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IFISC News - Modeling the spread of Pierce's disease of grapevines
by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es 30 Jan '23

30 Jan '23

Modeling the spread of Pierce's disease of grapevines Wine production is being decimated in some places by Pierce's disease, caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. Researchers propose a model that takes into account the effect of ambient temperature to see how climate change will affect its spread. A new study led by IFISC (CSIC-UIB) scientists and with the participation of researchers from the public company Tragsa, the Department of Geography of the UIB and ICA-CSIC, predicts the risk that the disease caused by Xylella fastidiosa in the vineyard will spread and become established worldwide. In the study, published in the journal Communications Biology, the authors propose a model that reproduces where the pathogen can establish as a function of ambient temperature while estimating its future evolution. By integrating high-resolution spatio-temporal climate data and different infectivity scenarios into the model, the study shows how, although areas of high epidemic risk are currently marginal outside the USA, a global expansion of risk areas is expected by 2050. Pierce's disease (abbreviated PD) is caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa and is transmitted between plants by insect vectors, namely Philaenus spumarius in Europe. PD originated in the American continent and is a disease that affects vines and causes great economic losses, in addition to causing water stress in plants due to occlusions caused by the bacterium in the xylem. This disease can even cause the death of the plant. International plant trade is expanding the geographic range of the pathogen, posing a new threat to global viticulture. To assess the potential incidence of PD, researchers have constructed a dynamic epidemiological model based on the response of 36 grapevine varieties to the pathogen in inoculation trials and vector distribution. Key temperature-driven epidemiological processes such as symptom development and winter recovery by cold accumulation have been modeled by integrating high-resolution spatio-temporal climate data from 1981 to the present. The results show that the main wine-growing regions are mainly located in low-risk, transitional or epidemic-risk areas with potentially low growth rates of PD incidence. Currently, in Europe, epidemic risk areas with moderate to high rates are marginal and are mainly concentrated in the Mediterranean islands and coasts. These areas are characterized by mild winters, such as the island of Mallorca. However, the model estimates that by 2050 the risk zones will expand globally due to small increases in the rate of disease growth as a consequence of climate change. Hotter summers and milder winters are expected in western Europe, which will increase the risk of epidemics in areas that are currently safe, such as some regions of southern France or northern Portugal. This study analyzes the risk of PD establishment and highlights the importance of considering climate variability, vector distribution and invasion criteria as key factors to obtain more accurate risk maps to help reduce the effects of the pathogen. The same Xylella fastidiosa bacterium is the cause of diseases of great economic relevance in other crops, such as almond trees (e.g. Mallorca) or olive trees (with great affectation in Apulia, Italy), so it is expected that the model can be applied to predict the risk of establishment of these other diseases. Giménez-Romero, A., Galván, J., Montesinos, M. et al. Global predictions for the risk of establishment of Pierce’s disease of grapevines. Commun Biol 5, 1389 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-04358-w http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/modeling-spread-pierces-disease-grapevines/

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IFISC News - Traveling patterns in seagrass meadows
by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es 10 Jan '23

