This talk will introduce Australia’s grasshoppers, the history of their ecological study and the research underway in Mike’s lab
Australia has been called ‘grasshopper country’ and are conspicuous animals in the Australian bush, especially in the outback. Grasshoppers have played an important role in our understanding of ecology, and some species are important pests. They are also fascinating creatures in their own right. In this talk Mike will introduce Australia’s grasshoppers and the people who studied them in the past. He will also show how we are following on from this early work in current research, using grasshoppers to study problems as diverse as conservation, climate change ecology and the consequences of giving up sex.
Michael Kearney is a Professor in Ecology at the School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne. He has been a natural historian since childhood and this led him to major in Zoology at Monash University and to undertake a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at The University of Sydney, graduating in 2004. His research combines field work, laboratory experiments and computer simulations to understand how physical conditions, including climate, terrain and soils, affect the behaviour, distribution and abundance of animals (and sometimes plants). He works on a wide range of organisms but specialises in reptiles and insects.
Returning to our previous format, this talk will be delivered live online with time for questions and conversation at the end. Please register for the session and you will be emailed a link before the event.
