On the occasion of celebrating the 100th anniversary of Xiamen University, the International Symposium on Coastal Ecosystems and Global Change (CoEco1) was held at Xiamen University from April 16th -19th 2021. The Symposium was jointly sponsored by Xiamen University, Scientific Committee on the Problems of Environment (SCOPE), International Association of Ecology (INTECOL), Pacific Science Association (PSA), United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), World Green Design Organization (WGDO), and the Ecological Society of China (ESC).
Over 300 scholars and students attended the symposium, including about 50 on-line international attendees from 15 different countries. During the symposium, two plenary sessions of keynote speeches were given, covering wide ranges of current topics related to coastal ecosystems and global change. The plenary speeches were made by a group of world leading scientists including Prof. Yonglong Lu of Xiamen University, Prof. Robert Costanza of Australian National University, Prof. Catherine Ellen Lovelock of Queensland University, Australia, Prof. Suhua Shi of Sun Yat-sen University, Prof. Joe Shing Yip Lee of Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prof. Kerrylee Rogers of Wollongong University of Australia, Prof. Yihui Zhang of Xiamen University, Prof. Nils Chr. Stenseth from the University of Oslo, Norway, Prof. William Sutherland from the University of Cambridge, UK, and Prof. Michael Elliott of University of Hull, UK.
In addition to the keynote speeches, six concurrent sessions were set up for in-depth discussions, including:
Coastal Wetland Ecosystems under Climatic Change;
Coastal Alien species, Invasion, and its Impacts on Coastal Ecosystem; Services; Global Change and Evolutionary Adaptation;
Long Term Ecological Research for Coastal Ecosystems;
Land-based Human Activity and Sustainable Coastal Development;
Integrated Coastal Ecosystem Management.
Those co-current sessions were chaired by internationally known experts on-line. Scholars and students gave 114 oral presentations and 35 poster presentations at the six sessions.
During the symposium, new theory, methods, applications, and significant advancement were presented on issues related to coastal ecosystems health, sustainable social and economic development, and the benign environment. Participants shared their new ideas and discoveries in the study of coastal ecosystems and global change, discussed the series of challenges facing coastal ecosystems and explored potential solutions. This conference provided an excellent platform for academic interaction and cooperation among scientists from all over the world.
Abstracts submitted to the conference will be selected and invited to extend into full articles for publication in special issues of the journal of Ecosystem Health and Sustainability and other international journals after the conference.
The conference was organized by the College of the Environment and Ecology and the Key Laboratory of Coastal Wetland Ecosystems of the Ministry of Education (Xiamen University), and co-organized by the Institute of Urban Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Coastal and Ocean Management (COMI) of Xiamen University, the Key Laboratory of Ecology and Environment at the Sea-Land Interface of Fujian Province, and Taiwan Strait Marine Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station. It was also supported by The Program of “Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities（111 Project）” of Coastal Wetland Ecosystems and Global Change (Project Number B20012).
