Connect locally with a Network of Passionate Individuals.
Please note that registration is limited to 250 participants due to licensing constraints.
Groundwaters are a critical yet threatened component of the global water cycle. They are a vital source of water for communities, industry, and the environment and host a unique and diverse community of invertebrates (stygofauna) and microbes that provide valuable ecosystem services. Despite this, the valuable biodiversity of groundwaters, they are rarely considered in the ecological assessments.
This presentation will provide an overview of groundwater ecosystems in Australia, their fauna (including stygofauna), and the ecosystem services they provide. The talk will explore some of the key threats to the integrity of groundwater ecosystems and their biodiversity in Australia, and current knowledge on ecological risk assessment processes for considering groundwater fauna. The assessment of groundwater fauna is increasingly a requirement for development applications. In this talk I will also cover some approaches to groundwater sampling and considerations for consultants undertaking site assessments involving groundwaters.
Grant is an aquatic ecologist and ecotoxicologist. His research examines the response of groundwater ecosystems, invertebrate and microbial communities to environmental change, and develops tools for assessing change in ecosystem health and condition. Grant and his team undertake field surveys and laboratory manipulative experiments, to identify correlative and causal links to community change. His team has expertise in groundwater invertebrate taxonomy and using environmental DNA (eDNA) to characterise the composition and function of groundwater ecosystems, and through this work has established an international reputation in groundwater ecology research. His current research focuses on the ecology of groundwater ecosystems and assessment of ecosystem health, ecological risk assessments and ecotoxicology for groundwater biota and the roles of stygofauna in providing ecosystem services.
Member: $37.00 Incl. GST
Student Member: $15.00 Incl. GST
Non-member: $74.00 Incl. GST
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