Professor Varos Petrosyan, Founder and Head of the Department of Bioinformatics and Modeling of Biological Processes at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, delivered a lecture at YSU Faculty of Biology.
Varos Petrosyan's visit to YSU was within the framework of the scientific topic "Modeling and Coordination of the Spread of Endangered and Invasive Species in Armenia," under the program "Support for Advanced Research Topics". The visit aimed at conducting scientific research in Armenia, focusing on the joint study of potential models for the spread of alien species.
During the lecture, Professor Petrosyan presented existing climate change models and their various scenarios until the end of the 21st century. As a result of climate change, the spread of certain highly dangerous invasive species has been reassessed, with their distribution boundaries changing accordingly.
According to the presented data, climate change over the past 80 years has led to an average temperature increase of 1°C in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, causing the distribution range of invasive species to shift approximately 19.7 km northward. The modeling results predict that in the next 80 years, the temperature increase will reach 1.93°C, leading to a shift of species distribution boundaries by 33±12 km, while a 4.97°C change would result in a shift of 32.3±12 km.
These findings, according to the expert, are of significant importance for planning appropriate measures to preserve ecosystem stability in Armenia and prevent the spread of dangerous alien species.
The professor's visit to Yerevan State University and his lecture provided an opportunity to strengthen cooperation with various international scientific communities in the field of biodiversity conservation in Armenia.