10 Jan '23

Traveling patterns in seagrass meadows A new study led by scientists from IFISC (CSIC-UIB) and IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), has found that strips of vegetation that form in seagrass meadows such as Posidonia oceanica move at a constant speed and can collide with each other in a process of annihilation. The authors propose a model that reproduces these dynamics and at the same time allows to check the state of the meadows. Posidonia meadows are an important source of ecosystem services and act as carbon sinks in coastal regions around the world. However, these seagrass meadows are known to be under threat due to multiple anthropogenic pressures, leading to increased seagrass mortality. In general, when reproduction and mortality rates are close to equilibrium, scale-dependent feedbacks are the dynamics that govern the spatio-temporal evolution of seagrass meadows. These interactions between plants can generate regular patterns such as those observed in the fairy circles in Namibia or the labyrinths of the Negev desert, so studying these patterns and their evolution is key to diagnosing the health of vegetation expanses. The international team of researchers has discovered that this situation of high mortality leads in some cases to the formation of traveling pulses of vegetation, strips of Posidonia in the specific case of Mediterranean meadows, approximately 1.5 m wide that advance without changing shape at a speed of a few centimeters per year, and that generate complex spatio-temporal patterns in the form of rings, spirals or arcs (Fig. 1). These structures arise due to high plant mortality caused by the absorption of sulfur by the roots. This sulfide comes from the decomposition of organic matter by bacteria in the absence of oxygen. The resulting spatiotemporal patterns resemble those formed in other excitable media, such as cardiac tissue or the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, but on a much larger scale. The researchers have developed a mathematical model that reproduces the observed seascapes and predicts the annihilation of these circular structures when they collide with each other, a hallmark of excitable pulses. They have also shown that field images and radial profiles of vegetation, as well as the concentration of sulfide in the sediment, are consistent with the predictions of the theoretical model. The simulations reproduce remarkably well the evolution of the rings from 1973 to the present, including the self-destruction of two vegetation strips upon collision. The authors conclude that, in addition to explaining the patterns and their dynamics, the results of the study have diagnostic value, and allow the identification of these ring-shaped structures as terminal states of the meadows before their collapse. New monitoring technologies based on artificial intelligence can automatically detect these ring structures in aerial or satellite images and thus warn of the risk of collapse of key ecosystems in coastal areas.Ruiz-Reynés, D. et al. (2023) “Self-organized sulfide-driven traveling pulses shape seagrass meadows,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(3). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2216024120. Yahoo!EFECOPE http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/traveling-patterns-seagrass-meadows/

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IFISC News - 12 IFISC researchers in Stanford University's world ranking of scientists
by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es 18 Nov '22

18 Nov '22

12 IFISC researchers in Stanford University's world ranking of scientists Stanford University has published the World’s Top 2 % Scientists 2022, a global ranking of the world's most cited scientists in various disciplines. This ranking is considered one of the most prestigious in the world and it’s based on bibliometric information collected from the Scopus database (published by Elsevier) and include the top 2 % of the more than 8 million researchers considered to be active worldwide. In the ranking of scientific production in 2021, a total of 10 IFISC researchers appear: Apostolos Argyris, Víctor Eguíluz, Ernesto Estrada, Ingo Fischer, Gian Luca Giorgi, Lucas Lacasa, Claudio Mirasso, Maxi San Miguel, Miguel Cornelles Soriano and Massimiliano Zanin are at the world top 2 %. The high percentage of IFISC researchers who appear in the ranking with respect to its total staff is noteworthy. Furthermore, other 20 researchers that also appear in the ranking are affiliated with the UIB. On the other hand, according to the scientific production of the entire research career until 2021, 7 IFISC researchers (Apostolos Argyris, Pere Colet, Ernesto Estrada, Ingo Fischer, Claudio Mirasso, Maxi San Miguel and Raúl Toral) appear in the ranking. Once again, the high percentage of IFISC staff appearing in this ranking is notable, thus demonstrating its quality as a center of excellence. To compile the list, Scopus data is analysed on the scientists' careers, the number of articles published and the number of times each research has been cited. Then it is normalised by research area. Although important, at IFISC we are aware that this type of ranking partially assesses the value of researchers and should not be used as the only way to quantify the careers of scientists. http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/12-ifisc-researchers-stanford-universitys-…

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IFISC News - IFISC People: Hira Ali, Dimitrios Chalkiadakis and Pablo Rosillo
by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es 15 Nov '22

15 Nov '22

IFISC People: Hira Ali, Dimitrios Chalkiadakis and Pablo Rosillo We are glad to introduce Hira Ali, Dimitrios Chalkiadakis and Pablo Rosillo to the other IFISC members.Hira Ali attended the IFISC’s Master in Physics of Complex Systems. At IFISC she will work as a PhD student together with Llorenç Serra and Rosa Lopez, on the project QuTTNAQMA (Quantum transport and thermodynamics: New Avenues in quantum materials) with an annual SOIB contract. The project is focused on transport with bilayer graphene topological states.Dimitrios Chalkiadakis is from Greece where he studied Physics at the University of Crete, Heraklion. Afterward, he also finished his master's in Physics of Complex Systems at IFISC. His main interests are dynamical systems and their applications in neuroscience. At IFISC he will pursue a PhD under the supervision of Claudio Mirasso and Damià Gomila in aspects related to Anticipated Synchronization. Pablo Rosillo studied physics at the Universitat de València, having later completed the Master in Physics of Complex Systems. At IFISC he will work as a PhD student under the supervision of David Sánchez and Maxi San-Miguel on topics related to linguistic competition with preference, both mean-field and finite-size complex networks. He is also engaged in a computational flamenco project with David Sanchez to study historical relationships between palos according to the themes treated in their classic “cantes”. http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/ifisc-people-hira-ali-dimitrios-chalkiadak…

