Global biogeography: islands, alien species and human threats to biodiversity

A Geographical Association (Nottingham branch) Lecture

Presented by Dr Richard Field, School of Geography, University of Nottingham

Abstract
One key theme of this lecture is that studying islands’ fascinating species and environments helps us to uncover general principles of biogeography. Research on islands also deepens our understanding of the impact of global change on biodiversity. In particular, I will explain why the world has far more land-based species than it should have. I then consider the seemingly unrelated topic of alien species’ invasions, aka ‘biological invasions’, which themselves represent an important part of global environmental change: the ‘global mixing’ of the world’s biota. Connecting the dots between island biogeography and global mixing provides a scale-dependent prognosis: it is worrying for the world’s biodiversity but often positive for local biodiversity.

Geographical investigations are at the heart of geographical understanding, including in the new A-Level. So I will also, on this whistle-stop tour through biogeography, devote a little time to considering how the human and physical worlds interact, and to the art of asking interesting research questions in geography. A key part of this is ensuring that interesting answers can be obtained when time and resources are limited.

Biography
Richard Field is an Associate Professor of Biogeography at the University of Nottingham. He is also Secretary of the International Biogeography Society, a trustee of the Wallacea Trust, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Global Ecology and Biogeography, one of the top journals in geography, and a governor of Trent College. His research spans theoretical aspects of biogeography, ecology and evolution, as well as biodiversity conservation. He has also written an interactive, online statistics ‘textbook’ / learning package. 

School teachers are encouraged to bring A Level students.

Refreshments will be provided after the lecture.