B-USEFUL at the ICES ASC 2025
Members of B-USEFUL convened a Theme Session, focused on the assessment of cumulative impacts on marine biodiversity.
The ICES Annual Science Conference (ASC) took place this past September in Klaipėda, Lithuania, bringing together marine scientists from around the world to present new research, discuss emerging challenges, and strengthen collaborations. This year, several members of the B-USEFUL consortium actively contributed to the conference programme.
A B-USEFUL-led Theme Session at ICES ASC
A highlight of the event was Theme Session B, convened by B-USEFUL members Julia Polo (UiT), Patricia Puerta (CSIC), and Laurene Pecuchet (UiT), in collaboration with Esther Beukhof (DTU).
The session focused on advancing innovative approaches to assess and predict cumulative impacts on marine biodiversity—a central objective of B-USEFUL.
With a holistic perspective on sustainable ocean management under climate change, the session emphasized the importance of ecosystem-based management (EBM), climate-informed decision-making, and integrating cumulative impact knowledge into policy processes.
Session Focus and Contributions
Theme Session B gathered a diverse range of studies, featuring 21 oral presentations and 14 posters, organized around three major thematic blocks:
- Structuring of marine ecological communities’ biodiversity in response to Cumulative Impacts.
- New methodological approaches, including applications of marine biodiversity indicators, advances in their use in ecosystem assessments and different perspectives on how to operationalize them.
- Integrated Ecosystem Assessments in relation to cumulative impacts, and their integration into climate-informed management decisions.
B-USEFUL Contribution from CEFAS
Lily Greig (CEFAS) also presented in Theme Session B, contributing to the strong presence of the project at ICES ASC.
She delivered her talk on Wednesday, 17 September, as part of a series of four ~10-minute presentations exploring different ways to measure impacts on marine biodiversity across the NE Atlantic, Barents Sea, and Mediterranean. The approaches showcased by presenters included:
Hill numbers
Alpha, beta, and gamma diversity
Joint species distribution models (JSDMs)
Climate-driven and fishing-related impact assessments
Her slot concluded with an engaging panel discussion, where presenters and the audience exchanged perspectives on shared modelling obstacles and potential solutions.
Beyond the session, Lily highlighted the collaborative atmosphere and the numerous networking opportunities that allowed her to share B-USEFUL work, learn from other researchers, and build new connections:
“This was a highly valuable experience for an early-career researcher such as me.”
B-USEFUL Research Highlights
Members of the B-USEFUL consortium presented several contributions aligned with the project’s objectives:
Advanced spatio-temporal statistical models analysing biodiversity drivers in the
Barents Sea (Filippomaria Cassarino & Shannon Moore, UiT)
Mediterranean Sea (Walter Zupa, COISPA)
Interactions among multiple drivers of biodiversity change (Alicia Gran et al.)
Trait-based approaches to quantify community sensitivity to cumulative impacts (Julia Polo et al.)
Functional rarity as an indicator of vulnerability in fish and invertebrate communities (Silvia Blum & Patricia Puerta et al., CSIC)
These contributions illustrated the strength of interdisciplinary work across B-USEFUL and demonstrated how the project is advancing Europe’s capacity to monitor and manage marine biodiversity under increasing pressures.