Up until I watched the play “Ravana – Noki Purawatha” (a play by University of Colombo) I hadn’t paid too much attention to Sri Lanka’s links with Ramayana. As signifies in Ramayana, Sri Lankan forests hold top secrets about the battle between Ravana and Hanuman’s monkey army. The legendries share that when Hanuman took a giant leap from India to Sri Lanka, he landed at a spot-on solid stone that now has his footprint.
Coming across the stories of the famous ornithologist who documented the birds of Sri Lanka; William Vincent Legge and the German naturalist and explorer; Alexander von Humboldt, can you imagine a single discipline where all these stories can revolve around?
Not too hard to answer this question as “In Nature’s lap” will pave the way to find for an answer. Here comes the familiar setting for the 3rd lecture in “In Nature’s Lap” lecture series titled “From Hanuman to Humboldt; Is biogeography a career option for graduates?”, organized by the Base for Enthusiasts of Environmental Science and Zoology (BEEZ) that will take place on 27th October at 5 pm via Zoom platform. The lecture is open to all and we warmly welcoming all nature enthusiasts. Having gone to several of these lectures, we can assure that it always proves to be an evening well spent.
The speaker will be none other than Dr. Sampath S. Seneviratne, a brilliant young scientist who specializes in the study of evolution, molecular biogeography, and ornithology. His laboratory Avian Evolution Node studies how animals evolve in isolation in an island biogeography framework using both field and laboratory-based research in a broader genes-to-ecosystems approach. He is currently a senior lecturer in Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences of University of Colombo.
In his lecture, Dr. Seneviratne will highlight on a major field that is much needed to be taken forward, i.e.; Biogeography. As biogeography intersects with the disciplines of Ecology and Evolution it will explain the distribution of the world’s species across all taxonomic groups from the start of life on Earth to the modern day. So, where could this pathway take you to? How the potential location of Sri Lanka, which is a hotspot of massive numbers of endemics, is beneficial to country and how important it is for us to study areas with this background? You will get answers for all of these from Dr. Seneviratne’s talk.
So, lace up your boots and stay tuned! Let’s explore these secrets together!
A glimpse of past lectures……
In hope of nature protection and conservation of which has become a controversial topic in the country, BEEZ initiated “In Nature’s lap”, a series of lectures to provide environmental literacy to everyone especially to University undergraduates, school children and general public.
The inaugural lecture was held on 29th September 2020 via Zoom and it was done by Dr. Hasheendra Kathriarachchi from the Department of Plant Sciences. The lecture was on “Climate Change Impacts to the Mangrove Biodiversity and Possible Solutions to Mitigate the Impacts’. The second lecture was conducted by Senior Professor of Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences, Prof Devaka Weerakoon on “Tools for Sustainable Development” and it was held on 13th October 2020.
BEEZ hopes to continue this series with lectures related to various fields covering the topics such as importance of Rainforest ecosystem, Significance of protected areas in Sri Lanka, Anthropogenic impact on bird migration, Role of urban wetlands, Invasive species and their effect on our ecosystems, EIA and biodiversity conservation and Achieving sustainability in biodiversity.
Register for the lecture here
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