Journal of Experimental Biology Symposium 2025
Sensory Perception in a Changing World – Impacts on Physiology and Behaviour
Organisers: Almut Kelber, Sanjay P. Sane and Kathleen M. Gilmour
Date: 24-28 March 2025
Location: ACC Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Animals rely on sensory information from their environment to make decisions about navigating their surroundings, foraging, growing, seeking mates and homes, evading predators, and reproducing. Their senses have evolved over millions of years to serve their physiological needs and behavioural repertoire, allowing them to survive and thrive in their habitats. Sensory perception, physiological responses and neuronally controlled behaviour allow species to respond to a range of ecological conditions – for instance, between day and night, or summer versus winter. They may also allow animals to react to rapid or unexpected changes such as forest fires, flooding or upwelling-driven hypoxia. However, many organismal responses and behaviours are so tightly coupled to specific sensory cues that they are easily disrupted. In a changing world, this limits the adaptability of the link between perception and functional response, leaving animals vulnerable to anthropogenic factors such as light pollution, climate change, the accumulation of plastic and other chemicals in the environment, and other human-wildlife interactions.
This symposium takes a broad, comparative approach to the sensory control of physiological mechanisms and behaviours. It highlights the effects of anthropogenic changes on all levels, from sensory information and transduction via neuronal coding, to stress responses and physiological and behavioural control.
The presentations from the meeting will be shared with the wider scientific community by being published as Review articles in a supplementary special issue of JEB in early 2026.
Organisers & speakers
Almut Kelber Lund University, Sweden
Sanjay P. Sane National Center for Biological Sciences, India
Kathleen M. Gilmour University of Ottawa, Canada
Programme
The programme will be available once all speakers have been confirmed.
All presentations will be published as a special issue of Journal of Experimental Biology in early 2026.
Venue
The Symposium will be held at the ACC Liverpool in Liverpool, UK, which is easily accessible by air from international airports at Liverpool and Manchester and by train from across the UK. The venue is in a stunning waterfront location in the heart of the historic Royal Albert Docks.
ACC Liverpool
Kings Dock
Liverpool Waterfront
Liverpool L3 4FP
UK
Tel: +44 (0)151 475 8888
Website: https://www.accliverpool.com/
Travel
ACC Liverpool is about one mile from the Liverpool Lime Street train station and less than 10 miles from Liverpool John Lennon Airport. This airport serves mainly domestic and European destinations. The international airport at Manchester is about 35 miles away and there are various public transport options available to reach Liverpool.
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