Annual Plymouth Linnean Lecture series

Serves to bring high-level scientists in conservation, ecology and natural history to the South West

The Annual Plymouth Linnean Lecture series serves to bring high-level scientists in conservation, ecology and natural history to the South West.

Our lectures are free to attend, but you will need to register using the online form. They are suited to anyone of any background and you do not need any background or experience in biology to understand them.

Annual Plymouth Linnean Lecture 2023

Professor Anjali Goswami –The speed of life: a deep-time perspective

Professor Goswami discussed her recent work using cutting-edge 3D imaging tools to capture the anatomy of a diverse range of organisms (frogs, salamanders, mammals and dinosaurs) in unprecedented detail, and using it to reconstruct how these lineages have evolved through deep time and why they have had such different evolutionary outcomes.

Annual Plymouth Linnean Lecture 2021

Dr Erica McAlister - The inside out of flies: why flies (and their parts) are important.

By studying flies across their whole diversity, we can become better medics, better recyclers and can improve our relationship with Earth as a result.

Annual Plymouth Linnean Lecture 2019 (postponed from 2018)

Professor Nathalie Seddon – The value of nature in a warming world

The role of nature as the bedrock of human health, wealth and wellbeing, and its role in subsidising the global economy for over 100 years.

Annual Plymouth Linnean Lecture 2017

Dr Sandra D Knapp – Natural history amongst the nightshades: diversity and evolution in the Solanaceae.

This talk explored the diversity of the family, both in terms of patterns and origins, sharing new data from taxonomic and phylogenetic studies.

Deadly nightshade berries in The Fall. Shutterstock image

Annual Plymouth Linnean Lecture 2016

Professor Nick Davies – Cuckoo: Cheating by Nature.

Covering the continuing arms race of host defences versus the cuckoo’s parasitic habits.

Annual Plymouth Linnean Lecture 2015

Professor Dave Goulson – Bees, Pesticide and Politics: the impact of neonicotinoids on UK bumblebees.

Annual Plymouth Linnean Lecture 2014

Professor Camille Parmesan – Biodiversity and Climate Change: Connecting the Past to the Future.