Keynote Speakers

Professor Hugh Possingham

Professor Possingham’s keynote address will be given at 9:00-10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, March 29, 2006, during the morning Plenary Session. His talk is titled "Some Challenges in Conservation Planning Theory and Tools".

Professor Hugh Possingham is Director of the Ecology Centre, University of Queensland and a recently elected Fellow of The Australian Academy of Sciences. His expertise in spatial and theoretical ecology, and specifically his innovations in both terrestrial and marine reserve design, make him especially well-suited to speak to the conference theme “Linking landscapes and seascapes.”

He completed Applied Mathematics Honours at The University of Adelaide in 1984. After attaining a Rhodes Scholarship Hugh completed his D.Phil at Oxford University in 1987. Postdoctoral research periods followed at Stanford University and at the Australian National University (as a QEII Fellow). In 1991 he took a Lectureship, later Senior Lectureship, in Applied Mathematics at The University of Adelaide. In 1995 he was appointed Foundation Chair and Professor of the Department of Environmental Science at the Roseworthy campus of The University of Adelaide. In July 2000 Hugh took up a joint Professorship between the Departments of Zoology & Entomology, and Mathematics at The University of Queensland. In February 2001 The Ecology Centre (www.ecology.uq.edu.au) was established with Hugh as Director. From 2003-2007 Hugh is an Australian Research Council Professorial Research Fellow.

The Possingham lab works on empirical and theoretical aspects of the applied population ecology of plants and animals. Particular areas of recent research include marine reserve system design, optimal landscape reconstruction for biodiversity, metapopulation dynamics of plants and animals, population viability analysis, kangaroo and koala management, optimal weed control and optimal monitoring. The lab has a unifying interest in environmental applications of decision theory. Hugh has published over 140 refereed articles and book chapters. He has a variety of broader public roles including Chair of three Federal Government committees and member of the enigmatic "Wentworth Group". Hugh has recently been awarded: the POL Eureka Prize for Environmental Research (for collaborative work with Dr David Lindenmayer) - 1999, the inaugural Fenner medal for plant and animal biology from the Australian Academy of Sciences - 2000, and the Australian Mathematical Society Medal - 2001. He suffers from the affliction of obsessive bird watching, be kind to him.

Click here for Dr. Possingham's abstract.

Dr. Exequiel Ezcurra

Dr. Ezcurra’s keynote address will be given at 8:30-9:45 a.m. on Friday, March 31, 2006, during the opening Plenary Session of the conference. His talk is titled "The Gulf of California: Pursuit of a Vision".

Dr. Exequiel Ezcurra is director of the San Diego Natural History Museum’s scientific research division, the Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias (BRCC). Dr. Ezcurra directs the Museum’s science departments and research efforts, including the organization and leading of research expeditions. He also promotes cooperation with the Mexican government and environmental and scientific organizations. Dr. Ezcurra is leading a regional initiative funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. This initiative is focused on the understanding and management of the Sea of Cortés as a whole, single ecosystem, including the people who live and work there.

Dr. Ezcurra has written over 70 articles for scientific journals, eight books, (the most recent is A New Island Biogeography of the Sea of Cortés) and 40 book chapters. He also co-produced the award-winning giant-screen film Ocean Oasis. Highlights of his 30-year career include developing the first environmental impact assessments in Mexico and promoting creation of the California Condor release program in Baja California, Mexico. He has received numerous awards for his professional contributions to the field on ecology, including the prestigious Conservation Biology Award from the Society for Conservation Biology in 1994.

Most recently, Dr. Ezcurra was President of the National Institute of Ecology (INE) for Mexico. Appointed by President Vicente Fox in 2001, he was in charge of the national research organization that supplies research results to the federal government and the public. During the four years he served, the number of pages (journals, articles, and even complete books) downloaded from INE’s web site increased 50 fold, a testament to the success of his campaign to broaden the dissemination of INE research findings.