Detailed programme
Thursday, 9 October
8:15 Registration & poster placement
9:15 Opening session
09:30 Plenary talk ⋅ Thomas Bruce (University of Oxford, UK) ⋅ Scaling Conservation Impact in Drylands with Sensor Networks and Big Data
10:00 Oral Presentations
Diversity, distribution and conservation of land mammals from NW Saudi Arabia
Raquel N. de Oliveira
Desert echoes: Unravelling bat diversity and ecology in Saudi Arabia’s underexplored landscapes
Diogo F. Ferreira
Challenging the heat: Reproductive ecology of Green turtles in the arid Red Sea at Ras Baridi beach, Saudi Arabia
Ricardo Ramalho
11:00 Coffee break
11:30 Oral Presentations
Angolan geckos: Diversity and conservation
Javier Lobon-Rovira
Habitat selection and movement behaviour of wild ungulates in the Namib Desert, Southwest Angola
Milciades Chicomo
Sex-based breeding behaviour and habitat use in the Eurasian Stone-curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus) in Southwest Iberia
Inês Medeiros
Seasonal variation in the trophic niche of the Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax) in the Iberian Peninsula revealed by DNA metabarcoding
Patrícia Teixeira
Desert webs: exploring lynx spider (Oxyopidae) diversity in the Arabian Peninsula using morphological and genetic approaches
Fenja Marret Noller
13:00 Lunch
14:30 Plenary talk ⋅ Gabriel Mochales-Riaño (New York University Abu Dhabi) ⋅ From genes to fangs: Discovering the evolutionary history of the genus Cerastes through Genomics
15:00 Oral Presentations
Desert survival written in the genome: The evolutionary power of gene expansions
André Filipe Ferreira Silva
Natural selection drove the frequency of ginger rabbits in the red dunes of the Australian desert
Joel Alves
Genomics reveal a complex evolutionary history of Arabian sandfish skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: Scincus)
Vojtěch Waldhauser
16:00 Coffee break
16:30 Oral Presentations
Evolutionary insights into the zoogeographic enigma: Biogeography of the Arabian and Asian Eurylepis skinks
Jiri Smid
Spatiotemporal patterns of rodent genetic diversity in the Sudanian Savanna
Laura Brosseau-Acquaviva
Towards the integrative taxonomy of desert gerbils (Gerbillus)
Barbora Pavlíčková
Bioenergetic strategies in desert income and capital breeders
Zbyszek Boratyński
Combining genomics and paleoclimatic modelling to assess the evolutionary history of Peringueyi’s adder (Bitis peringueyi)
Fernando Martínez-Freiría
18:00 Poster Session
19:00 Welcome Ceremony
Friday, 10 October
09:30 Plenary talk ⋅ Mike Letnic (University of New South Wales, Australia) ⋅ Dispossession, Degradation and Extinction: Impacts of colonisation on the ecology of arid Australia
10:00 Oral Presentations
Forests on the edge: Tracking regeneration collapse in the Arabian highlands
Mohammed Darwish
A proposed rubric for rapid assessment of Ecosystem Restoration Potential in Saudi Arabia’s arid ecosystems
Ricardo Ramalho
Understanding predator-prey dynamics in arid ecosystems: Insights from occupancy models and activity patterns
Leili Khalatbari
Megabat-human interface at recreational swimming pools in arid Saudi Arabia
Shamsudeen Fagbo
11:00 Coffee break
11:30 Oral Presentations
A dive into the forgotten bats of Morocco: Investigating seasonal activity and roost selection in a severely polluted and extremely dry semi-arid forest
Omar Machich
Desperate (serial) breeders: Low breeding success of two declining steppe birds revealed by remote tracking and field data
Gonçalo Ferraz
Water source use and pond selection by Iberian sandgrouse in semi-arid landscapes
Ana Teresa Marques
Microclimates and Steppe birds interplay in a warming world
Beatriz C. Saldanha
High-resolution Sentinel-Fusion mapping of seasonal ponds in arid and semi-arid environments: Accuracy assessment, reproducibility, and biodiversity implications
Francesco Valerio
13:00 Lunch
14:30 Plenary talk ⋅ Magdy El-Bana (Red Sea Zone, Saudi Arabia) ⋅ Native sand trapping plants (Nebkhas) as nature-based solutions for combating desertification and biodiversity loss in arid regions
15:00 Oral Presentations
Dispersal–germination trade-off in Acacia tortilis in arid ecosystems of the United Arab Emirates
Hatem A. Shabna
Invasive birds of Saudi Arabia: Risk assessment and control strategies for biodiversity conservation in an arid region
Luís Reino
Exploring the implications of ungulate population dynamics for conservation and recovery efforts in the Middle East
Ahmed Aljohani
Local community use of natural resources in the Red Sea Zone, northwestern Saudi Arabia: Insights for wildlife conservation and sustainable utilization
Martina Panisi
16:00 Coffee break
16:30 Oral Presentations
Dryland Rehabilitation at Scale: Saudi Arabia’s National Greening Program
Ahmad Alanazi
Use of Greater flamingo’s nest characteristics as a tool for conservation planning
Imed Djemadi
