Speakers from around the world are in Dunedin this week to discuss a range of topics related to biodiversity as part of the New Zealand Ecological Society annual conference.
About 360 people, including nine main speakers from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, are attending the conference based at the University of Otago campus.
Field trips to Macraes, Orokonui Ecosanctuary and Otago Peninsula were held yesterday and the conference would be officially opened this morning.
Co-convener Dr Deb Wilson, a Landcare Research ecologist, said the theme of the conference recognised and celebrated the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity.
Many different symposia were being held to discuss aspects of biodiversity with several considering biodiversity in relation to human populations - cultural perspectives, production lands and urban environments, she said.
Those session that had attracted a lot of interest included one by a First Nations Chief, Randall Kahgee of Canada, speaking on land claims and treaty rights, University of Otago's Professor Colin Townsend's talk on the impacts of introduced fish in rivers and a session on how farming and forestry can co-exist with biodiversity.
As well as the main lectures and poster presentations, four concurrent sessions would be held each day, where people from universities, post-graduate students, regional councils, the Department of Conservation and Landcare Research will give 20-minute talks.
The conference ends on Thursday.
