The National Institute of Biology, Marine Biology Station Piran organized the 11th Symposium on Aquatic Microbial Ecology in Piran, Slovenia, from August 30 to September 4, 2009. The role of microbes is still far from being fully understood and it is important to continue the tradition of previous SAME (Symposium on Aquatic Microbial Ecology) meetings in discussing the importance of novel microbial pathways in aquatic environments.

The symposium activities embraced different aspects of research in aquatic microbial ecology, offering opportunities to share information among ecologists, molecular biologists, biochemists, and all those in related areas. During this symposium we heard a number of interesting presentations and discussed recent progress in this field, but also highlight future trends and research directions in the field of aquatic microbial ecology. The programme consists of ten sessions focused on Microbes in microbial biogeochemical cycles, Organic matter transformation, Sediment microbiology, Operational taxonomic units in microbial ecology, Climate change and aquatic microbes, Microbial interactions and communication, Viral Ecology and Modeling in aquatic microbial ecology.

Plenary speakers

• OPENING LECTURE: Farooq Azam (USA): Marine Microbes and Global Habitability
• MICROBES IN BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES: Lasse Riemann (Sweden): Heterotrophic N2-fixing bacteria: important in marine waters?
• ORGANIC MATTER TRANSFORMATION IN AQUATIC SYSTEMS: Hans-Peter Grossart (Germany): Role of microorganisms for aggregation and sinking fluxes
• SEDIMENT MICROBIOLOGY: Antje Boetius (Germany): Spatial variation of microbial life in the seabed – Deciphering the role of the environment
• OPERATIONAL TAXONOMIC UNITS IN MICROBIAL ECOLOGY: Carlos Pedrós Alió (Spain): Dipping into the rare biosphere: bacterial diversity in the NW Mediterranean Sea explored by pyrosequencing
• MICROBIAL INTERACTIONS AND COMMUNICATION: Margaret McFall-Ngai (USA): The microenvironment of the animal host: The dynamic stability of the squid-vibrio association
• CLIMATE CHANGE AND AQUATIC MICROBES: Jean-Pierre Gattuso (France): Ocean acidification and its still poorly known impact on microbial processes
• MODELLING IN AQUATIC MICROBIAL ECOLOGY: T. Frede Thingstad (Norway): Varying pathways for transfer of material through the microbial food web - do we understand the controlling mechanisms?
• VIRAL ECOLOGY: Forest Rohwer (USA): Microbes, viruses and corals
• CLOSING LECTURE: Gerhard J. Herndl (The Netherlands/Austria): From SAME-10 to SAME-11 and beyond: what’s new in aquatic microbial ecology and what’s emerging?
  
  

The symposium was organized by the Marine Biology Station Piran (MBS/NIB) which was established in 1969 and within which research into microbial ecology represented an important part of its activity.  MBS/NIB, situated on the northern shore of the Bay of Piran, is today part of the National Institute of Biology and is the only marine research group in Slovenia. The symposium was being held at the nearby Hotel Bernardin, close to the medieval city of Piran. With the ISME funds the conference hall fee was partialy covered. All together it was 210 participants, from 30 countries.

SAME11 Student Poster Award: This is reserved for students as long as they are the first author on a submitted poster presentation. The ISME12 recipients are:

• Farnelid H., L. Riemann, W. Tarangkoon, G. Hansen and P.J. Hansen  DO SYMBIOTIC HETEROTROPHIC N2-FIXING BACTERIA SUSTAIN CYANOBACTERIA DINOFLAGELLATE CONSORTIA IN THE NITROGEN LIMITED INDIAN OCEAN?
• Dickson G.C., J.A. Kieser, E.W. Maas and R.T.M. Poulter MARINE BACTERIAL SUCCESSION AS A NOVEL FORENSIC INDICATOR OF POST-MORTEM SUBMERSION INTERVAL (PMSI)
• Behnam F., M. Horn, M. Taylor, S. Luecker, S. Whalan, T. Rattei, N. Webster, M. Wagner DEEP SEQUENCING REVEALS EXCEPTIONAL DIVERSITY AND ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES OF MARINE BACTERIAL SPONGE SYMBIONTS
  

Travel Awards: With the ESF Eurodeep funds we were able to offer grants (each 200 Eur) available for travel awards for young scientists. We received a total of 37 submissions and were able to award 15 SAME11 Travel Awards:

Abstract book and was published by National Institute of Biology, Marine Biology Station Piran and a sponsorship of  National Commission of UNESCO/IOC (250 copies):

SYMPOSIUM on Aquatic Microbial Ecology (11; 2009; Piran) Abstract book / SAME 11 - The 11th Symposium on Aquatic Microbial Ecology, August 30 - September 04 2009, Piran, Slovenia; editors Valentina Turk & Samo Turk.- Piran: National Institute of Biology, Marine Biology Station, 2009; ISBN 978-961-92543-1-8

The abstracts are available also at the web page (www.mbss.org/SAME11) and as CD format.


Local Organizing Committee
Valentina Turk, Gašper Polajnar, Samo Turk, Manja Rogelja, Janez Forte
(NIB, Marine Biology Station Piran, Slovenia)

National Organizing Committee
Valentina Turk, Jadran Faganeli, Alenka Malej, Patricija Mozetič
(NIB, Marine Biology Station Piran, Slovenia)
Nina Gunde Cimerman, Ines Mandič Mulec, David Stopar
(University Ljubljana, Slovenia)

International Scientific Committee
Farooq Azam (SIO, San Diego, USA)
Ake Hagström (University Kalmar, Sweden)
Gerhard J. Herndl (NIOZ, The Netherlands & University Vienna, Austria)
Fereidoun Rassoulzadegan (L’Obss. Oceanologique de Villefranche-sur-Mer, France)
Dragica Fuks (Institute R. Bošković, CIM, Croatia)
Nada Krstulović (Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Croatia)
Serena Fonda Umani (University Trieste, Italy)
Roberto Danovaro (Polytechnic University of Marche, Italy)  

The next Symposium on Aquatic Microbial Ecology 2011 will take place in Warnemünde, Rostock, Germany in September 2011.