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IFISC News - The Balearic Islands science of excellence
by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es 10 Nov '22

10 Nov '22

The Balearic Islands science of excellence The research institutes IFISC (UIB-CSIC) and IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), both located in the Balearic Islands, receive the accreditation of "María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence". The Ministry of Science and Innovation, through the State Research Agency (AEI), has granted the Institute for Cross-disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems (IFISC) and the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA) the accreditation of "Unit of Excellence María de Maeztu". Both institutes, jointly owned by the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) and the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), become part of the select Alliance of Severo Ochoa Centers and María de Maeztu Units (SOMMa Alliance). This accreditation, granted after a rigorous evaluation and selection process by a committee of international experts and in accordance with the most demanding standards, consolidates IFISC and IMEDEA as reference institutes in the field of research in complex systems and life sciences, respectively. All two units will receive a total funding of 2,000,000 euros over the next four years, in addition to 6 pre-doctoral researcher contracts and access to exclusive funding sources for these centers and units of excellence. According to the ministry itself, this means "the recognition of the best centers and units that stand out for the impact and international relevance of the results obtained in the last four years", as well as "the financing of strategic research programs with the objective of consolidating their scientific capabilities and contributing to their international leadership". Of the total of 60 centers and units with accreditation valid in 2021 such as "Severo Ochoa" or "María de Maeztu", 72% are located in the communities of Catalonia (27) and Madrid (16). IFISC was the first unit of excellence in the Balearic Islands, obtaining the "María de Maeztu" in 2018, accreditation that renews now and to which IMEDEA joins. Balears thus enters the reduced selection of autonomous communities with more than one unit of excellence (Catalonia, Madrid, Basque Country, Andalusia and Valencian Community). All accredited institutions stand out for the international impact of their scientific contributions, their postgraduate teaching activity, their innovative capacity and their intense relationship with the social and economic environment. They are world-class institutions with cutting-edge research programs that are highly competitive and capable of attracting international talent. IFISC studies complex phenomena, one of the challenges of 21st century research. Its mission is to develop cross-disciplinary and strategic research in complex systems following the established scientific approach of physicists. The mission of IMEDEA is to contribute to the advancement of knowledge of marine, coastal and island ecosystems in order to preserve and restore them. It conducts research to achieve a sustainable development of coastal areas and to clarify the causes and impacts of anthropogenic and global change that threaten them. http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/balearic-islands-science-excellence/

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IFISC News - IFISC researcher wins Emerging Researcher Award from the Complex Systems Society
by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es 28 Oct '22

28 Oct '22

IFISC researcher wins Emerging Researcher Award from the Complex Systems Society Former IFISC postdoctoral researcher, Aleix Bassolas, has been awarded the Emerging Researcher award. The award, given at the closing ceremony of the Conference on Complex Systems Congress (CCS) by the Complex Systems Society, has highlighted Bassolas' research work and his “outstanding contributions to Complex Systems Science”.Aleix Bassolas did his PhD at IFISC under the supervision of researchers José Ramasco and Maxime Lenormand. His thesis entitled "A journey across the multiple scales of human mobility", was defended last year 2019. His contributions open new avenues for urban mobility from the perspective of complex systems. His most cited papers include: Systematic comparison of trip distribution laws and models. M Lenormand, A Bassolas, JJ Ramasco. Journal of Transport Geography 51, 158-169, 2016Hierarchical organization of urban mobility and its connection with city livability. A Bassolas, H Barbosa Filho, B Dickinson, X Dotiwalla, P. Eastham, Nature communications 10 (1), 1-10, 2019Touristic site attractiveness seen through Twitter. A Bassolas, M Lenormand, A Tugores, B Gonçalves, JJ Ramasco. EPJ Data Science 5 (1), 1-9, 2016In order to recognize exceptional contributions to the science of complex systems the society established in 2014 the junior scientific award aimed at recognizing extraordinary scientific achievements by CSS young researchers (within 7 years of PhD completion). In addition to Bassolas, the researchers Michelle Feng (University of California) and William Gilpin (University of Texas) have been awarded in this category. http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/ifisc-researcher-wins-emerging-researcher-…

