Species on the move conference

Threatened Species Recovery Hub researchers presented at the recent Species on the Move International Conference in Hobart, including Hub Director Hugh Possingham.

Professor Possingham presented on the role of decision science in moving species outside their normal range in response to climate, and other, change.

“There are a whole lot of reasons why we might want to relocate an animal to somewhere it's never been, and it presents a lot of challenges.”

“Decisions about moving species are hard, but if we avoid that decision, and do nothing, extinctions will occur. Even if we lack full information we can make good decisions about moving species outside their original range in the name of conservation.”

“The species on the move conference brought together managers, researchers and policy makers from across Australasia to tackle contentious issues in conservation science and management in a rapidly changing world. There is nothing like face-to-face talks, panels and discussions to hammer out solutions to difficult problems,” said Professor Possingham.

Other TSR Hub presenters included:

• Dr Nicola Mitchell (UWA) - ‘Optimising assisted colonisation of a critically endangered turtle using mechanistic models’
• Dr Heini Kujala (UoM) - ‘Feeling the heat: Boreal breeding birds follow modelled range changes under warming climate’
• Dr Michael Kearney (UoM) - ‘NicheMapR – a general system for mechanistic niche modelling’.

Some reflections of the conference can be found in this video and Twitter users can follow the conversation using the hashtag #speciesonthemove. Plans are afoot for a repeat performance in a few years’ time.