Deakin University’s Centre for Integrative Ecology presents its Wild Webinars 2022 on-line public seminar series. The series brings exciting science stories live into your evening. Kick back and be regaled by the latest discoveries in ecology, conservation, evolution and sustainability presented by CIE’s leading research experts.
- Speaker(s): Dr. Nick Porch & PhD candidate Meghan Shaw
- Title(s): Introducing south-eastern Australia’s rich terrestrial invertebrate fauna by Dr. Nick Porch & The next Bee-yonce: Can insects become conservation celebrities? by PhD Candidate Meghan Shaw
- When: Tuesday 1st November 2022, 7:30-8:30 pm AEST – registration now open
Introducing south-eastern Australia’s rich terrestrial invertebrate fauna / Dr. Nick Porch
Other than a few charismatic groups, like butterflies and dragonflies, the terrestrial invertebrate fauna of Australia is poorly known; in many groups the majority of species are yet to be even formally described. For the species that have been described, detailed knowledge of their distribution and ecology is often lacking. This adds up to a potential conservation problem. If we don’t know what lives where, how do we know which places are especially important for invertebrate diversity? In this talk I will present some of the major groups of terrestrial invertebrates in SE. Australia using high-resolution macro-photography and introduce issues that are especially pertinent to the conservation of the fauna characterised by it massive diversity and high rates of turnover across the landscape.
About Nick: Nick is a palaeoecologist interested in human impact on Indo-Pacific island ecosystems with a side interest in, and knowledge of, SE. Australia beetles and other terrestrial invertebrates; his worry about the lack of engagement with invertebrate diversity explains this evolving change in direction. He is lucky to have four beetles, an assassin spider, a pincushion millipede and a lace bug, named after him.
Follow Nick HERE.
The next Bee-yonce: Can insects become conservation celebrities? / PhD Candidate Meghan Shaw
The world of species conservation is just like the world of high school, a popularity contest. Currently the animals we know and love most tend to be mammals and birds, the cute and fluffy creatures. These animals get the most conservation funding and thus often are less likely to become extinct. As a result, 94% of the world’s endangered species are reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates.
About Meg: Meg Shaw is a PhD Candidate and science communicator at Deakin University, with an interest in Conservation Marketing and Social Science. Her research focuses on using imagery to connect people with wildlife and to promote the adoption of wildlife friendly behaviours. She is also the secretary of ConsMark.
Follow Meghan HERE.
Find more information about CIE’s Wild Webinars 2022 HERE.
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