1 Jun (Sat): The Wallace Lectures "Lace Corals and Moss Animals" by Dr Kevin J. Tilbrook

What are lace corals and moss animals? How many of these can we expect to find in Singapore?

Come for this special talk by Dr Kevin J. Tilbrook to find out more. Dr Kevin is a great speaker and is here for the Southern Expedition of the Mega Marine Survey.


About the talk
“Lace corals” and “moss animals” are two of the common names for a group of aquatic organisms called the Bryozoa. The Bryozoa are a group of sessile, predominantly marine invertebrates that occur throughout the world. As a bryozoan researcher, Dr Kevin Tilbrook will explain the process of identification of these creatures and the background to the scientific disciplines of taxonomy and systematics. The discovery and identification of the bryozoan fauna of Singapore is ongoing with over 60 species documented to date. However, given that adjacent areas have a documented bryozoan diversity of over 500 species it is quite reasonable to expect that the diversity of bryozoan in Singapore could exceed 200 species.

About the speaker
Kevin is a world-recognised marine invertebrate systematist; an authority on the taxonomy and systamatics of the Bryozoa. Kevin's particular expertise is on the diversity and biogeography of tropical coral reef-associated bryozoans from the South Pacific, including the coral reefs off the Queensland Coast. He has also worked on temperate and boreal, intertidal, shallow and deep-sea, and fossil faunas from around the world.

Dr Kevin is beloved among the Survey participants. He always makes anything we do fun and wacky! After attending the recent Bryozoan workshop by Dr Dennis Gordon, there is now a small group of bryozoan crazy people in Singapore!

Dr Kevin arriving at St John's Island
where the Southern Expedition is based.

In no time, Dr Kevin was hard at work on collecting bryozoans for the Expedition. Here's a media photographer catching him at work.

Wallace Lecture Series
The Wallace Lecture Series was a series of important lectures delivered in the 1960s by well-known biologists in the then University of Malaya. These lectures stimulated discussion and encouraged the exploration of new ideas in systematics, ecology and natural heritage. It seemed especially appropriate and timely that this lecture series, named after one of the two discoverers of the modern theory of evolution, should be “resurrected” to further research interest and activity in Singapore’s rich biodiversity. This is the second of the Wallace Lecture Series, delivered by an invited Research Scientist brought in by the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research of the National University of Singapore, in conjunction with the National Biodiversity Centre (National Parks Board); and supported by Shell Singapore.

The talk is free but registration is required online at http://bit.ly/Tilbrook

Click on image for larger view

Time: 10.30am-12noon
Venue: Function Hall, Botany Centre Level One, Singapore Botanic Gardens map on the SBG website
Website and contact: http://www.nparks.gov.sg/


For more information, please contact Rachel Lim at lim_li-feng@nparks.gov.sg

Organised by National Biodiversity Centre, National Parks Board and Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore Supported by Shell Singapore