16th Annual Boething Lecture on Forests and the Human Predicament: Conservation Values of Disturbed Forests

The Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University is pleased to announce that Dr. Andrew Beattie of Macquarie University, Australia, will deliver the sixteenth annual Boething Lecture on Forests and the Human Predicament on Thursday, May 6, 2004. The lecture, “Conservation Values of Disturbed Forests,” will be held in Building 320 (Geology Corner), Room 105 at 4pm.

Professor Beattie is the Director for the Commonwealth Key Centre for Biodiversity and Bioresources, which has active research programs in the exploration of invertebrate and microbial diversity. His main interests include the use of invertebrates in biodiversity assessment and environmental monitoring, invertebrates as biological resources, spatial aspects of biodiversity and biodiversity conservation. He also has a long-term interest in the ecology and evolution of interactions between ants and plants.

The lecture will focus on the role of disturbed forest in conservation. Forests are being logged and otherwise disturbed all over the world. Many individuals and organizations have assumed that having been disturbed, these forests are no longer valuable for conservation. Further, most research has been directed towards pristine forests and, until recently, the vast areas of disturbance have been ignored. Recent research is changing the way we think about disturbed forests and is pointing to a variety of ways that they should be incorporated into conservation planning and activities.

The Boething Lecture series addresses forest resources and processes, and their relationships to human populations. The annual lecture is sponsored by the Center for Conservation Biology, thanks to the generous support of John and Sue Boething.

The lecture will be followed by an informal reception in the garden outside the auditorium. Both the lecture and reception are free and open to the public.