(Saturday 1st from 4pm-late)
We’re teamed up with the folks from Beaker Street again this year to bring you another pop-up Science Bar – part lab, part cocktail lounge. Think warm and cosy yurt, themed cocktails, and stimulating science chat. Brainy, boozy, brilliant.
Dr Eric Woehler
Tasmania – a national refuge for resident shorebirds and predictor for migratory shorebirds
Tasmania supports populations of resident shorebirds and seabirds that are of national and /or international significance. Tasmania is also linked with Siberia by the annual migration of shorebirds between hemispheres. The talk will introduce these species, highlight Tasmania’s international contribution to shorebird conservation, the early warning signals shorebirds provide, and briefly describe the threats they face, both in Tasmania and elsewhere.
Dr Eric Woehler has been working on shorebirds and seabirds for more than 40 years. His early research was on Antarctic and Southern Ocean seabirds, and in recent years he has increased his efforts towards the conservation of shorebirds in Tasmania. He was awarded on OAM in 2021 for his services to bird ecology and received the Serventy Medal from BirdLife Australia in 2022 for his lifetime contribution to Australian ornithology.
Alix de Jersey
Alix de Jersey is undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the University of Tasmania’s college of Health and Medicine where she is researching the health consequences associated with plastic exposure in tropical shearwaters. She is particularly interested in the ways in which the body is responding to the presence of plastic, how this impacting the function of organs and how this is contributing to the poor health of plastic impacted seabirds. Outside of the lab, Alix can be found on her paddleboard or diving to explore and enjoy the beautiful bays in Tassie.
Megan Grant
Megan Grant has just completed a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania where she researched the influence of seabirds on their breeding grounds. Megan studied Flesh-footed Shearwaters on Lord Howe Island, a seabird well-known to ingest considerable quantities of plastics, and looked at the various nutrients and metal contaminants in their guano (poo) and determined how this effected the soil, vegetation, and soil invertebrates in the colonies. Now that Megan has finished her PhD, she is on the hunt for a job in the marine conservation space and hopes to stay in Tasmania, her home state, to do so. In her spare time, she enjoys sailing, bushwalking, and snorkelling – enjoying all that Tasmania has to offer.
