10156 FINCHES, AFRICAN BIRDS AND THE MEANING OF VARIATION: DARWIN’S LEGACY

Dr Phoebe Barnard, Climate Change and Bioadaptation Division, South African National Biodiversity Institute

Today, over 150 years after the publication of Origin of Species, Darwin’s insights into the evolutionary importance of variation in populations have gathered renewed impetus. Evolutionary biology, fused with conservation biology, is essential for a deep understanding not only of the vulnerability of species to climate change and other threats, but also of the conservation options open to us as stewards of the planet. This lunch-time lecture will look at what Darwin helped us learn from the Galapagos finches and what we have since understood from similar studies of African finches and other birds about the significance of variation in body size. It will explore how this understanding might help us predict and respond to climate change and other global change, using effective conservation strategies.