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Dr Shannon Conradie

It’s the details that are hot for Dr Shannon Conradie.

Global warming is bearing down on all species, but  Conradie, a climate change biologist,  wants a better understanding of thermal niches and to be able to predict wildlife species’ thermal vulnerability under various combinations of global change scenarios across terrestrial and freshwater systems in Africa.

The title of her project proposal for the JWO Research Grant is “Linking physics and biology to inform wildlife conservation under global change: an interdisciplinary approach across terrestrial and freshwater systems”.

Conradie says “I am fascinated by the natural world and understanding how animals interact with the habitats in which they occur. This fascination sparked my research interests which focus on understanding the  relationship between complex changing environmental conditions and population survival and fitness in wildlife generally. Specifically, I am interested in integrating physiology and behavioural data into mechanistic models to understand species vulnerabilities to changing climatic conditions.

“My current research focuses on modelling the biological limitations of species

distribution and survival in order to determine areas critical for conservation and management action.”

Conradie says that “global change is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, driving population declines in wildlife species globally. However, understanding and predicting the effects of global change on population persistence is complicated by species-specific behaviour, thermal physiology and the environment. The advancement of remote sensing technology, thermal drone technology and biophysical modeling provides a unique, non-invasive opportunity to investigate the biological impacts of global change across large spatial scales.

“This project aims to use science-based, advanced technology and biophysical modeling to understand and predict species’ thermal vulnerabilities, breeding outcomes and population stability under global change across sub-Saharan Africa. The project will use cutting edge technology for scenario modelling to determine how various combinations of global change drivers, such as land use and climate change,  may impact species and population structures in terrestrial and freshwater systems. The techniques developed here will be applicable to  most taxa, and over large geographical scales ranging from regional to global.

“Filling this knowledge gap will enable us to highlight areas of refuge, and those in need of conservation management to ensure a sustainable future for biodiversity. This research has broader implications for wildlife conservation and land-use practices, shedding light on the overall health of ecosystems.”

Conradie enthuses about “the technological advancements in terms of remote-sensing, drones and satellite imagery”.

With regard to her own research, “the use of remote sensing and biophysical techniques will provide a cost-effective and efficient tool for monitoring biodiversity and has the potential to scale to continental and/or global analyses.”

She says that linking these biophysical models with remote sensing will reduce the need for intensive species-specific laboratory and field work with live animals to predict physiological and behavioural responses to rising temperatures and thermal vulnerabilities, thus reducing ethical costs.”

 

Dr Shannon Conradie is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Cape Town. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Pretoria, and her thesis was entitled “Novel approaches integrating physiology and behaviour into process-based models of the impacts of climate change on desert birds”. She is an avid endurance athlete, in particular triathlons, and she “is a strong advocate for health and fitness in science and I encourage everyone to get outside and enjoy nature as much as possible”.

Dr Shannon Conradie