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SUMMARY:Understanding and conserving biodiversity in a changing world - Ro
 bert Bagchi\, Durham University
DTSTART:20110414T083000Z
DTEND:20110414T093000Z
UID:TALK30757@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Microsoft Research Cambridge Talks Admins
DESCRIPTION:Conserving biodiversity in the face of deforestation\, climati
 c change and other threats is one of the foremost challenges facing ecolog
 ists. Effective conservation policy relies on understanding both the mecha
 nisms that maintain biodiversity and the ways in which human activity thre
 atens its persistence.\n\nThere are many theories that seek to explain the
  coexistence of species in diverse natural communities\, such as tropical 
 rainforests. The Janzen-Connell hypothesis provides one\, widely supported
  explanation for the extraordinary diversity of tropical trees. It suggest
 s that seeds and seedlings surrounded by high densities of conspecifics wi
 ll be discovered more easily by natural enemies\, and subsequently have hi
 gher mortality.  I will show that both fungal pathogens and insect herbivo
 res attack seedlings of locally common species disproportionately. This re
 duces dominance by certain species and promotes greater local seedling div
 ersity. In particular\, our experiments establish a link between natural-e
 nemy mediated density dependence in individual species and community diver
 sity. \n\nWhile we are starting to understand these mechanisms which permi
 t species coexistence within communities\, anthropogenic environmental cha
 nge is radically changing the distribution of biodiversity on a global sca
 le. Climate is an important determinant of species distributions\, and as 
 the climate changes the distributions of species may change accordingly. O
 ne task is to assess how effectively present reserve networks will protect
  suitable habitats for species in the future.  We used species distributio
 n models in combination with projected future climates from General Circul
 ation Models to estimate the future distributions of 400 bird species in A
 sia. Our results suggest that in order to protect species in the face of c
 limate change\, we might have to protect areas that are not considered imp
 ortant to conservation at present. However\, these models do not account f
 or interspecific interactions. Extrapolating from models of species intera
 ctions and coexistence within communities to the global scale remains an e
 xciting avenue for future research.\n
LOCATION:Large lecture theatre\, Microsoft Research Ltd\, 7 J J Thomson Av
 enue (Off Madingley Road)\, Cambridge
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