Bulletin of the Ecological Society of Australia Issue 3, Volume 45, October 2015

Bulletin of the Ecological Society of Australia

Issue 3 | Volume 45 | October 2015

In this issue… ESA News, Events & Opportunities President’s Report………..…………………………………………………………………………………………. Executive Officer’s Report……………………………………………………………………………………….. Board News………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

ESA Awards ESA Student Research Award Winners 2015……………………………………………………………. 2015 Wiley next Generation Ecologist Award Winner……………………………………………… Applied Forest Ecology Scholarship – New Grant Available

Regional Activities & Reports Wild Pollinator Count………………………………………………………………………………………………. Association for Tropical Biology & Conservation Annual Meeting……………………………. Campus Flora – Digital Education Tool………………….…………………………………………………. SE Queensland Fire & Biodiversity Consortium Report..……………………………………………

ESA 2015 Office Bearers

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Bulletin of the Ecological Society of Australia Issue 3, Volume 45, October 2015

ESA Board News

President’s Report Nigel Andrew, September 2015 At this time of year the major focus of the Society moves towards the ESA annual conference (30th Nov  3rd Dec in Adelaide). Abstracts have been assessed by the LOC, and early bird registration is now closed (but there is still plenty of time to register if you want to attend). We are anticipating over 550 delegates, so it should be another dynamic and exciting annual conference. Since the last ESA Bulletin, ESA also held its first membership drive, with which the first prize was either attendance at the annual conference, or life membership. Before the membership drive (May 2015 the ESA had 1012 paid members, and post drive and leading up to the conference (as of 21st September) the Society has 1213 members. One of the key things we need to do now is keep our current members; make sure that our current student members stay on post-PhD and become full members of ESA; and promote the benefits of ESA membership to potential new members and lapsed members. On the 10th August 2015, during the 100th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America the Presidents of 10 Ecological Societies and of two major Federations of Societies, representing over 20 000 scientists from over 100 countries and over 40 national ecological societies, met to address key issues related to the field of Ecological Science. They shared their concern about the severe and ongoing erosion of global natural assets including genetic diversity, species, habitats and ecosystem processes that people rely on for survival. This erosion will be further aggravated with current climatic change. Given that an important cause of these changes is the impact of people on the climate, the Presidents urge the Parties meeting in Paris in December during the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Climate Change Conferences, to take the decisive steps urgently needed to prevent a 2°C rise in average global temperatures as recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This is very likely the last decade when it will be possible to achieve this together and to establish a global legacy of a healthy planet for generations to come. All major Ecological Societies worldwide (including the Ecological Society of Australia) were signatories to this call. On Tuesday 14th July, Gail and I appeared in front of the House Of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment: Register of Environmental Organisations: as ESA representatives after we submitted a written submission on ESA’s behalf. We were well received, as the main focus of the committee seemed to be targeting environmental groups that broke the law and also were receiving donations from the public. We were asked about the type of organisation we were; if any environmental groups had mis-

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Bulletin of the Ecological Society of Australi