Scientists at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga will celebrate the 200th birthday of the ‘father of evolution’, Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution is one of the most significant advancements in our understanding of the natural world.
“This breakthrough in scientific understanding still affects many facets of modern life, despite first being published in his seminal and then-controversial book, On the Origins of Species150 years ago,” says the Dean of the University’s Faculty of Science, Professor Nick Klomp.
CSU will lead regional scientific communities in celebrating Darwin’s birthday on Thursday 12 February, complete with cake.
Also attending the event will be CSU researchers who are using ideas arising from the theory of evolution in their own scientific research. These include:
- Fish ecologist, PhD student and Murray Cod expert, Nicole McCasker: “Motivated by the decline of many fish populations throughout the Murray-Darling Basin, I am investigating the sources and severity of mortality in native freshwater fish during their early life. Darwin’s ideas regarding the factors that govern animal populations are central in my research. In his book On the Origin of Species, Darwin proposed that for animals such as fish, whose main reproductive strategy is to produce a large number of eggs, it is inevitable that the majority of young will not go on to reach adulthood. I believe that identifying the stage at which fish are most vulnerable to dying, and the major causes of death, will be key to enhancing future native fish populations in the Basin.”
- Soil scientist and lecturer, Dr Jason Reynolds: “To think that such an impact on science was made by a single person is amazing. Even today scientists from around the world still work to improve Darwin’s initial findings, in an era where technological advancement allows for such greater understanding of the world around us. Even today, scientists argue about Darwin’s ‘Tree of Life Theory’ – where all life can be traced backwards to a single organism. What resides at the base of the tree, the first life? Hopefully, one day we can understand how life commenced its evolution from the ‘primordial ooze’ to the diversity we see around us today.”
- Fish biologist and PhD student, Stacy Kopf: “Darwin’s work on evolution and natural selection helps explain why animals exhibit traits that relate to survival in their environment. Fish in the Murray-Darling Basin have evolved traits to survive the Australian climate. These traits include differences in growth rate, reproduction and swimming ability and are specific to species and different developmental stages between young and old fish. I am currently swimming baby fish larvae native to the Basin in an aquatic ‘treadmill’ to understand their swimming abilities at different developmental stages. From this research I will be able to see how the larvae of different native fish species, which is their most vulnerable developmental stage, has evolved to survive.”
- Mistletoe expert, Associate Professor David Watson: “Mistletoes are strange beasts. Charles Darwin was well aware of these attributes, with mistletoe being one of the key case studies that crystallized his thinking several years before he published On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection. My research on these enigmatic plants focuses on their interactions with pollinators and seed dispersers, herbivores and host plants, and seeks to measure the influence they have on the wider habitat and biological community.”
These scientists and others will gather at 10.30am on Thursday 12 February at the School of Environmental Sciences, CSU Albury-Wodonga Campus, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.
Scientists from both sides of the NSW-Victorian border, and including representatives from the Murray Darling Freshwater Research Centre and La Trobe University, will also meet at 5.30pm on Thursday 12 February in the Albury Botanical Gardens, Wodonga Place, Albury, for evening drinks to celebrate the place of Charles Darwin in the modern world.
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