Cutting Edge Symposium Resilience in the Anthropocene

Following recent trends, living systems will continue to face unprecedented pressures from climate change-related stressors, compounded by effects of invasive species, urbanisation, land use change and pollution. The health, distribution and ecosystem function of many of the organisms we interact with will change, across crops and pollinators, fishery and aquaculture species, biodiversity conservation, and those used in forestry and urban landscaping. Accurately predicting the resilience of these systems will help efforts to improve the resilience of these organisms and the wellbeing of humans in the Anthropocene.

The symposium will bring together researchers who work on different aspects of adaptation of living systems, including those who take a genetic, physiological or ecological approach to address the challenges facing our conservation, fisheries, forestry and agricultural sectors. This will allow us to learn from each other, share best practice and avoid duplication of effort, as meeting the challenge posed by our changing environment will require us to get to the ‘steep part of the learning curve’ rapidly. The symposium will allow for the formation of a network of researchers who are working to ensure that we will still be able to interact with the species we depend on in the coming 50 years.