Thursday 19 August, 1:00pm – 2:15pm Facebook Live Stream.
How are seals, penguins and people adapting in a climate crisis? Phillip Island Nature Parks present a discussion between marine scientists Dr Rebecca McIntosh and Associate Professor Andre Chiaradia and PhD student Lauren Tworkowski. The conversation will focus on the impact of a changing climate on iconic native species: little penguins and Australian fur seals and explore the science and conservation actions at Nature Parks aimed at understanding and mitigating these impacts. A small live audience of local students have been invited to attend. This conversation will be Live streamed from 1pm on Facebook Live Stream.
Available after National Science Week at: Youtube
The speakers:
Lauren Tworkowski, PhD candidate at La Trobe University.
Lauren’s work has focused on understanding the impacts of climate on little penguins, specifically the impact of heat wave events in their terrestrial habitat. She is also investigating and designing adaptive approaches to mitigating these impacts.
Associate Professor Andre Chiaradia, Marine Scientist, Phillip Island Nature Parks.
Andre Chiaradia chases penguins for a living. He uses penguins as a model for ecosystem ecology.
Dr Rebecca McIntosh, Marine Scientist, Phillip Island Nature Parks.
I have always loved nature and wanted to work in the ocean. My undergraduate degree at Melbourne University included a double major of Marine Science and Zoology. My PhD at La Trobe University explored the life history of the Australian sea lion on the offshore islands of South Australia. I have since worked with government, academia, the private sector and now Phillip Island Nature Parks, where I live with my family and research the Australian fur seal as a sentinel of the ocean ecosystem. The population, diet, behaviour and health of the seals are used to understand the status of the ecosystem and help us tackle human caused impacts to conserve biodiversity; so we can continue to appreciate the gifts the ocean provides.