Global climate change is now widely acknowledged as a looming threat to many species and communities while providing an opportunity for others to expand their range. A number of modelling frameworks have been developed to predict likely changes but these largely ignore the potential for plastic responses and evolutionary adaptation to counter threats and create opportunities for shifting to new niches.

 

In this talk I explore the potential for plastic responses and evolutionary processes focussing particularly on our recent work on invertebrates and on plants from alpine ecosystems. I consider the role of gene flow as well as standing genetic variation in adaptive shifts, and on the role of plastic changes within generations as well as transgenerational effects. I then discuss how such responses might be maximised in species that are particularly threatened by climate change and the potential use of –omics approaches to inform management and threat evaluations.

 

Ary Hoffmann is an ARC Australian Laureate Fellow at the University of Melbourne working in the areas of climate change adaptation and pest/disease vector control. His group undertakes research on adaptation of organisms (particularly invertebrates) to environmental stresses including climate change and chemical pollutants, using field sites in the Victorian mountains, in tropical rainforests and in wetlands around Melbourne. His group also develops integrated pest control options, investigates how landscape changes can be harnessed to provide pest control services, contributes to novel approaches for suppressing dengue mosquito vectors, and examines new ways to predict species distribution shifts under climate change. He has a strong interest in using genetics, genomics and invertebrate biodiversity for monitoring environmental health and developing resilience indicators for biodiversity and sustainable production.