PUBLIC LECTURE:
  How Can an Archaeologist Contribute to Biodiversity Conservation?
		
Wed, 08 Nov 2017 18:00 - Webb Lecture Theatre, Geography Building, UWA
		
A public lecture by Professor R. Lee Lyman, Department of Anthropology,
University of Missouri, Columbia and UWA Institute of Advanced Studies
Visiting Fellow.

All animals die, and many are eaten by predators. If the predators
include humans, owls, or carnivores (e.g., Dingoes), skeletal remains of
the prey may be deposited in a shelter used by the predator, such as a
cave, and preserved for thousands of years. Such an ‘archive’ is an
important source of information on past faunas, typically used to
reconstruct past environments or investigate the subsistence practices
of prehistoric peoples. But the data provided by palaeozoological
remains can be used for so much more.

Palaeozoological data represent the results of long-term biological,
ecological and evolutionary processes, including many natural
‘experiments’. Numerous questions of importance to conservation
biologists can be answered using palaeozoological data: Is a species
exotic/non-native, or is it native to an area? Is a species invasive or
is it re-colonizing an area it previously occupied? Is the presence,
absence, or abundance of a species the result of anthropogenic, or
natural, causes? What might be the effects of translocation/assisted
migration efforts focused on supplementing a depleted local population?
Is one stock more appropriate than another for providing individuals
that are to be reintroduced to a particular area? Will a planned modern
development project disrupt a seasonal migration route used by animals
for millennia? Palaeozoological data for mammals in western North
America exemplify answers to all of these questions, and demonstrate the
value to biodiversity conservation of information from archaeological
(and palaeontological) investigations.
		
URL: http://www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/lyman
		
For more information:
  Institute of Advanced Studies
  ias@uwa.edu.au
  6488 1340

Starts       : Wed, 08 Nov 2017 18:00
Ends         : Wed, 08 Nov 2017 19:00
		
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Last Updated : Tue, 26 Sep 2017 10:29