26/05/2025
🌱✨ Invasive plants were at the heart of the discussions at the II Spanish Botany Congress.
Arnau Bosch Guiu, a PhD from the IRIS research group participated in the II Spanish Botany Congress, where he co-organized the symposium “Invasive flora: from cataloging to management, through ecology and evolutionary biology”. In this event, researchers shared experiences, challenges, and advances on the study of species that are reshaping our ecosystems.
In this context, he presented his PhD plan which is framed in the PRISMA project and is focused on identifying plant invasion syndromes in mountains at a global scale 🌍⛰️. Recurring patterns in contexts, dynamics, impacts, and management methods, will be analized aiming to improve prediction and response to biological invasions.
15/09/2025
We took part of the MIREN workshop!✨
Arnau and Paula from our team, participated in the MIREN — Mountain Invasion Research Network 🌄 workshop, held last week in Innsbruck, Austria. They joined through the project PRISMA: “Syndromes of recurrent plant invasions in mountain areas.”
🔍 What is MIREN?
MIREN investigates how global change — biological invasions, climate change, and land use — shapes the distribution of species in mountain regions. It collects data on native and alien plants along roads, trails, and rocky areas across elevational gradients to better understand community dynamics, the impacts of disturbances and invasive species, and strategies for management.
🌱 PRISMA Project
At the workshop, Paula and Arnau presented the latest progress of the PRISMA project, which analyzes the invasion contexts, impacts, and the effectiveness of existing management practices.
They strengthened collaborations and engaged in inspiring discussions with the MIREN community about the global patterns of plant invasions in mountain ecosystems 🌍⛰️.
05/08/2025
IRIS goes to Iceland 🧊
At the beggining of July, Theresa set off for colder climates returning to the University of Iceland Research Centre of the Westfjords for a 6 weeks stay.
Stay tuned for updates on old & new projects 🙂
15/05/2025
We are excited to announce the launch of the first Invasions Newsletter!!
Initiated by Ana together with Susan Canavan, Katelyn Faulkner, Piero Genovesi, Deah Lieurance, Laura A Meyerson, Dan Simberloff, Hsiao-Hsuan Wang, and Tsungai Zengeya, this newsletter is a collaborative work with the goal to make current research, research centers & groups, networks & upcoming conferences, and so accessible to everyone interested.
Check it out here: https://joom.ag/mIjd and don’t forget to subscribe to receive the newsletter twice a year 🙂
Got something exciting to share? Send your ideas for the next edition to Ana at novoa.perez.ana@gmail.com
09/05/2025
IRIS had a busy Invasive Species week!
We joined the Macrobioblitz and encouraged visitors of the Cabo de Gata National Park to look out for invasive species and record any sightings using the iNaturalist app. We also organized a public debate on invasions at La Guajira in Almeria where participants could test their ability to recognise invaders and win a plant. This week, Ana and Paula were additionally busy as they were part of the organizing and scientific committees of the IyriCIS conference
We can’t wait to join another Invasive Species Week next year with better and more ideas 🙂
08/04/2025
PRISMA kick-off meeting in Cordoba
On April 3rd Ana, Arnau, Paula, and Theresa headed to Cordoba to take part in a 2-day meeting at the University of Cordoba. Together with a team of researchers lead by Pablo González Moreno, we will investigate invasion syndromes in plant invasion in mountains over the next four years. Within PRISMA we will compare a global perspective (lead by IRIS) to the occurrence of invasion syndromes in plant invasions found in the Sierra Nevada mountain range (lead by the Cordoba team).
Stay tuned for exciting PRISMA updates!
01/04/2025
IRIS’s first PHD student!!!
Arnau Bosh Guiu has officially started working at the EEZA as part of the IRIS team. Over the next four years he will be researching plant invasions in mountain ecosystems worldwide as part of the PRISMA project. He will use ecological modeling to assess the impacts of invasive species and to identify invasion syndromes.
