The Royal Society of South Africa and the Academy of Science of South Africa invite you to a public lecture by Prof Peter Ryan, Director of the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town on Seabirds: Their Biology and Conservation

Abstract: His talk will give insights into the fascinating world of seabirds, and explain how their conservative life histories exacerbate the many threats they face. He will focus on seabird-fishery interactions and the threats posed by land-based predators at their breeding islands. He will also present an overview of the plastic pollution problem in the oceans.

Biography: Peter Ryan graduated from the University of Cape Town, researching the impacts of ingested plastic on seabirds (MSc) and the evolutionary ecology of buntings in the Tristan archipelago (PhD). After a post-doc at the University of California he was appointed academic co-ordinator of the Masters Programme in Conservation Biology at the Fitztitute in 1993, a position he held until becoming the Director in 2013. He mostly works on seabirds and their conservation, but has wide-ranging interests in avian biology, and is actively involved in research on plastic pollution, especially in marine systems. He is a keen birder and believes in the importance of promoting amateur involvement in ornithology. He has written several books about birds and their identification as well as Southern Ocean islands, and is scientific advisor to African Birdlife.

Date:     Wednesday 20 June 2018

Time:    17h00 (Tea will be served from 16h30). The lecture is due to end at 18h00

Place:    South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) Auditorium, Observatory Road, Observatory*

*Directions to SAAO Auditorium : From the N2, turn off to the M57 – Liesbeek Parkway; turning in the direction of Cape Town and continue until the traffic lights with Hartleyvale (hockey and football) on your left. Turn right at traffic lights into Observatory Road, pass the River Club; the S A Astronomical Observatory is next on the left. Once through the security gates bear left following the SALT signs to the auditorium i.e. last building on the left (white with stoep & ramp).                                                             

PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN FRONT OF DRIVEWAYS