Seminar by Dr. Essie Rodgers "The promise of using physiology to conserve the world’s biodiversity"

Marine Climate Change (Ravasi) Unit would like to invite you to the seminar by Dr. Essie Rodgers on November 6th (Thursday).
 
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Date:   Thursday, November 6th, 2025
Time:  13:00-14:00
Venue: L4E01 (Level E, Lab 4)

Zoom link:

Meeting URL:     https://oist.zoom.us/j/93362054360?pwd=jRHZCZ38swQ5FaM6UaBc96u6UvaTdE.1
Meeting ID:     933 6205 4360
Passcode:    902561

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Speaker:

Dr. Essie Rodgers
Head of the Conservation Physiology and Aquaculture Lab
the School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
Murdoch University (Perth, Australia)

Abstract:

Accelerating declines in global biodiversity have raised concerns that the Earth is amid a sixth mass extinction. Current species extinction rates are estimated to be tens to hundreds of times higher than natural levels, and these losses threaten to collapse entire ecosystems. However, the emerging scientific field of conservation physiology offers promising solutions. Conservation physiology unveils cause-and-effect relationships between threatening processes, like climate change and pollution, on animal functioning and ecological success. My lab’s research is at the forefront of this emerging field which determines the ecophysiological constraints dictated by current conditions and future environmental change. This work integrates a range techniques (respirometry, cardiovascular physiology, performance testing, biotelemetry recordings and meta-analyses) at multiple levels of biological organisation to explore the responses of organisms to anthropogenic threats. I will present conservation physiology success stories in several iconic aquatic ectotherms (estuarine crocodiles, sturgeon, and gudgeons), where science has directly informed conservation actions.

Biography:

Dr Essie Rodgers is the Head of the Conservation Physiology and Aquaculture Lab in the School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences at Murdoch University (Perth, Australia). Essie is a leader in the field of Conservation Physiology, which investigates the mechanistic underpinnings of species responses to a rapidly changing world and identifies novel conservation solutions. Her lab group primarily works on fish, reptiles and amphibians. Dr Rodgers completed her PhD at The University of Queensland. Following this, Essie held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California Davis (USA), the University of Antwerp (Belgium), and the Australian National University, where she investigated the ecophysiology of freshwater and marine fishes. The central goals of her group’s research are to (1) understand how species cope with multiple interacting threats in a changing world and (2) discover novel mechanisms to increase the resilience of aquaculture species to changing climates.

Host:

Prof. Timothy Ravasi