Society for Conservation Biology

Keynote speakers:

Nuria Selva is a conservation biologist. Her research deals with the impacts of global change on species, communities and ecosystems, with a particular focus on trophic interactions, large carnivore ecology and management, and roads as drivers of global change. An important part of her work has focused on evaluating conservation actions and policies, mostly related to forest conservation and human-large carnivore conflicts. She has advocated and provided scientific support for the protection of Białowieża Forest and launched the Roadless Initiative. She is a member of the IUCN/SSC Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe and the Bear Specialist Group and has served at the SCB Europe-Board of Directors. Currently, she is an Associate Professor at Estación Biológica de Doñana CSIC (Spain) and the Institute of Nature Conservation PAN (Poland).

Jacob Heilmann-Clausen is a conservation biologist specializing in fungal ecology, forest biodiversity and ecological restoration. His research addresses the drivers of biodiversity in temperate forests, focusing on the forest-open land gradient and the role of fungi in ecosystem functioning. He has also contributed to the development of conservation strategies that enhance biodiversity in managed forests, including the practice of veteranization to create habitats for specialized organisms. He has been instrumental in integrating citizen science with biodiversity monitoring, notably through his leadership in the Danish Fungal Atlas project, which mapped fungal diversity across Denmark. Currently, he coordinates the FunDive project, a pan-European initiative aiming to improve fungal conservation by combining citizen science, artificial intelligence, and environmental DNA-based monitoring. Heilmann-Clausen is an Associate Professor at the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen.

Ewa Orlikowska is a forest ecologist and conservation scientist whose interdisciplinary research integrates biodiversity conservation, forest management, landscape ecology, and environmental governance. Her work has focused particularly on the effectiveness of the Natura 2000 network, contributing influential reviews of both ecological and social science research supporting large-scale conservation initiatives. She has advanced understanding of protected area management, high conservation value forests, forest bird habitat conservation, and human-nature relationships. Her research also explores the ethical dimensions of conservation, including ecocentrism, nature's intrinsic value, and society's responsibilities toward biodiversity. Earlier studies in Alaska examined mixed-species forest dynamics, red alder-conifer ecosystems, and silvicultural approaches that enhance structural and biological complexity. Through collaborations with leading international conservation scholars, Ewa Orlikowska has helped bridge ecological science, policy, and societal perspectives, promoting evidence-based strategies for sustaining biodiversity, resilient forest landscapes, and meaningful connections between people and nature. She is Nordic SCB Chapter's vice-president and a senior lecturer at the Biology Department, Karlsatd University, Sweden.

Bengt Gunnar Jonsson is professor in Biology at Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden and Senor Advisor at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå. His research address forest history, dynamics and biodiversity with a focus on landscape ecological issues such as green infrastructure, species viability and ecosystem services. In his research he tries to translate knowledge from forest ecology to applied conservation and influence national and international conservation polices.

Laura Bosco is a researcher at the Helsinki Lab of Ornithology as part of the Finnish Museum of Natural History in Helsinki, Finland. She studied Biology in Switzerland where she graduated in 2018 with a thesis on the impacts of vineyard management and landscape structure on Woodlarks and their arthropod prey. Afterwards Laura worked at the Swiss Ornithological Institute as scientific collaborator in a project on increasing vineyard biodiversity. Her research focuses on understanding biodiversity responses to climate and land-use changes in relation to habitat loss and fragmentation at various spatial scales. She is particularly interested in how landscape ecological aspects play into species responses to global change. Laura is currently the President of the Society for Conservation Biology Europe Region.

Dr. Gustaf Samelius is the Assistant Director of Science for the Snow Leopard Trust where one of his main responsibilities is managing the long-term ecological study in southern Mongolia. The long-term study is the most comprehensive study on snow leopards to date and has provided information that is important for snow leopard conservation throughout their range. Gustaf has over 30 years of experience of wildlife research and has led research studies in both the Canadian Arctic and Boreal Forest of Scandinavia and is interested in both applied and theoretical conservation biology. Gustaf also works for Nordens Ark as part of their conservation Team.