Winter Programme
Our talks programme will include both in-person and on-line (Zoom) presentations, but we will not attempt hybrid talks. Zoom links will be emailed to members nearer the time. In-person talks will be in the Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, unless otherwise indicated. Most talks will be on the second Tuesday evening of the month at 7:00pm, but watch out for a few irregular dates and times. Talk abstracts will be added later.
Where there are two lectures listed for an evening, each will last about 30 minutes.
2023
September Thursday 21st: Boyd Orr Building (Lecture Theatre C) 7.30pm, Lecture: Prof Alexandre Antonelli, Director of Science, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: The Hidden Universe: adventures in biodiversity.Jointly with Friends of Glasgow Botanic Gardens. Unleashing the power of biodiversity science to tackle society’s biggest challengesNever before has science been more crucial for tackling the huge and interlinked challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change. In this talk I will highlight how the understanding of taxonomy, distribution, threats and uses of species are paramount to providing real-world solutions that benefit nature and people. I will exemplify these points through work carried out at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in strong collaboration with partners worldwide. A critical theme running through these projects, and one that is crucial to their success, is the integration of biodiversity knowledge into wider societal contexts.
Tuesday 26th: on-line by Zoom 7.00pm Lecture: Leif Bersweden, author and botanist: Where the wildflowers growLeif last talked to us about his epic travels around the UK as a school-leaver, aiming to see every orchid species in flower. Now, two degrees and two books later, he is BBC Springwatch’s botanist, on a mission to promote our wonderful wildflowers.
Our resident flora is packed full of remarkable creatures. There are plants that poison predators, fight battles and play mind games with pollinators. We have carnivores and climbers, puppeteers and parasites. Some are giants thousands of years old, while others are tiny pinpricks a millimetre across. In 2021, Leif Bersweden went on a big botanical adventure around Britain and Ireland with his bike, travelling from Hampshire’s Bluebell woods to the shores of Shetland, to track down our most intriguing and well-known plants, with the people who love them most dearly.
Leif’s latest book, Where the Wildflowers Grow, follows him on that journey as he botanises his way through an entire calendar year, meeting our plants, telling their stories and exploring people’s connection to their local flora. Plants are capable of extraordinary things that we rarely hear about or give them credit for, and Leif is here to share their ways with new audiences. This talk, like the book, is all about the joy of engaging with nature, the importance of plants for our climate, and celebrating our unbelievable botanical diversity.
Leif Bersweden is a writer, botanist and nature communicator with a face-down, bottom-up approach to watching wildlife. He grew up in rural Wiltshire where he taught himself how to identify the local flora and has championed our wild plants and the joy they bring ever since. He is the author of The Orchid Hunter (2017) and Where the Wildflowers Grow (2022).
October Tuesday 10th: on-line by Zoom (only) 7.00pm Lecture: Shannon Clifford: Are Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) chicks heat stressed?Summary: Animals are adapted to the thermal range which they inhabit, but climate warming is putting added physiological pressure on their ability to thermoregulate in their environments. Compared to species inhabiting the Arctic and Tropics, the response of temperate seabird chicks and their parents to a changing thermal environment is poorly understood. Young seabird chicks are particularly vulnerable to heat stress as they do not have fully developed thermoregulation abilities and likely depend on parents for shade in their exposed environments. To address this knowledge gap, I investigated heat stress in young Northern Gannet chicks at Bass Rock, Scotland, by exploring variation in thermal microclimate and its influence upon heat stress in chicks.
About me: I graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2018 with a degree in Environmental Science and Sustainability. I worked in an ecological consultancy for a few years doing protected species surveys in Dumfries and Galloway, before working as a Research Assistant for the RSPB working on the national Seabird Census in the Highlands. I then completed my MRes at Glasgow looking at heat stress in Gannets last year. I worked as a freelance Ecologist for a year in Scotland after finishing my Master's before moving to Norfolk and beginning a new job as Assistant Warden with the Norfolk Ornithologists Association (NOA).
c7.45pm Lisbeth Hordley: Lepidoptera and climate change.Summary: I've been looking into is how upland moths are impacted by climate change. These are the moths that are adapted to cooler temperatures and already live at higher elevation. We'd expect that as the climate warms, for them to distribute themselves even higher and maybe even push themselves out of range. It's really important that we try and understand what's happening here, because as some of these species move further up into mountainous areas, there might not be anywhere else for them to go.
