Invited Speakers

Freshwater ecosystems are among the most sensitive and vital natural systems of our planet. Lakes, rivers, dams and wetlands are not only water resources; they are also home to rich biological diversity. However, in recent years these fragile systems face an invisible but significant threat: Microplastics.

In this talk titled "Microplastics in the Limno World," the sources, transport mechanisms and ecosystem impacts of microplastics accumulating in freshwater environments will be examined from the perspective of limnology. The distribution of microplastics from different sources — from wastewater discharges to textile fibers, from tire wear to agricultural runoff — in lake and river systems will be investigated.

The role of microplastics in the food web from plankton to fish, bioaccumulation processes and potential effects on water quality will be evaluated in light of scientific data. In addition, the long-term ecological consequences and monitoring methods of plastic particles accumulating in sediments will also be discussed.

Short Biography

Prof. Dr. Muhammed ATAMANALP was born on 01.11.1971 in Erzurum. He completed his undergraduate education at Atatürk University, Faculty of Agriculture, in 1993, his master's degree in 1996, and his doctoral degree in 2000. At the same faculty, he was appointed as Research Assistant in 1994, Assistant Professor in 2001, Associate Professor in 2004, and Professor in 2009. In 2010, he played a key role in the establishment of Atatürk University's Faculty of Fisheries, and in 2011 he was appointed as the founding dean of this faculty. He served three terms as dean at the same faculty. Prof. Dr. Atamanalp, who is still a faculty member at the same institution, has lectured at the University of Florence (Italy), Kaposvár University (Hungary), Beirut University (Lebanon), and Warsaw University (Poland) within the scope of the Erasmus programme. He also served in Jordan under the Mevlana Exchange Programme.

He served as a visiting professor at Cornell University (USA) for one semester. In order to conduct research in his field and establish international collaborations, Prof. Dr. Atamanalp has visited Italy, Germany, England, TRNC, the Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Nakhchivan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, France, Hungary, Serbia, Austria, the Czech Republic, India, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jordan, Kosovo, Abu Dhabi, the Maldives, Israel, Dubai, Palestine, and Bulgaria in various years. In 2023, he graduated from the Occupational Health and Safety undergraduate programme of Istanbul University's Open Education Faculty as a second degree.

He has 4 books in the fields of water pollution, aquatic toxicology, and genotoxicity, one of which was published by Springer. Prof. Dr. Atamanalp has 340 publications, 133 of which are SCI-indexed, and has served as principal investigator/researcher in more than 50 projects supported by TÜBİTAK, the Ministry, and the Council of Higher Education (YÖK). With a Web of Science h-index of 31, Prof. Dr. ATAMANALP has received 3,069 international citations.

Prof. Dr. Muhammed ATAMANALP, who holds commission memberships at the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, currently has ongoing international collaborations with Isfahan University of Technology under a TÜBİTAK bilateral cooperation, with 13 countries under the PRIMA project, and holds roles in 2 high-budget TÜBİTAK 1001 projects.

As the ecotone where surface water and groundwater interact, the hyporheic zone is an important but difficult-to-quantify volume, with heterogeneous properties and dimensions. Prior research has described how the hyporheic zone influences both groundwater and surface water processes, ecosystems, and communities. That research also illustrates how the zone contains diverse benthic, stygobiontic (obligate groundwater), and even obligate hyporheic invertebrate fauna.

Between 2015 and 2025, 1,070 hyporheic samples collected from more than 225 unique sites across the state of Texas, USA allow analyses spanning large spatial scales. These analyses are beginning to reveal the underlying drivers of hyporheic properties and biodiversity, and how these drivers vary across both space and time. We find that a few physical and hydrologic properties are often master variables controlling both abundance and diversity, but that site- and regional-scale heterogeneities and properties are also important.

Short Biography

Prof. Dr. Benjamin F. Schwartz (Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA) is an internationally recognized scientist specialized in hydrogeology and groundwater systems. He is particularly known for his work on karst aquifer systems, groundwater flow dynamics, and the sustainable management of water resources.

Prof. Dr. Benjamin F. Schwartz is a prominent academic who stands out with both his theoretical and applied research in hydrogeology and water sciences, and who contributes significantly to the protection and sustainable management of water resources.

Prof. Dr. Schwartz pursues his academic career in the United States, where he serves as a professor at Texas State University. He also conducts research at the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment. His work is particularly focused on understanding the hydrological behavior of sensitive karst systems such as the Edwards Aquifer. However, his research extends across a wide range of fields through both national and international collaborations. His research activities cover areas such as karst hydrogeology, groundwater–surface water interactions, aquifer vulnerability, water quality, and sustainable water management. In this context, he has participated in numerous projects examining the responses of hydrogeological systems under climate change and anthropogenic pressures.

Prof. Dr. Schwartz's scientific contributions have been demonstrated through numerous studies published in international peer-reviewed journals. He has more than 100 scientific publications (articles, reports, and book chapters). His work has received several thousand citations in the international literature and constitutes an important reference point in the field of hydrogeology. In addition to his academic activities, he teaches courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and supervises numerous master's and doctoral students. His teaching activities particularly emphasize applied hydrogeology and field studies.

