Dr. Andrew Gonzalez is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at McGill University, the holder of a Canada Research Chair in Biodiversity Science (a program designed to attract and retain some of the world’s most accomplished and promising minds), and the founding director of the Québec Centre for Biodiversity Science.
Prior to arriving at McGill University, he spent 4 years as an Assistant Professor at the University of Paris VI, France and he obtained his PhD from Imperial College in London.
Trained as an ecologist, Andrew works on three major themes in biodiversity science:
In 2010, Andrew served on the Canadian Council of Academies Expert Panel on the “State and Trends of Biodiversity Science in Canada” and, in 2011, was awarded the Tomlinson Science Award in the Faculty of Science at McGill.
Andrew is also currently nominated for the Steacie Prize, an annual award to young researchers recognizing outstanding scientific achievements.
Title: Biodiversity science for global environmental change
Summary:
Human appropriation of the Earth’s resources to sustain global economic development is driving massive environmental change. There is concern that rates of environmental change over the next century may exceed the capacity of populations to adapt, resulting in what will be known as the sixth mass extinction. Biodiversity change is expected to have dramatic impacts on the functioning of ecosystems, resulting in disruptions to the goods and services humans derive from ecosystems.
In this talk Dr. Gonzalez will present key findings on the causes and consequences of biodiversity change, with a particular emphasis on extinction. He will close with some suggestions about what can be done to mitigate the negative impacts of biodiversity loss.
