Prof. H. J. Dumont from the University of Ghent, Belgium paid a visit to IHB, May 9.

On May 9, H. J Dumont, a professor from the University of Ghent, Belgium, was invited to the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences(IHB) to conduct academic exchanges for researchers and graduate students and gave a presentation entitled "Limnology meets Marine Biology in West Eurasia's brackish waters: Pandora's box wide open! ".  

"Pandora's box wide open!” Prof. Dumont firstly brought everyone into the theme of the report by a vivid metaphor. When limnology biology encountered marine biology, biological invasions began quietly. The crisis of biodiversity, species range expansion, endemic species reduced or increased would affect the harmonious existence of organisms from different regions. Natural factors are exclusively included, but human activities shouldn’t have been ignored. The ballast water of large ships, opening of the canals, building of dam, weir and lock are the main three media of biological invasion.  

Then Prof. Dumont introduced the history of the development of biological invasion in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Caspian Sea, and four invasion routes formed among the former three seas and the North Sea, the Mediterranean. Finally, Dumont put forward a thought-provoking warning: "If you open the box of Pandora, be prepared for disaster!" (quoted from the Greek mythology). Prof. Dumont showed great concern on Ling qu and the Grand Canal, two oldest artificial rivers in China.

Prof. Dumont is an internationally renowned aquatic biologist. He has published more than 400 scientific papers in SCI journals such as Nature, Limnology and Oceanography, Hydrobiology, Advances in Ecological Research and Developments in Hydrobiology, and as author or the editor-in-chief, he has written more than 20 books. He also made great contribution in the study of zooplankton taxonomy, ecology, phylogenetic and biological invasion. Prof. Dumont once served as editor-in-chief of Hydrobiologia in a long-term (1980-2003) and now as the honorary editor of the journal. He has won numerous awards such as the Brussels scientific Cross, 2002; the foreign academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a member of the honorary doctorate at the University of Aguascalientes, Mexico and the Russian Hydrobiological Society honours, 2003; the Romania Academy of Emil Racovitza Prize, 2004.