Room 400, School of Arts and Sciences
Although the level of intactness of native fauna seems key for the stability of ecosystem diversity, an increasing amount of wildlife has to adapt to a continuously decreasing and often altered environment due to the progressing expansion and global resource utilisation by man. In this regard, the ability to monitor reproductive potential and animal welfare greatly facilitate attempts to manage wildlife. The endocrine system, as one of the primary communication system, helps an organism to function properly, coordinating vital processes. Therefore, quantifying reproductive and stress-associated hormones is nowadays a primary approach for examining physiological responses in wildlife. The presented findings will provide detailed insight into the endocrine responses of wildlife to anthropogenic activities and their ability to adapt to human presence or changing environmental conditions. Underlining the importance of monitoring physiological responses to assist wildlife management and impose the question of change for wildlife living in a brave new world.
Professor Andre Ganswindt is a Behavioural Endocrinologist and a Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa and a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, and served as the Chair of the International Society for Wildlife Endocrinology and as president of the Zoological Society of Southern Africa. Professor Ganswindt received his PhD in 2004 and has published 180 peer-reviewed articles and presented at over 70 conferences and workshops. In his research, he addresses proximate and ultimate questions concerning regulative endocrine mechanisms in mammals, reptiles, and birds.
