Taxonomists often get a bad rap, mostly because they keep changing the names of species. But on the flip side, the names given by taxonomists are the foundation on which we all depend to understand our living world – imagine if there were no names for the organisms we share our planet with. Imagine a David Attenborough documentary, or a meeting of the Armadale Branch of the Wildflower Society, if taxonomists hadn’t worked out what species are out there and given them names. Kevin’s talk will be about taxonomy – the science of discovering and naming species – how it works, what it seeks to do, and where it’s going. Did you know there have been two major revolutions in the way we understand taxonomy? Or that we’re still in the middle of the second of these? Did you know that in over 200 years of exploring Australia’s rich and unique biodiversity taxonomists have only managed to discover and name around 30% of our species? Do you have any idea how we can hope to discover the remaining 70% before most of them go extinct? Kevin’s talk will explore all these questions, and more.

Talk of the Wildflower Society Armadale Branch
$3 entry