‘The secret life of dragons’ will be revealed by integrative ecologist Dr Tim Jessop at The University of Queensland’s 5th annual Steve Irwin Memorial Lecture on Wednesday, November 13, 2013.
What began as a basic exercise to count the numbers of endangered Komodo dragons on four Indonesian islands became a quest for the UQ doctoral graduate to understand how disturbances in environmental influences might affect the fitness of individuals to shape population and community dynamics.
Dr Jessop, who studies the effects of environmental, ecological and anthropogenic disturbances on animal physiology, ecology and evolutionary biology, said the decade-long, intensive study of Indonesia’s likely populations of Komodo dragons had expanded to attempt to answer more complex questions.
“For example, we want to know how Komodo dragons - the world’s largest lizards – will cope with climate change, which could cause major changes to their habitat,” Dr Jessop said.
“What effects do factors like climate change, logging, and fire management, for example, have on the species and its communities? What impact would any reduction of dragon numbers have on their environment?
“This study is giving scientists a much better understanding of the dragons’ ecology, evolution and life history,” Dr Jessop said.
After being awarded a PhD at UQ in 2001, Dr Jessop moved to the United States and received a five-year post-doctoral fellowship to study Komodo dragons.
Although now based at The University of Melbourne, Dr Jessop lived in Indonesia for four years to establish the study, which found there are likely to be about 3,500 Komodo dragons scattered across the four islands in Komodo National Park.
Dr Jessop said the massive lizards (the males can grow up to three metres long and weigh more than 70 kg) were enigmatic, until the major study was conducted.
Dr Jessop has trained Indonesian field officers working with a non-government organisation, the Komodo Survival Program, to continue the study.
The Steve Irwin Memorial Lecture, run by the UQ Faculty of Science in conjunction with Australia Zoo, will be presented on Wednesday, November 13, 2013, from 6.45pm to 8.00pm at the Abel Smith Lecture Theatre, at UQ’s St Lucia campus in Brisbane.
Dr Jessop will also speak at a postgraduate students’ lunch the following day in the AIBN Seminar Room.
For more information about these events visit http://www.science.uq.edu.au/steve-irwin-lecture
For media interviews with Dr Jessop: please contact UQ Faculty of Science Communications Consultant Kate Tilley on (07) 3831 7500 or 0418 741606 or email communications@uq.edu.au
.png?itok=WyIBAuTQ "University of Queensland Agricultural Science student Sophia Wilson, and recent graduate Salomon Sayago Mejia, welcome visitors to the Gatton Open Day 2022.")