Welcome to the team, Arnau!! 🙂
28/03/2025
In the beginning of March, Ana went to the Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC) in Sevilla to take part in an interviewing process for a permanent position offered by the CSIC with a focus on global change and biodiversity conservation. After presenting an overview of her research topic (i.e. why we should definitely care about plant invasions!!) and the most important achievements of her scientific career, she was selected as one of four candidates to receive a permanent position with the CSIC.
21/03/2025
IRIS is growing! Let’s welcome Lucas and Lida!
After finishing his Master’s degree in Botany in Brazil, Lucas Borges de Lima has recently joined us for a short stay until the end of April. Lida Choursoglou also arrived earlier this month from Greece and will do a four-month internship with us. Both will support Paula in her project on the management of naturalized alien plant species in mountain areas.
(IRIS selfie for Theresa’s birthday 🙂 )
04/03/2025
At the end of February, Pavel Pipek (Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Science) came for a visit. In-between catching up, bird-watching, and exciting discussions on culturomics & iEcology, the IRIS team got an introduction into html and data mining.
19/02/2025
IRIS went to Prague!!
From 10th – 14th of February our team co-organised two exciting workshops that took place in the castle of Průhonice, Czech Republic.
The week started with the 2nd workshop on invasion culturomics, where Ana, Paula, and Theresa met with an international group of scientists discussing and exchanging ideas, projects, and future collaborations on using digital data to address biological invasions.
The week continued with the 2nd SoNAF workshop on the social dimensions of Naturalized Alien Flora, discussing future steps and uses of this upcoming database.
We are excited to work on the outcomes of these workshops and the future developments on invasion Culturomics and SoNAF!
23/01/2025
OneSTOP kick off
From 20th-23rd of January, Ana attended the kick off of the OneSTOP project. Coordinated by Quentin Groom (Meise Botanic Garden, Belgium) and Helen Roy (UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK), OneSTOP is funded under the Horizon Europe programme. The main aim of OneSTOP is to reduce the risks of introducing and spreading invasive species across Europe by integrating advanced scientific research, cutting-edge detection technologies, and policy-driven strategies. You can find more information here.
25/11/2024
Today, we had our first (of hopefully many) weekly IRIS team meetings to get to know each other & catch up on our projects, progresses and potential mishaps 🙂
We can’t wait to see where all our projects will lead to & what new ideas will come up in these meetings. Stay tuned!
If you want to find out more about our work, contact us!
18/11/2024
In November, IRIS has welcomed two new team members who both decided to join us in Almeria all the way from South America:
Paula Gervazoni, originally from Argentina, is the newest researcher at IRIS. Earlier this year, Paula finished her PhD on management and biocontrol of invasive plants and will now continue her academic journey here at IRIS. Considering that her study species of choice in her PhD was the yellow Iris, she will be a perfect addition to the team. With her expertise, Paula will contribute to the ongoing projects at IRIS looking into the social and ecological dimensions of alien plants and their management.
Jonathan Almeida is a Brazilian PhD student who will be doing an exchange with us for the next 6 months. His PhD research is about the role of Nature-based Solutions in the conservation of biodiversity. During his stay at IRIS, his research will take an alien twist, not only because rain gardens are hard to find in and around Almeria, but he will compare alien and native plant communities in rain gardens and other urban areas to complement his research.
Part of the IRIS team in their preferred habitat… in front of invasive fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum)
27/09/2024
At the end of September, Theresa Henke officially joined the IRIS team as a researcher. Theresa has spent the last 8 years in Iceland where she did her PhD on the alien European flounder in Icelandic waters, but now she has decided to switch it up and trade the Nordic cold for the Mediterranean sunshine. Theresa will continue doing research within the ongoing projects at IRIS on the human dimensions of biological invasions and how interdisciplinary approaches and novel tools (culturomics) can be used in invasion science.
iriseeza.com 