Is democracy failing the biosphere?
Dr Bob Brown – 18th February 2013

Dr Bob Brown argued that a faulty democracy is having a negative impact on the biosphere during his delivery of the University of Canberra's Institute for Applied Ecology 2013 Krebs Lecture.

Dr Bob Brown is the former leader of the Australian Greens, a medical doctor, environmental activist and chair of the Bob Brown Foundation. In January 2013, it was announced that he would be taking over as the leader of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a non-profit, marine conservation organisation.

Select this link to see a video of the 54 minute lecture.

Learning how to change in order not to change: Lessons from ecology for an uncertain world
Dr Brian Walker – 20th February 2012

Ecological systems maintain their viability through disturbances that probe their limits to change; preventing change leads to a narrowing of these limits. The added complexity of interdependencies in linked social-ecological systems strengthens this need for change, both natural and deliberate. As the world evolves into a globally connected system with increasing uncertainties (financial, pandemics, climate and others) maintaining its 'identity' demands, even more, that we allow or implement deliberate, transformative changes at regional and finer scales. Meeting this challenge calls for a change from current policies (everywhere) of help not to change, to help in order to change.

Dr Brian Walker is an internationally experienced scientist working on sustainability and resilience in social ecological systems. He is a Research Fellow with CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems and is also Chair of the Board of the Resilience Alliance, an inter-disciplinary international research group.

Select this link if you have a high speed Internet connection to see a video of the 53 minute lecture.

Select this link if you have a low speed Internet connection to see a video of the 53 minute lecture.

What can ecologists tell us about sustainability?
Professor Charles Krebs – 21st February 2011

Sustainability is an issue that is constantly in the news and is a concept that applies to human society yet impinges on all the environmental sciences. In this talk I will discuss what sustainability means, and how applied ecologists can contribute to defining the paths that lead to sustainability. The context will be three global problems – agriculture, biodiversity, and population, and I will discuss the ecological framework that informs decisions about sustainability in these areas. Finally I will discuss the politics of ignorance, and the problems that arise from ignoring well-established ecological principles. Although scientists do not make policy, we need to demand evidence-based decision making in all areas of resource management.

Professor Charles Krebs is Thinker in Residence at the Institute for Applied Ecology. His stellar career as an ecologist in USA, Canada and Australia include international renown for his text, Ecology: The Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance, a textbook used worldwide to teach ecology, and for his pioneering experimental approach to ecology including fundamental work on predator prey interactions and the Fence Effect (also known as the Krebs Effect).

Select this link to see a video of the 43 minute lecture or the PowerPoint presentation that accompanied the lecture.

Life in the slow lane: spatial dynamics and persistence of turtles in the Cooper
Professor Arthur Georges – March 2013

Professor Arthur Georges, Chief Scientist at the IAE, spoke on one of his favourite topics at a symposium in Longreach in March 2013. The conference was entitled: Lake Eyre Basin Under the Spotlight. The Future of the World's Last Great Desert River System and was organised by the Australian Floodplain Association. It attracted some 100 participants and brought together some of Australia's top water and river scientists as well as tourism operators, mining executives, graziers from affected communities, and Indigenous land managers from across the basin.

Select this link to see a 18 minute video of the lecture.

Evolutionary Biology: Answering old questions with the new genomics
Professor Scott Edwards – 17th April 2013

Professor Scott Edwards' research focuses on many aspects of vertebrate molecular evolution and population genetics, with an emphasis on birds, including evolutionary history and phylogeography, comparative genomics, disease ecology and population genetics. Using examples from his birds' studies, Professor Edwards showed ways in which the latest technologies – in particular next genome sequencing – can not only refine the reconstruction of evolutionary history but also shine a spotlight on key genes that may have played a bigger role in evolving physical characteristics of organisms and the origin of new species.

Professor Scott Edwards is Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Curator of Ornithology and Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University.

Select this link to see a 66 minute video of the lecture.

Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease: a model for other newly emergent diseases
Dr Brian Cooke – 24th April 2012

Dr Brian Cooke shares his research time between the Institute of Applied Ecology and the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre. As a Research Fellow at the IAE, Brian continues his interest in biological control of invasive species. He mainly works on the epidemiology of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus with the aim of documenting the consequences and benefits of its 1995 introduction into Australia as well as following its on-going co-evolution in relation to apparent development of resistance in the rabbit host. He is developing a broad theoretical framework for understanding the epidemiology of rabbit haemorrhagic disease as an example of how newly emergent viruses interact with and are often limited by other related viruses. This work is important for the long term management of animal diseases not only for biological control of rabbits in Australia but also for their conservation in Europe.

Select this link to see a 32 minute video of the lecture.

New fishing techniques decimate pig nosed turtles in PNG
Dr Carla Eisemberg – 25th September 2012

Dr Carla Eisemberg speaks with Radio Australia about new fishing techniques which are decimating pig nosed turtles in Papua New Guinea. The pig-nosed turtle is a traditional food source and researchers say over the last 30 years the turtle's numbers in PNG have dropped by 50 percent. Carla Eisemberg, was part of a study by the University of Canberra about the turtle and says there are moves to get it officially listed as endangered.

Select this link to go to the Radio Australia website to hear the 5 minute interview by presenter Iskhandar Razak.

The ACEAS Great Debate: Will European land use devastate Australia's unique biodiversity?
27th March 2012, The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus), Adelaide

Australia's landscape has changed dramatically since the arrival of Europeans 224 years ago. View the panel of experts: Jasmyn Lynch (IAE), Chris Johnson, David Keith, David Bowman, Barry Brook and Wayne Meyer discussing the past, present and most of all how we can plan for a sustainable future.

Select this link to see a 52 minute video of The ACEAS Great Debate.

Select this link to see a 25 minute video of the Question and Answer session which followed the debate.