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IFISC News - Conference on Complex Systems CCS 2022
by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es 13 Oct '22

13 Oct '22

Conference on Complex Systems CCS 2022 IFISC (UIB-CSIC) organizes the Conference on Complex Systems, CCS 2022. The conference will take place next October, 17-21 at the Palma Auditorium. More than 600 researchers, from all over the world and from different fields of complexity science, will gather to learn from each other and establish the state of the art in complex systems research. The CCS is the largest and most important annual meeting of the international complex systems community and it comes under the auspices of the Complex Systems Society. The talks will cover topics related to the science of complex systems such as Economics and Finance, Social systems, Ecological systems, City Science, Mobility and Transport, Energy, Environment, Climate and Global change, Complex Networks… Thematic keynote, invited and contributed talks, a poster session, round-table discussions and a public event will contribute to a rich program. The conference aims to represent a broad spectrum of topics on Complex Systems. Keynote speakers include: Elsa Arcaute, University College London UCL, UKJean-Philippe Bouchaud, CFM & Académie des Sciences, FranceJesús Gómez Gardeñes, Universidad de Zaragoza, SpainPaula Hidalgo, UN Pulse, USA-UgandaPaulien Hogeweg, University of Utrech, NetherlandsMarton Karsai, Central European University, Vienna.Filippo Menczer, Indiana University, USAAnxo Sanchez, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain.Wolf Singer, FIAS, Frankfurt, GermanyAnna Traveset, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), SpainPhilip Walther, University of Vienna, Austria A dissemination session in Spanish open to general public will be held on Thursday 21, in Auditorium’s Sala Mozart at 7 p.m. The session, aimed to approach science to society, is entitled "Complejidad para Comprender la Sociedad”, and includes “World Wide Waste Web: Red de comercio internacional de basuras” by Ernesto Estrada (IFISC); “Leyes de Movilidad Humana: desde el individuo a emisiones vehículos en ciudades” by Marta González (UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) and “Aquellos maravillosos años: los círculos de Dunbar y las amistades en el instituto” by Anxo Sánchez (Universidad Carlos III). Also, coinciding with the CCS and profiting the opportunity offered by the presence of a wide variety of experts in different topics, a school for PhD students and early-stage researchers is organized in the Sa Riera bulding of the UIB, the CCS Warm-up. The school aims to offer young researchers the opportunity to learn new methods, present their work and meet fellow researchers. This edition of the conference, organized by IFISC, takes place after previous events held in Lyon, Singapore, Thessaloniki and Cancun. www.ccs2022.org http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/ccs-2022/

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IFISC News - IFISC researcher Massimiliano Zanin to share best practices at Balearic Islands ERC Proposal Reading Days
by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es 06 Oct '22

06 Oct '22

IFISC researcher Massimiliano Zanin to share best practices at Balearic Islands ERC Proposal Reading Days IFISC, together with the UIB European Projects Office (OPE), the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECyT), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Direcció General de Política Universitària i Recerca (DGPUR) are organizing a full day activity in the Balearic Islands on the European Research Council/ ERC Grants, meant to stimulate investigator-driven frontier research in Europe through competitive funding across all fields, on the basis of scientific excellence. The ERC Proposal Reading Days will be held on October 11 at the UIB. This initiative will offer future ERC Grant candidates the opportunity to learn more about the modalities of participation, as well as read some of the proposals that were funded in previous calls. IFISC researcher Massimiliano Zanin, beneficiary of an ERC Starting Grant, will participate in an exchange of best practices with Marta Puxan (UIB, ERC Consolidator Grant), Anna Traveset (IMEDEA, ERC Advanced Grant), Luis M. Martínez (IN-CSIC-UMH, ERC Synergy Grant) and Estefanía Muñoz (FECyT, ERC National Contact Point Spain). For more information about the ERC Reading Days 2022 please consult: https://www.horizonteeuropa.es/erc-proposal-reading-days-2022 http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/ifisc-researcher-massimiliano-zanin-share-…

