Research Tuesdays - Preserving biodiversity

Biodiversity loss is a crisis we can’t ignore. Declining biodiversity and ecological function weaken natural resilience to climate change, leaving environments vulnerable and diminishing their capacity to sustain life or produce clean air, water, and food.

In Australia, shrinking biodiversity fuels natural disasters, and it enables invasive species to drive native mammals to extinction. It puts iconic animals like koalas and wombats at risk.

How do we best control these invasive species––and how can science advances help?  

Researchers at the University of Adelaide are taking action, working to combat both the causes and the consequences of biodiversity loss. They’re tackling wildlife crime to avert biosecurity risks, creating simulation models to prevent extinction, guiding policy to maintain thriving ecosystems, and using DNA editing technology to eradicate invasive species.

Join us in February to learn more and support their mission to protect biodiversity in Australia. 

The presenter

Professor Andrew Lowe is the Director of the Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide. He has held several prestigious positions outside of the University as well, including Head of Science in the South Australian Department of Environment; acting Director of the South Australian Museum; and Science Director for the Fight Food Waste CRC. Lowe has helped secure over $250M of funding and has published over 250 scientific papers and books, attracting more than 23,000 citations. He has collaborated with over 300 researchers from 100 institutes in 30 countries, and has directly supervised over 120 staff and graduate students. He has published over 150 media articles and given over 250 public and scientific presentations.

Following his presentation, Professor Lowe will host a Q&A session with experts tackling biodiversity loss.

The panellists 

Professor Paul Thomas leads the Genome Editing Program and the SA Genome Editing (SAGE) Facility at the University of Adelaide and SAHMRI. He has over 30 years’ experience in molecular genetics, and his research focuses on the development of CRISPR/CAS9 genome editing technology for a range of applications including genetic therapies for eye and muscle disease, generation and analysis of mouse models for neurodevelopmental disorders, and synthetic gene drives for invasive pest suppression. He has published more than 130 scientific articles and has more than 12,500 citations.

Professor Michelle Waycott is an evolutionary biologist, botanist and science integrator whose research has been to focus on protecting biodiversity for future generations. She is the Chief Botanist at the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium (BGSH) of South Australia in the Department for Environment and Water (DEW), where she leads the Science and Conservation program. Through these roles, she is responsible for the strategic directions and research program that utilises more than 1 million plant, algal and fungal specimens that make up the State of South Australia's Herbarium collection and the native plant Seed Bank for South Australia.

Dr Adam Toomes is a researcher focused on combatting illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade. He specialises in a variety of digital and physical market surveillance techniques aimed at identifying threatening processes in the exotic pet trade, including the spread of invasive species and poaching of threatened native species.