The crocodile’s maze: Navigating a human-made world
Cristian Pizzigalli
Post-release food habit assessment of the critically endangered and newly re-introduced Addax (Addax nasomaculatus) in the Iriki National park, South-eastern Morocco
Siham Bellout
Rediscovering Morocco’s most Endangered species: A bibliometric analysis and methodological proposal for the study and conservation of the Striped hyena
Salma El Marrkechy
Red list of the Algerian herpetofauna
Menad Beddek
18:00 Closing Ceremony
20:00 Conference Dinner
- Unveiling Lichen Diversity in Arid Landscapes: An Inventory of AlUla County and Khaybar White Volcano Geopark, Saudi Arabia
Joana Marques - The First Checklist of Lichens in Mauritania
Cristóvão Ribeiro - Phytochorology of Certain Plant Species Collected in Saharan Regions of Algeria
Atika Benrima - Description of Plant Communities in the Biotopes of the Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria Forsk. 1775 (Insecta, Acrididae) in Southern Algeria
Atika Benrima - Three new species reveal the Caatinga as a diversity centre for Cordia sect. Gerascanthus (P. Browne) G. Don (Cordiaceae)
José Iranildo Miranda de Melo - A morphologically peculiar group of Cordia L. (Cordiaceae) restricted to South American dry forests
Marcio Gleisson Medeiros Gonçalves - Positive perspectives on the gastrointestinal nematode status of the critically endangered Addax in the Iriki National park, South-eastern Morocco
Moulay Abdeljalil Ait Baamrane - Gut Parasite Diversity and Distribution in Guinea Baboons and West African Crocodiles Across the Aridity Gradient in West Africa
Tea Zulčić - Sandy eDNA – a pilot study in the desert of Saudi Arabia
Bárbara Santos - Contribution to the Biological Characterization of Wetland Soil: Case Study of Medjana, Bordj Bou Arreridj Province
(Algeria)
Fethi Abbassi - Evaluating DNA Collection Methods for Non-invasive Genetic Monitoring in Desert Conditions
Maryam Mostajeran - Phylogeny and colonisation dynamics of Oxycara beetles (Tenebrionidae) in the arid and semi-arid island ecosystems of Cabo Verde
Pilar Jurado-Angulo - Contribution to the study of the biodiversity of Hybotidae (Diptera) in the arid zones of Morocco: Case of the Anti-Atlas region
Laila Zouhair - Inventory of the Entomofauna Associated with Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) in the Khenchela Region: Implications for Sustainable Management of Mediterranean Forests
Fethi Abbassi - Bug Appétit! Exploring the potential insect pests in the Diets of Desert-Dwelling Vertebrates in AlUla, Saudi Arabia
Vidak Lakušić - Phylogeography of wall geckos, genus Tarentola, across arid North African landscapes
André Vicente Liz - First phylogeographic assessment of the diademed sand snake (Colubridae: Lytorhynchus) across the Saharo-Arabian desert belt
Ricardo Mota - Uncover the unexplored: Diversity, phylogeny and biogeography of the African lacertid genus Latastia
Denis Hlaváč - Big and small: how do we fit all? Morphological evolution of sympatric and allopatric populations of small and giant island geckos
Catarina J. Pinho - First confirmed inland breeding population of the globally vulnerable Sooty Falcon (Falco concolor) in Saudi Arabia
Bruno Herlander Martins - Occurrence of the Egyptian Vulture in Algeria: need of systematic census for threatened raptor
Moussouni Abdenour - Bird Diversity and Community Structure Across Arid Landscapes of AlUla, Saudi Arabia
Jaime Sousa - ARUs in the desert: Using Passive Acoustic Monitoring to unravel owl ecology in the arid environment of AlUla, Saudi Arabia
João Salvador Falé - Morphological responses of Mus musculus to the arid conditions of Cabo Verde
Lara Almeida - Diversity in dorsal pelage colouration in world rodents – biotic, abiotic and phylogenetic factors
Tiago Macedo - Bat Activity and Species Diversity in Response to Habitat Variation in Arid East Africa
Ana Sofia Castro-Fernandes - Evidence of Illegal Killing of Arabian Wolves in Protected Areas of Saudi Arabia
João Vieira - Mapping venom diversity in the Balkans: The role of neutral and adaptive processes in Vipera ammodytes venom variation
Margareta Lakušić - Dry-adapted shrub communities shaped by climate and soil gradients: modeling Quercus lusitanica Lam. assemblages to guide woodland restoration
Paulo Soares - Tree Planting Impacts on Dryland Biodiversity: Evidence from Senegal’s Great Green Wall Initiative
Fulvio Licata - An optimized land-use / land-cover classification approach for general application in arid regions
João Carlos Campos - Morphological and Molecular Analysis of Four Pulicaria crispa Populations from the Central Region of Saudi Arabia
Mona S. Alwahibi - Determining the scale of landscape effects on wild boar (Sus scrofa) activities: a case study in an agroforestry landscape in northwestern Morocco
El Habib Haffoud
Full Program
Book of Abstracts