RIEL seminar series
Boring beetles and super models: mapping the distribution of a new invader
| Presenter | Dr Andrew Coates | |
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| Time |
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| Contact person | E: RIEL.outreach@cdu.edu.au | |
| Location |
Yellow 1 level 1 room 33 at CDU Casuarina Campus And online via Zoom (see below for Zoom link) All times are ACST |
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| Open to | Public | |
Dr Andrew Coates is a research associate in the Population Biology and Genomics group at Curtin University, Western Australia.
The polyphagous shot-hole borer (PSHB) is a tiny beetle with a mouthful of a name, but it’s been making headlines as a new invasive species in Australia. PSHB was first detected in Perth three years ago and has since devastated trees across the city. There are concerns about what its further spread could mean for urban, agricultural and natural environments.
In the seminar ‘Boring beetles and super models: mapping the distribution of a new invader’, Andrew will give an overview of this new invader, its fascinating biology, its legacy of colonisation and destruction, and the research efforts to combat its spread.
In particular, Andrew will discuss his current research, which draws upon his experience in pest population modelling. Distribution models are valuable tools for predicting how invasive species spread across a novel landscape. This knowledge can be used to inform decisions on how to deploy monitoring and control efforts most effectively.
Andrew’s research interests bring together parasitology, invasion dynamics, population modelling and evolutionary biology. Study systems include house geckos, salmon lice and fungus-farming beetles, which all bring up questions about how humans influence ecological processes.
He is also an adjunct research associate at Charles Darwin University.
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