Conference 2018 Symposia
Australian Mammal Society Symposia
5th of July at St. Leo’s College
Morning/afternoon tea and lunch provided.
NOTE: The symposia were initially scheduled with the Land Clearing Symposium to run first, but due to speaker accommodation issues, this order was switched so that the Form/Function Symposium will now be first.
Form, Function and Evolution of Australasian Mammals Symposium
A unique combination of ancient locals and recent arrivals, Australasian Mammals are one of the most scientifically interesting mammalian faunas worldwide. As they battle rapid population declines and extinction threats, exploring the unique evolutionary heritage of Australasian mammals is a vital – yet often overlooked - contribution towards highlighting their biodiversity value and forecasting future challenges. Studies on the form, function and evolution of Australasian mammals thus play an important role in promoting and supporting our unique mammalian radiation through this latest evolutionary challenge.
To showcase the diversity of research on form, function and evolution of Australasian mammals, we invite symposium contributions in the fields of Australasian mammal palaeontology, comparative morphology, biomechanics, phylogenetics, and other evolutionary/comparative work.
This symposium is generously sponsored wholly by Materialise Mimics. In addition, representatives of Materialize will give a 30-minute demo of the Mimics software after the lunch break between symposia.
Land clearing across Australia and consequences for mammals
Land clearing is accelerating across eastern Australia, taking it to globally significant levels and therefore intensifying the impacts on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and local, regional and global climate. Threatened species and even high-profile species such as koalas are losing habitat due to un(der)-regulated clearing. These increases in land clearing have largely been the result of the winding back of policies in place to manage vegetation across many Australian states in the previous decade.
In particular, Queensland’s land clearing has intensified after relaxations in vegetation management policies in 2013. New South Wales has followed suit, and there are indications that the Northern Territory could become Australia’s new land clearing hotspot.
This symposium explores the local and global consequences of land clearing for mammals, including interactions with other threats and flow-on effects.