOP community has held three symposia in 2007, 2013, 2015 and 2018. Each symposia have provided important forums for identifying progress in overall understanding of oceanic predators and the impacts of climate change on ocean ecosystems over the lifetime of the CLIOTOP program. They have also provided important opportunities for the CLIOTOP community to come together to exchange ideas, establish connections and collaborations and develop new approaches to issues relevant to top predators and their marine ecosystems.

Fourth CLIOTOP Symposium, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan, China, 15 – 19 November 2018

The event page

The fourth CLIOTOP Symposium overall objectiv was:

1. Evaluate the responses to and impacts of climate variability and change on marine top predator species and their food chains, and dependent socio-economic and management systems over short to longer time scales.
2. Identify risk assessment and evaluation tools that incorporate climate variability in order to improve sustainable resource management (conservation, fisheries, spatial planning, etc.).
3. Develop and evaluate adaptation and mitigation strategies at the single species, multi-species and ecosystem scales that address the cumulative nature of pressures (e.g. climate change, tourism, noise, pollution, fishing) placed on top predators and the ecosystems that support them.

Third CLIOTOP Symposium, Donostia – San Sebastián, Spain, 14 – 18 September 2015

The event page

The third CLIOTOP Symposium, held in Spain, involved approximately 120 delegates from 24 countries spanning backgrounds in conservation biology, fisheries science, socio-economics, oceanography, conservation and fisheries management, meteorology and climate data management.
The overall objectives of the third symposium were to:

1. Evaluate impacts of climate variability and change over seasonal to decadal time scales on pelagic species and dependent socio-economic and management systems
2. Identify risk assessment and evaluation tools that incorporate climate variability in order to improve sustainable resource management (conservation, fisheries, spatial planning, etc.)
3. Identify sustainable pathways for coupled socio-ecological oceanic systems 
4. Position CLIOTOP science for the next 10-year phase as part of Future Earth, and build a collaborating community of scientists, managers, and policy-makers.

The third symposium detailed impacts on species from individual climate stressors, understanding the interactions of multiple stressors and the impacts on populations via changes in these, understanding the mid-trophic community responses to change and interactions with higher predator groups, exploring the various management approaches and socio-economic consequences, and evaluating adaptation options that can reduce vulnerability to climate change.
A special issue in Deep Sea Research II containing 29 papers was produced from the symposium. The symposium was also highlighted in the December 2015 IMBER newsletter 

Second CLIOTOP Symposium, Noumea, New Caledonia, 11 – 15 February 2013

The second CLIOTOP symposium, held in New Caledonia involved approximately 70 participants from 18 countries. The overall theme of the conference was ‘Certainty of change in pelagic systems – detection, attribution, prediction and adaptation’. Similarly to the first symposium topics addressed the five working groups of CLIOTOP as well as the cross cutting themes of pelagic conservation-fisheries management conflicts and understanding changes to fisheries under climate change.
The overall objectives of the second symposium were to:

1. Review the effects of climate and climate variability on seasonal to decadal time scales on species, fisheries and dependent socio-economic and management systems;
2. Review the current climate change impacts (including detection and attribution issues) and evaluate the impact of future climate change on pelagic species (prediction);
3. Identify risk assessment or management evaluation tools that incorporate climate variability in order to improve sustainable resource management (conservation, fisheries, spatial planning) though adaptation initiatives.

The second symposium made it clear that climate change is affecting the open ocean through interactions of stratification, deoxygenation, warming and acidification. The symposium highlighted that the research spotlight had advanced from a focus on documenting impacts from individual climate stressors, to understanding the interactions of multiple changes, exploring socio-economic consequences, and in some cases, evaluating adaptation options that can reduce vulnerability to climate change. This was particularly relevant for the area in which the symposium was held, where many Pacific islands and their communities are facing challenges associated with rising sea levels, higher intensities of cyclones and increasing demands for food security.A special issue in Deep Sea Research II containing 26 papers was produced from the symposium. The symposium was also highlighted in the April 2013 IMBER newsletter 

First CLIOTOP Symposium, La Paz, Mexico, 3 – 7 December 2007

The first CLIOTOP symposium, held in Mexico involved approximately 200 participants from 20 countries. Topics revolved around the five working groups of CLIOTOP including early life history, physiology, behaviour and distribution of top predators, trophic pathways in open ocean ecosystems, synthesis and modelling and socio-economic aspects and management strategies. Presentations also addressed the cross cutting themes of mesoscale issues, global change implications for management and conservation and future scientific challenges.
The overall objectives of the second symposium were to:

1. provide the marine science community with an up-to-date view on research and knowledge on top predators and their ecosystems, in a global change context;
2. identify future challenges that will have to be addressed to be in a position to effectively and sustainably manage these species and ecosystems, in a changing world.

The symposium covered an incredibly rich variety of species and taxa, regions, scales, disciplines, new techniques and models developed in a unique broad international and multi-disciplinary framework. The symposium highlighted that Observational efforts will have to continue, and while technological barriers are pushed forward, long-term data time-series needed to be pursued. New links with Regional Fisheries Management Organizations were identified as needing to be developed and existing ones reinforced.
A special issue in Progress in Oceanography containing 30 papers was produced from the symposium. The symposium was also highlighted in GLOBEC newsletter 14.1.