Dr Francisco Encinas-Viso ‘The diversity of Australian Alpine plant-pollinator communities’

Abstract

Alpine ecosystems are highly threatened by climate change. We are observing a fast shrinking of these ecosystems around the world with unprecedented changes of their macroclimate and vegetation. Plant-pollinator interactions play an important role in alpine ecosystems, however we still know very little about alpine plant-pollinator communities in Australia and how they are affected by climate change.

In this talk, Francisco will present results of his research analysing the structure of Australian alpine plant-pollinator communities, what factors drive their diversity across time and space and what changes they are experiencing due to climate change. He will also provide an overview of the historical anthropogenic factors that have shaped these communities in Kosciuszko National Park.

Biography

Francisco is a research scientist at the Australian National Herbarium (CSIRO). He did his undergraduate studies in Venezuela (his home country) and later did a masters and PhD at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) in ecology and evolution of mutualistic interactions. His main research interests are investigating the ecology and evolution of plant-pollinator interactions and the impacts of climate change in ecological communities.

Booking

Lunchtime talks are held at 12.30 pm every Thursday from February to November. Talks last for 1 hour. We welcome donations by gold coins, notes, or electronically. The Friends use donations received at each talk to support Gardens’ programs and development, and thank all those who have donated. 

Unless otherwise indicated, talks are held in the ANBG Theatrette.

It is a good idea to reserve a seat at the talks that you wish to attend; talks may be booked out very quickly.  Bookings can be made from the Friday before the talk until Wednesday night before the talk or until seating limits are reached. 

Booking link: https://www.trybooking.com/CJTYH

The Friends of the ANBG thank the speakers who volunteer their time and talents to further the knowledge of all attending events in the Gardens. Some summaries or PowerPoint presentations of Thursday talks are available to Friends at the ANBG library. Please direct queries about the talks to the Thursday Talks Team: email talks@friendsanbg.org.au.

The talks are in line with COVID-19 guidelines which can change rapidly.