Please find the conference proceedings here:
| Monday 5 January 2026 | ||
| Location: ‘Main room’. Interpol Hall, Penglais campus, Aberystwyth University | ||
| 13:00- 17:00 | Registration | Interpol reception (outside hall) |
| 13:00-17:00 | Posters and stands up from now | Art centre ‘studio’ room |
| Tuesday 6 January 2026 | ||
| Location: ‘Main room’. Interpol Hall, Penglais campus, Aberystwyth University | ||
| 8:00-9:00 | Registration | Interpol reception (outside hall) |
| 9:00-9:20 | Saul Purton, Jessica Adams | BPS Welcome |
| 9:20-9:30 | Angela Hatton, Aberystwyth PVC | Aberystwyth University welcome |
| 9:30-10:00 | Glen Wheeler | Plenary for microalgae physiology and taxonomy |
| 10:00-10:15 | Break | Interpol reception (outside hall) |
| Split sessions | ||
| Main room (Interpol hall) | Art centre cinema | |
| Microalgae physiology and taxonomy session Chair: Glen Wheeler | General phycology Chair: Puja Kumari | |
| 10:15-10:35 | Matthew Keys Diatom phycosphere carbonate chemistry measurements at single cell resolution: from modulation of carbon uptake to effects of flow on the diffusive boundary layer | Manus Cunningham The way forward: Cultivation of Fucaceae for aquaculture purposes |
| 10:35-10:55 | Harry Catherall Low-cost alternatives for direct measurement of CO2 fixation by intertidal microphytobenthic soft sediment systems | Gregory Rorrer A process model for predicting of the effects of aeration rate on biomass productivity, aeration cost, and net CO2 emissions during tumble-tank cultivation of the red seaweed Devaleraea mollis (Pacific dulse) |
| 10:55-11:15 | Chris Williamson Ubiquitous and expanding glacier algal blooms around the Greenland Ice Sheet | Rebecca McKinney Temporal Effects of Tailored Light Regimes on Phenolic Content of Fucus serratus (Phaeophyceae) |
| 11:15-11:35 | Deevena Elias Diatom Assemblages as Indicators of Anthropogenic Stress in the Renuka Ramsar Wetland, Indian Western Himalayas | Puja Kumari Acquisition and maintenance of environmental stress memory in red seaweed Bangia sp. |
| 11:35-11:55 | Ingrid Juettner Recovery from acidification in streams after long-term liming | Giulia Leanza How Long Before We Hit the Bottom? Settling Dynamics of Saccharina latissima from in situ and laboratory measurements |
| 11:55-12:15 | Andrea Highfield Insights into the carbon concentrating mechanisms of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana | Reina Veenhof Thermal adaptation of A. esculenta gametophytes |
| 12:15-12:35 | Attila Molnar Identification and Characterization of Genomic Safe Harbours for High and Stable Production of High-Value Compounds in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii | Ben Jennings Catalysing global action: An Overview of the Seaweed Breakthrough |
| Art centre theatre bar area | ||
| 12:35-13:15 | Lunch | Posters and stalls in adjoining studio |
| Main room (Interpol hall) | ||
| Manton prize Session 1 Chair: Ruby George | ||
| 13:15-13:30 | Tayla Leathers | Temporal and Spatial Variability in Laminaria digitata Populations Across the UK Show Contrasting Dynamics Between Range-Centre and Range-Edge Sites. |
| 13:30-13:45 | Rodrigo Munoz-Cordovez | Drivers and resilience of urchins barrens in UK kelp forests |
| 13:45-14:00 | Ruby George | Future function of Fucoid forests: linking traits to ecological functions along a large-scale latitudinal and climatic gradient |
| 14:00-14:15 | Niko Steiner | The effects of thermal priming on heat tolerance in the kelp Saccharina latissima intragenerational and transgenerational responses across age classes |
| 14:15-14:30 | Jack Duffy | Experimental investigation into wave attenuation by Laminaria hyperborea using dynamically scaled mimics in a wave tank. |
| 14:30-14:45 | Break | Interpol reception. No refreshments |
| 14:45-15:00 | Friederike Gronwald | Macrophyte dispersal from Racetrack flume to the Baltic Sea |
| 15:00-15:15 | Jack Burton | Fine-scale population structure and genetic diversity of the sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima, in Ireland |
| 15:15-15:30 | Ndeye Bineta Dia | Production of the building-block molecule 3-hydroxypropionic acid from seaweed waste |
| 15:30-15:45 | Robyn Mastin-Wynne | In-situ experiments to establish the role that UK kelp forests play in attenuating wave energy |
| 15:45-16:00 | Break | Interpol reception. With refreshments |
| C22 Hugh Owen lecture theatre | ||
| 16:00 -17:00 | Prof Saul Purton | Presidential address as a Public lecture |
| Art centre bar and adjoining studio room | ||
| 17:00-19:00 | Poster and drinks session | Sponsored by Taylor and Francis |
| 19:00-00:00 | Student (PhD, MSc etc) and ECR icebreaker event | TBD |
| Wednesday 7 January 2026 | ||
| Main room (Interpol Hall) | ||
| 9:00-9:30 | Rhianna Rees | Plenary for Applied phycology |
| 9:30-9:50 | Leon Williams | Lessons from the industrialisation of seaweed-based material: Challenges and Opportunities in Scaling Marine Biotechnologies |
