Professor Corey Bradshaw - Climate Change And Biodiversity

Professor Corey Bradshaw is the Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology at Flinders University, Director of the Global Ecology Laboratory and a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage. Corey is a master communicator and prolific researcher, having hundreds of scientific papers to his name.

Here we discuss a paper Corey recently co-authored with Giovanni Strona, examining the extent of climate change on species extinction and the consequent potential for food web collapse. The heavy impact climate change and land use change have had, and will continue to have, on biodiversity really places us in uncharted waters – Corey puts a strong argument forward as to why we should all give a shit about biodiversity loss, and what we can do about it.

This is Corey’s second full episode and third appearance on the show – so if you haven’t listened yet, do go back and check out Season 2 Episode 10 and his contribution to our Season 2 Wrap-Up for more of his wise words.

In this episode we discuss:
• Corey’s background and work in Ecology
• Biodiversity basics and the important ecosystem services provided
• The interconnectedness of species and the concept of co-extinctions, zombie species and extinction debts
• The concerning rate of current extinctions compared to previous mass extinction periods
• Climate Change vs Land Use Change for species loss
• Loss of mammals and birds in Australia and New Zealand
• What the high rates of species loss could mean for humanity – from food shortages to political instability
• Corey’s hope for the future and what we can all do to cultivate positive change

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