About me: I joined BC as Ecological Modeller, which means that I conduct any research that BC is interested in using their long-term monitoring datasets for butterflies and moths. I look at the impacts of environmental change on butterfly and moth distributions and also assist other members of staff with statistical analysis. BC has a lot of great data collected from members of the public and experienced researchers and ecologists, but the data needs to have an impact somewhere and do something.
November Wednesday 1st 5.00pm Lecture: Prof Helen Roy: Documenting and predicting biological invasions globally. This is the BLB lecture, and will be delivered at 5pm in Lecture Theatre 1, the Graham Kerr Building, to a joint audience of GNHS members and staff and students of the University. It will be followed by a reception in the Zoology Museum. Biography:Professor Helen Roy MBE Hon. FRES is an ecologist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Her research focuses on the effects of environmental change, particularly biological invasions, on biodiversity and ecosystems. Helen leads many collaborative national and international research projects on biological invasions with a focus on enhancing information flow to inform understanding of the impacts of invasive alien species. Helen also enjoys science communication and public engagement with research which led to her interest in citizen science; an approach that she has implemented in a number of contexts. Helen co-leads the UK Ladybird Survey and enjoys collaborating with ladybird recorders across the UK. She is currently leading a global assessment on invasive non-native species for the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
Abstract:The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment’s message is stark: biodiversity – the diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems – is declining faster than at any time in human history. Alongside climate change, land and sea-use change, invasive alien species were identified as one of the five top direct causes of biodiversity change. Biological invasions can threaten biodiversity and ecosystems but also human health and economies, particularly through their interactions with other drivers such as climate change. The number of alien species arriving in new regions is increasing globally and there is no sign of slowing.
It is widely recognised that the most effective action against biological invasions is preventing the arrival of invasive alien species. Therefore, there has been increasing focus on horizon scanning to predict which invasive alien species pose an imminent emerging threat. Prioritising invasive alien species in the context of the pathways by which they might arrive can be informative for decision-making. Horizon scanning for invasive alien species that could arrive and pose a threat to biodiversity and ecosystems across Europe has underpinned prioritisation of invasive alien species for risk assessment and subsequently consideration for inclusion within lists of invasive alien species of concern. Invasive alien species can have multiple impacts spanning plant, animal, human and wildlife health; cross-sectoral sharing of information is critical to effective action.
I will share insights into invasion ecology from broad patterns and processes to approaches in surveillance and monitoring, including citizen science and the role of the UK Ladybird Survey in increasing our understanding of biological invasions. I will highlight the importance of collaborative, interdisciplinary partnerships including the forthcoming IPBES global thematic assessment on invasive alien species. Networks established through these initiatives have benefits for people, science and nature.
Tuesday 14th: Boyd Orr Building (Lecture Theatre C)) 7.00pm Lecture: Keith Watson and Michael Philip: The flora of the Clyde area: past, present and future. Thursday 16th: Boyd Orr Building (Lecture Theatre C) 7.30pm Lecture: Benedict Bate (Woodland Trust): The Work of the Woodland Trust in Scotland. The talk will include a section on the Atlantic rainforest, the topic of the talk originally advertised. Jointly with Friends of Glasgow Botanic Gardens and the Glasgow Treelovers Society. December Tuesday 5th: Boyd Orr Building (Lecture Theatre 2) 7.00pm Lecture: Roger Downie: Sir John Graham Kerr and the flourishing of Glasgow zoology. This is a special lecture to celebrate the centenary of the opening of the Graham Kerr (Zoology) building. Jointly with staff and students of the School of Biodiversity. Tuesday 12th Christmas Social: details to be confirmed.2024
The programme for January - June will be added in due course.Why not become a member − and experience the Society’s meetings in action?
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