| 09:50-10:15 | Break | Interpol reception |
| Split sessions | ||
| Main room (Interpol hall) | Art centre cinema | |
| Applied Phycology Chair: Rhianna Rees | General Phycology Chair: Francis Bunker | |
| 10:15-10:35 | Alla Silkina Green Economy Centre : Translating Algal Biotechnology for a Sustainable Bioeconomy | Graham Underwood Contributions of benthic microalgal biofilms to sediment organic carbon stocks across a salt marsh gradient |
| 10:35-10:55 | Yixing Sui Enhancement of Protein Extraction Efficacy from Red Seaweed Palmaria palmata Using Ultrasonication and High-pressure Homogenisation | Juliet Brodie Developing new tools for identification and listing of vulnerable seaweed species |
| 10:55-11:15 | Maxine Canvin Kelp Farming and Carbon: A Drop in the Ocean? | Christine Maggs How diverse is Plocamium (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) in Britain and Ireland? |
| 11:15-11:35 | Thierry Tonon Pelagic sargassum events in Jamaica: morphotype abundance, and analysis of the biochemical and elemental composition of the biomass after different drying treatments to inform valorisation pathways | Francis Bunker Some Algal Trends from long term monitoring in Pembrokeshire Marine SAC |
| 11:35-11:55 | Jessica Adams Seaweed pilot-scale processing for fucoidan | Svenja Heesch Taxonomy of the Prasiolaceae (Trebouxiophyceae): new insights |
| Art centre theatre bar area | ||
| 12:00-12:45 | Lunch | Posters and stalls in adjoining studio |
| Main room (Interpol hall) | ||
| Manton prize Session 2 Chair: Jasmine Ramshaw | ||
| 12:45-13:00 | Ann Mary VB | Chemical ecology and cross talk between cosmopoltian phytoplankton and pathogenic Vibrios |
| 13:00-13:15 | Holly Liken | Dealing with biased class sizes in AI-based automatic microalgal classification |
| 13:15-13:30 | Anne Margrete Nilsen | Effects of thermal priming on the Saccharina latissima transcriptome response to heat stress |
| 13:30-13:45 | Jose Ignacio Gayo Pelaez | A novel, fast and reliable alternative for microalgal growth assessment in scalable cultivation systems |
| 13:45-14:00 | Aidan Salter | Characterization of carbohydrate-active enzymes from species of green microalgae |
| 14:00-14:15 | Arianwen Herbert | Nutrient controls on plankton communities in the South Atlantic subtropical gyre |
| 14:15-14:30 | Break | Interpol reception |
| 14:30-14:45 | Ilona Shadrach | Problem or opportunity? Utilising the biostimulant properties of microalgae for plant growth and pest control in hydroponic co-cultivation |
| 14:45-15:00 | Adam Dingmann | Variation in Lotic Parameters and its Influence in Structuring Stalk Forming Diatom Communities |
| 15:00-15:15 | Jasmine Ramshaw | Quantifying bacterial assemblages associated with both farmed and wild populations of Saccharina latissima across the aquaculture growing season in SW England |
| 15:15-15:30 | Catherine Philip | Dimethyl Sulfoniopropionate (DMSP) Metabolism in green tide causing seaweed |
| 15:30-15:40 | Jessica Adams | Outline of evening’s events |
| 15:40-16:00 | Break | Interpol reception |
| 16:00-17:00 | AGM | Interpol hall |
| Marine hotel, on seafront | ||
| 18:30-23:00 | Conference dinner and ceilidh | |
| Thursday 8 January | ||
| Main room (Interpol hall) | ||
| 9:00-9:30 | Mikey Ross | Plenary for Science outreach |
| 9:30-9:50 | Dan Franklin | BPS education and outreach: a session to explore our current activities and plans, and to plot new directions |
| 10:00-10:15 | Break | Interpol reception |
| Split sessions | ||
| Main room (Interpol hall) | Bus to IBERS, Gogerddan | |
| Science outreach Chair: Mikey Ross | Visit to IBERS, Gogerddan campus Lead: Valerie Rodrigues | |
| 10:15-10:35 | Matthew Julius Fostering Students’ Awareness and Attitudes toward River Environments: Development of a Diatom-Based Educational Program | Bus departs on road below Art Centre at 10:15 and returns 12:30. Tour includes visit to the National Plant Phenomics Centre and to AberInnovation where the IBERS Biorefinery facility is based. |
| 10:35-10:55 | Susi Arnott What’s science outreach for? | |
| 10:55-11:15 | Niko Kappas SeaKey: an app, webkey and print version to guide the identification of seaweed species of the German North Sea and Baltic Coasts | |
| 11:15-11:35 | Kirsti Davies Gwymona, a local community project exploring creating ways of connecting people with seaweed | |
| 11:35-11:55 | Andrew Stone and Jon Somerscales Creating an interactive art-science installation with living microalgae | |
| 11:55-12:15 | Emma Heathcote An adventure through Wales, the land of seaweed | |
| 12:15-12:35 | Beat the queue to lunch/ have (another) look at the Ar Lan y Mor exhibition in Art centre gallery 2 | |
| Art centre theatre bar area | ||
| 12:30-13:30 | Lunch | Stalls in adjoining studio |
END OF CONFERENCE | ||
| UK Seaweed network workshop (Invitation only) | ||
| Main room (Interpol hall) | ||
| 13:30-17:30 | Emily Kostas / Rhianna Rees | Workshop |