Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Western Branch Meeting 2024-4 of the Royal Society of NSW — 28 August 2024
"Adapting to change — invasive plants and pests take up the challenge"
Professor Leslie Weston FAA
Gulbali Research Professor of Plant Biology and Natural Products Chemistry, Charles Sturt University
https://royalsoc.org.au/blog/western-nsw-branch-meeting-2024-4
This lecture was a joint presentation of Charles Sturt University, as part of its Provocations Public Lecture Series, and the Western NSW Branch of the Royal Society of NSW
The presentation commences at 02:29
Timing Marks:
00:00:00 Introduction to the Speaker: Professor Mark Evans FRSN, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Charles Sturt University
00:02:29 Presentation: Professor Leslie Weston
00:54:32 Meeting Close
Summary: Invasive plants and pests can adapt to new environments, some rapidly and others over considerable periods of time, resulting in behavioural changes over time. In the last 500 years, we have seen a rapidly increasing spread in the number of plants and other non-native organisms introduced around the world. These newcomers adapt to their environment through evolution by natural selection, such that changes occur in these non-native populations in contrast to those remaining behind. At a time when we are experiencing rapid environmental changes and selection pressures, understanding how organisms adapt to these changes is critical and is particularly important for land and property managers. Farming practices, including the adoption of conservation tillage systems, have led to the emergence of new and sometimes problematic weed and pest species. In addition, climate change across southern Australia has resulted in warmer temperatures and increasing frequency of droughts along with heavy precipitation events, which also impact the prevalence and range of invasive pests. Increasing summer precipitation, events have also seen the emergence of weeds, pathogens and other pests, making management of rights of way, croplands and forested regions more problematic. Our research has addressed the emergence, identification and invasion history of some of these weedy pests and studied the mechanisms used to enhance their invasion success. Successful weed invasion can have far-reaching impacts on human health, food security and management of important ecosystems, so prediction of risk and development of alternative management strategies for key weed species is also of increasing importance. This lecture will highlight some key examples from this region and highlight the need for improved knowledge of crop and weed ecology and physiology.
Western Branch Meeting 2024-4 of the Royal Society of NSW — 28 August 2024
"Adapting to change — invasive plants and pests take up the challenge"
Professor Leslie Weston FAA
Gulbali Research Professor of Plant Biology and Natural Products Chemistry, Charles Sturt University
https://royalsoc.org.au/blog/western-nsw-branch-meeting-2024-4
This lecture was a joint presentation of Charles Sturt University, as part of its Provocations Public Lecture Series, and the Western NSW Branch of the Royal Society of NSW
The presentation commences at 02:29
Timing Marks:
00:00:00 Introduction to the Speaker: Professor Mark Evans FRSN, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Charles Sturt University
00:02:29 Presentation: Professor Leslie Weston
00:54:32 Meeting Close
Summary: Invasive plants and pests can adapt to new environments, some rapidly and others over considerable periods of time, resulting in behavioural changes over time. In the last 500 years, we have seen a rapidly increasing spread in the number of plants and other non-native organisms introduced around the world. These newcomers adapt to their environment through evolution by natural selection, such that changes occur in these non-native populations in contrast to those remaining behind. At a time when we are experiencing rapid environmental changes and selection pressures, understanding how organisms adapt to these changes is critical and is particularly important for land and property managers. Farming practices, including the adoption of conservation tillage systems, have led to the emergence of new and sometimes problematic weed and pest species. In addition, climate change across southern Australia has resulted in warmer temperatures and increasing frequency of droughts along with heavy precipitation events, which also impact the prevalence and range of invasive pests. Increasing summer precipitation, events have also seen the emergence of weeds, pathogens and other pests, making management of rights of way, croplands and forested regions more problematic. Our research has addressed the emergence, identification and invasion history of some of these weedy pests and studied the mechanisms used to enhance their invasion success. Successful weed invasion can have far-reaching impacts on human health, food security and management of important ecosystems, so prediction of risk and development of alternative management strategies for key weed species is also of increasing importance. This lecture will highlight some key examples from this region and highlight the need for improved knowledge of crop and weed ecology and physiology.