Abstract

Biopolymers derived from aquatic and water-related organisms have attracted significant interest in the field of bioengineering due to their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and non-toxic properties. In this seminar, the production, characterization, and application areas of three-dimensional biopolymers from various natural sources, particularly aquatic systems, will be presented. The biopolymers to be discussed include chitin, chitosan, cellulose, and biosilica, many of which are obtained from marine or water-based organisms. The application areas of the produced 3D materials include: (i) drug loading and controlled release systems, (ii) food coatings to extend shelf life, (iii) biocapsule production for healthy weight management, (iv) biological mesh materials for surgical applications, and (v) production of multifunctional porous bioactive silica microspheres from aquatic sponges for biomedical use.

Short Biography

Prof. Dr. Murat Kaya completed his undergraduate education at Karadeniz Technical University in 2003. He received his master's (2005) and doctoral (2008) degrees from Ankara University, Institute of Science, Department of Biology. In 2006, he studied at Ghent University in Belgium for 1 year under the Erasmus Programme. In 2008, he worked at Imperial College London's BARRALAB for 1 year under the Lifelong Learning Programme. In 2017-2018, he served as a visiting scientist at the University of California Merced's AMEMIYA LAB under the TÜBİTAK 2219 programme. In 2018, he was awarded the Young Scientist of the Year by the "Science Heroes Association" in Turkey. Dr. Kaya worked as a visiting professor at the University of Cambridge, Department of Chemistry, with support from the Royal Society and TÜBİTAK 2219. He then spent 6 months at the University of the Basque Country, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering in Spain in 2023 under a Maria Zambrano fellowship. He subsequently worked as Head of New Product Development at CuanTec Ltd. in Scotland, UK for 1 year. Dr. Kaya currently serves as a faculty member at Istanbul Technical University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics.

After the proclamation of the Republic in Türkiye, important water projects were implemented with the great contributions of the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSİ). However, these projects developed within the framework of water policies applied for many years were mostly independent of one another. Due to the lack of coordination, the projects could not be completed within the specified time frames. In this context, it can be said that our water resources development policy has primarily been aimed at rapidly meeting existing needs. In line with this approach, supply management in water has come to the forefront, and demand-regulating mechanisms have not been included due to socio-political factors. In addition, due to various environmental, socio-political and administrative reasons, Türkiye's water management has emerged institutionally as a multi-headed, fragmented structure suffering from a lack of coordination. The drafting work for a Water Law, which was initiated approximately 13 years ago to address this and complete other legal deficiencies in water management, has still not been finalized. On the other hand, the General Directorate of Water Management, established in 2011, has prepared many strategy and action planning reports at the basin scale, including protection, water allocation, flood management and drought management. However, due to legal, structural and institutional deficiencies, these plans could not be put into practice.

The 2018-2023 National Water Plan, prepared in line with Türkiye's water management needs, mentions the following deficiencies:

"Water policies and investment programs produced separately by various institutions cause duplicate practices and waste of resources. There are overlaps of authority between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. Public awareness regarding the protection of water resources is insufficient. Inter-institutional coordination is weak. The water legislation, consisting of 30 laws and secondary regulations, is fragmented and inadequate for basin management. In addition, development-oriented land use and development decisions make the protection of water resources difficult. There is no framework legal regulation (Water Law) to provide solutions to the problems."

Due to these deficiencies stated in the First National Water Plan, the ecosystem balance is being disrupted, our lakes are drying up, water pollution is increasing, and our water and food security are at risk. To achieve success in water management, it is necessary to manage water at the basin scale to increase economic productivity, ensure social equity, and provide environmental sustainability. To be successful in the areas of economic productivity, social equity, and environmental sustainability in water management, it is essential to have a complete legal infrastructure and a highly developed institutional infrastructure. A radical transformation is needed for the dominance of the Protection, Utilization, and Capacity Development approach in water management.

For the future of our water management, it is also important to eliminate the current planning complexity at the central, regional, and basin scales and the lack of coherence between plans. In addition, prioritizing nature-based solutions that consider ecological balance, solving the structural problems of organizations that will participate in participatory management at the basin scale, and benefiting from digital technological developments to increase service efficiency are also priority steps that need to be taken.

Short Biography

Civil Engineer, Water Policy Specialist (MSc.) Dursun YILDIZ was born in Samsun in 1958. He graduated from Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Civil Engineering in 1981, and began his career in 1983 at the Department of Technical Research and Quality Control of the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSİ). Throughout his professional life, he participated in training and research programs at the International Institute for Hydraulic Engineering in the Netherlands and at the Bureau of Reclamation and the US Army Corps of Engineers in the USA. In 1998, he completed specialization programs in European Union and International Relations at Ankara University's European Union Research and Application Center. In 2000, he received his master's degree in water policy at Hacettepe University's Hydropolitics and Strategy Research Center. Within DSİ, he served as branch manager and deputy head of department. He worked at the Department of Technical Research and Quality Control, the Department of Drinking Water and Sewerage, and the Department of Survey and Planning, and retired in 2007. During his professional career, he produced more than 75 technical reports and scientific publications. Academically, he has lectured part-time at Gazi University, Hacettepe University, and Izmir Institute of Technology on water engineering, water resources, and hydropolitics. He has also held various management positions within the Chamber of Civil Engineers and the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB). With over 25 years of experience at DSİ, Yıldız specializes in hydraulic research engineering, water management, hydroenergy, and hydropolitics, and has authored 17 books and numerous national and international publications. He was awarded "Successful Water Researcher of the Year" in 2008 and "Successful Water Specialist" in 2016. He serves as the president of the Hydropolitics Academy Association, which he founded in 2015. He also runs his own engineering and consultancy company. He is a member of the TEMA Foundation Scientific Board and serves as the editor of the International Journal of Water Management and Diplomacy published on Dergipark.