The awards, announced at a gala event in the NSW Parliament, recognise young scientists who excel at research, leadership and communication.

 

Plant biologist Dr Angela Moles was recognised for her landmark botanical survey revealing new insights into how plants survive and thrive in 75 different ecosystems across the planet.

 

'You might think that scientists would know all about the different strategies that plants use when they grow in different places,' says Dr Moles, 32, who is Deputy Director of UNSW's Evolution and Ecology Research Centre.

 

'Sadly, we know remarkably little. We don't know whether plants are taller in the tropics, or whether plants are more likely to have their leaves eaten by animals in warmer climates. Plants grow and reproduce in an amazing variety of ways. Some make seeds that weigh over 20 kilograms, while others make tiny, dust-like seeds. Some grow over 100 metres tall, while others creep along the ground. Some make leaves that are tasty and nutritious, while others contain deadly poisons.'

 

Dr Moles collected information about the seeds of almost 13,000 plant species, discovering that seeds in the tropics are, on average, 300 times bigger than those in colder places. She has also assembled a database of the relative heights of about 22,000 plant species. The results of her World Herbivory Project are still being analysed.

 

Asked if she enjoyed travelling to such exotic locales, she says: 'While this might sound like fun, the logistics of setting up 50 collaborations, employing and training a field assistant in each place, getting permits to study the plants and animals and export samples, and communicating with people in many different languages did make things fairly interesting!'

 

Her findings have important implications for understanding how plants and the animals that depend on them will be affected by climate change. For more on this story visit the Faculty of Science News.