A unified biology during the 21st century and its impact on our lives and our environment

Speaker:

Professor Stenseth's research interests span a broad spectrum of ecological and evolutionary topics, most of which are rooted in population biology. His research is primarily focussed on merging ecological and evolutionary thinking as well as better understanding the feedback-loop between ecology and evolution: ecology causes evolution through ecologically-based selective pressure, and when evolution occurs, the ecological interactions within the ecosystem may change - potentially leading to a modified ecologically-based selective pressure.

Professor Stenseth is a member of The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (DNVA); of which he served as vice-president/president from 2009-2014. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences (Washington, US), French Académie des Sciences, the Russian Academy of Sciences, Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, Academia Europaea, the Royal Norwegian Society of Science and Letters and Agder Academy of Science and Letters. He has been awarded honorary doctorates (Doctor Honoris Causa) at the University of Antwerpen, Belgium (2001) and at the École Normale Supéreure, Lyon, France (2011), and is an honorary Professor at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. He is a Chevalier (Knight) in the French National Order of the Legion of Honour. During the period 2012 to 2015 Professor Stenseth served as the President of the International Biological Union (IUBS). He is currently a member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC) as well as the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Climate Research.

Respondent:

Emma Teeling MRIA will give a response to Professor Stenseth's discourse. She is Professor at the School of Biology & Environment Science at University College Dublin. Professor Teeling established the Laboratory of Molecular Evolution and Mammalian Phylogenetics in 2005 and is the Founding Director of the Centre for Irish Bat Research at UCD. Her integrative research in the fields of zoology, phylogenetics, genomics and conservation biology uncovers the genetic signatures of survival that enables species to adapt to an ever-changing environment.

Sponsors

This event is sponsored by The Royal Society of Biology (RSB). 

Image caption: The Top-level Research Initiative's Annual Conference 2012, Helsinki 29-30 October 2012. Photo credit: NordForsk/Terje Heiestad.