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IFISC News - We welcome the new students of the Master’s Degree in Physics of Complex Systems
by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es 04 Oct '22

04 Oct '22

We welcome the new students of the Master’s Degree in Physics of Complex Systems Today we welcome the new students who will be taking the renewed IFISC Master in Physics of Complex Systems during this academic year. 11 students from 4 countries, graduated in different bachelors such as physics, computer science or Earth sciences, have enrolled our master's degree. These students will take the new syllabus for the first time. Last year the IFISC Faculty decided to update the Master’s contents and skills. Within the block of core subjects, the program makes a special emphasis on Data Science, Machine Learning and Information Theory, since these fields are consolidating within Complex Systems research and are increasingly important for complex science practitioners. On the other hand, the number of elective courses increase, allowing students to specialize in the branch of Complex Systems science of their interest. The Master's Degree in Physics of Complex Systems was created in 2012 with unique characteristics based on interdisciplinarity, novelty and rigor. More than one hundred students have since been trained in its classrooms, achieving high levels of excellence and satisfaction. http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/we-welcome-new-students-masters-degree-phy…

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IFISC News - Researcher’s Night 2022: La Resistència Científica
by ifisc＠ifisc.uib-csic.es 16 Sep '22

16 Sep '22

Researcher’s Night 2022: La Resistència Científica La Resistencia Científica is a late night science show that will bring together the centres of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in the Balearic archipelago to talk about the science being done in these islands with a touch of humour.Organised on the occasion of Researchers' Night 2022, IFISC together with the CSIC Representation in the Balearic Islands and with the support of the Dirección General de Política Universitaria e Investigación Research and the "la Caixa" Foundation.The event will consist of 4 free shows from 26th to 29th September in the Lluís Domènech i Montaner auditorium of Caixaforum in Palma from 19:00.There will also be live music by the group REFRACTAL. The stage will be decorated by the associations Noctiluca and Mar Inquieto and the artists Nivola Uyà and África Juan with materials they have collected from rubbish collection in the different coastal areas of Mallorca. ProgrammeMonday 26 September: A complex worldAt the Institute of Interdisciplinary Physics and Complex Systems (IFISC, CSIC-UIB) research is being carried out into the intersections between different disciplines such as quantum technologies, information and communications technologies, Earth sciences, life sciences and social sciences, all from an interdisciplinary and strategic perspective in the field of Complex Systems.The interviewee for this first show will be David Sánchez, researcher at IFISC. We will learn about the breadth of research in complex systems thanks to his multidisciplinary profile as a scientist, as he works in areas ranging from nanophysics to language variation and quantum thermodynamics. Tuesday 27 September: The marine environmentThis session will focus on oceanographic culture, as we will be visited by the Balearic Islands Oceanographic Centre (COB, CSIC-IEO). We will learn about the tasks and research carried out by COB staff in the multidisciplinary study of the marine environment, its ecosystems and living resources.Wednesday 28 September: Ocean, coastline and geology; between two worlds.Double session, where we will have two interviews:Pedro Robledo, the director of the Territorial Unit in the Balearic Islands of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME, CSIC), will tell us all about the research they carry out in the Balearic archipelago, such as geoscientific mapping, groundwater, geological risks, underground world and global change.Emma Reyes and Benjamín Casas, from the Coastal Observation and Forecasting System of the Balearic Islands (ICTS SOCIB), will explain the network of facilities and equipment dedicated to marine observation and the acquisition, processing and analysis of data for predictive modelling. Thursday 29 September: Plankton: from micro to macro in the oceanThe mission of the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB) is to contribute to the advancement of knowledge of marine, coastal and island ecosystems in order to preserve and restore them. We will be visited by the director of IMEDEA, Gotzon Basterretxea and the pre-doctoral fellow, Medea Zanoli, who will tell us how a heterogeneous research team of the Institute works to contribute to the understanding of these microscopic and elusive organisms called "plankton". Book free tickets http://ifisc.uib-csic.es/en/news/researchers-night-2022-la-resistencia-cien…

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