TiBE is an annual meeting which aims to bring together senior researchers, post-graduate and graduate students working on the fields of biodiversity and evolutionary biology. TiBE has a different topic each year, and in 2020, the aim of the meeting is to discuss cutting-edge findings in relevant topics related to metabarcoding and metagenomic techniques, and their application in ecological and environmental research, including biodiversity surveys, environmental assessment, ecosystem function and services, interaction networks and species autecology, among others.

The meeting will discuss exciting developments associated with the advent of ever more powerful DNA sequencing technology, which are opening possibilities to explore the living world in ways that were unimaginable just a decade ago. During three afternoons, from Dec 9th to Dec 11th 2020, participants will discuss new opportunities, challenges and pitfalls of metabarcoding and metagenomic approaches, with examples provided by a wealth of case studies where these new techniques contributed decisively to improve our understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem patterns and processes. Moreover, participants will discuss the application of metabarcoding and metagenomics to foster new and more cost-efficient environmental assessment and monitoring programs. The conference will be held in an informal but stimulating scientific atmosphere, on an online platform that will foster networking opportunities and allows poster presentations. The program includes both plenary and short presentations from selected abstracts.

TiBE 2020 will be the closing meeting of the ERA Chair project ENVMETAGEN – Capacity Building at InBIO for Research and Innovation Using Environmental Metagenomics, funded by the European Commission, and that initiated in September 2015. TiBE is organized every year by CIBIO-InBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources based in Vairão, near Porto, Portugal. This institution will upgrade to a Center of Excellence in Environmental Biology, Ecosystem Research and AgroBiodiversity under the BIOPOLIS initiative, a Teaming project funded by the Horizon 2020 Widening programme of the European Commission.

Find more information in these links:

https://cibio.up.pt/tibe/details/tibe2020
http://inbio-envmetagen.pt/
https://biopolis.pt/en/