For poster, see:
http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/eventlist/seminars/poster/2008/barry.pdf

Department of Biological Sciences
Seminar Announcement

"Climate Change: Feeling the Tropical Heat"
by Barry W. Brook

Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change
Professor and Director, Research Institute for Climate Change and
Sustainability
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide

Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008
Time: 4 pm
Venue: LT 20

Host: Professor Navjot Sodhi


Abstract - We have so far had less than one degree of recent global
warming, yet it is already affecting the lives of millions of people
and thousands of species. Indeed, climate change is increasingly seen
as one of the most urgent challenges facing the global community, with
its consequences expected to rapidly worsen during this century.

Professor Brook will review the most recent observations of climate
change impacts and describe the latest scientific projections for the
near future. His focus will be on tropical impacts and examples of
recent response of tropical systems, such as rain forest and reefs, to
climate change. Taken together, these studies strongly imply that we
are pushing the Earth perilously close to catastrophic and
irreversible 'tipping points' in physical, biological and ultimately
social systems.

He will also discuss the ways in which we can implement solutions to
mitigate, and adapt to, the coming challenges posed by climate change.
But we have to act fast to make a real difference.

About the speaker - Professor Barry Brook is an international research
leader in global ecology and conservation biology. He holds the
Foundation Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change and is Director
of the Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability at the
University of Adelaide. He has published two books and over 120
scientific papers on various aspects of human impacts on the natural
environment and biodiversity, including climate change, deforestation
and overexploitation of populations.

In 2006, he was awarded both the Australian Academy of Science Fenner
Medal for distinguished research in biology and the Edgeworth David
Medal by the Royal Society of New South Wales, and in 2007, the H.G.
Andrewartha Medal by the Royal Society of South Australia and was
listed by Cosmos as one of Australia's top 10 young scientists. The
principal motivation for his research is to identify ways and means of
reducing extinctions and mitigating the worst ravages of global
change.