Poorvi's Poster Presentation at BES 2025

From 15-18 December 2025, TEE Lab Research Assistant Nagichetty Ashok Poorvi attended the British Ecological Society 2025 Annual Meeting, held in Edinburgh, to share about some of the lab's ongoing work on fungal communities and functional traits across leaf litter and soil. Let's hear from Poorvi about her experience! :)

In December last year, I had the privilege of sharing my work on the fungal communities of Singapore’s tropical forests. I presented a poster titled: Shifts in Fungal Communities and Functional Traits across Leaf Litter & Soil in Tropical Forests. 

My poster sparked great conversations with fellow researchers about tropical bacterial communities and the unique challenges of metabarcoding. 

Poorvi's poster; Project co-authored by several TEE lab members as well!

The conference was a massive gathering of ecologists from all over the world. It featured a wide array of topics, from plant-soil interactions and macroecology to behavioral ecology and conservation policy. It was the perfect "wide-lens" view of the most recent advances in ecology! 

Beyond the science sessions, I also dove into several workshops designed to sharpen our professional skills. I picked up great tips on topics such as policy-making, manuscript editing, data management, and publishing. 

But it wasn't all data and seminars! The evenings were packed with a wide host of networking events. The first night kicked off with a welcome mixer, followed by a social hosted by the Conservation & Macroecology Special Interest Group (SIG). The absolute highlight, however, was the BES annual party. It was a night of socializing, high-energy karaoke, and the legendary Scottish folk dance: the ceilidh. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to share my work and connect with such a diverse community of researchers, giving me a lot of learning, fresh inspiration, new connections, and perhaps a few new dance moves!