Sun baking in Antarctica: is it bad for mosses?
Associate Professor
Sharon Robinson
Antarctica has experienced the
largest relative increase in ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation as a result of
anthropogenic ozone depletion. The plants that live on this frozen continent
have thus had to adjust from growing under the lowest UV-B exposures on Earth to
surviving some of the highest in just a few decades. Sharon Robinson and her
group are studying how Antarctic plants have adjusted to this change,
investigating whether they are able to protect themselves or suffer damage as a
result of the elevated UV-B. Of
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| Antarctic moss species |
particular concern are the endemic species that are only found in Antarctica and presumably have evolved in a low UV-B environment. How these plants are affected by climate change is thus important for future biodiversity in Antarctica but may also provide information on how plants in more temperate regions are affected by UV-B.
Sharon is generally interested in how
plants respond and adapt to environmental stress. Her research into these
adaptations spans from the molecular (do plants have special genes or produce
special compounds?) to the ecological (do some plants survive better than
others?). She is
particularly interested in plants in extreme environments and environments
affected by climate change.
After graduating from University College, London, where she was President of the Student Union as well as achieving top marks, Sharon taught secondary science in the UK before doing her PhD. After postdocs in the US, she and her partner moved to Australia in the mid 80s and to Wollongong in 1996. Recent years have been highlighted by trips to Antarctica and international visits to collaborators and conferences. She has taken on a number of positions inside and outside the University, including Director of the Institute for Conservation Biology and editorial board member for the journals, Functional Plant Biology and Global Change Biology.
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Antarctica – a harsh environment made harsher by the ozone hole |
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