Dana Bergstrom | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1962 (age 61–62) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | Macquarie University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Antarctic ecology |
| Institutions | Australian Antarctic Division |
| Website | Bergstrom at the Australian Antarctic Division |
Dana Michelle Bergstrom is a senior researcher at the Australian Antarctic Division most notable for her work on identifying and mitigating risks against Antarctic and Sub Antarctic Ecosystems.
Bergstrom is from Sydney, Australia. [1] She went to Hunters Hill High School and undertook her undergraduate study at Macquarie University (Sydney). Her postgraduate study was also Macquarie University, where she completed a master's degree. Bergstrom travelled to Macquarie Island in 1983 for her Masters fieldwork, this made her one of the earliest female scientists to go south in the Australian Antarctic program for sustained field work. [2] She continued her focus on Macquarie Island to, researching holocene vegetation for her PhD which was awarded in 1985. Prior to working at the Antarctic Division, Bergstrom was a senior lecturer in ecology and botany at The University of Queensland.[ citation needed ]
Bergstrom is an applied Antarctic ecologist and a principal research scientist with the Australian Antarctic Division where she co-ordinates terrestrial and near-shore research. [3] Her research focuses on identifying risks to Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic ecosystems and finding solutions to mitigating such risks. During the International Polar Year she led the "Aliens in Antarctica" program [4] [5] and she has played a major leadership roles in the SCAR Regional Sensitivities to Climate Change (RISCC) [6] and Evolution and Biodiversity in Antarctica programs. [7] The Aliens in Antarctica project resulted in major changes to how most national programs and tourist operators manage biosecurity in Antarctica [8] [9] particularly with regards to cleaning gear to avoid carrying seeds to Antarctica. As Bergstrom put it, "the people that were carrying the most had lots and lots of seeds. They really were substantial threats." [10]
Bergstrom has published extensively on Antarctic science and is well recognised for her highly influential work in the invasive species field, [11] [12] [13] for quantifying the effects of cat eradication on Macquarie Island [14] [15] and for her abundant work on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic plant ecology and threats. Bergstrom is also a champion of improving biosecurity efforts in the Antarctic (e.g. 'Aliens in Antarctica' program). [5] She was on the design team for the Cargo and Biosecurity Centre at Hobart's Macquarie Wharf (Australia's gateway to the Antarctic).
Bergstrom was the Australian delegate to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research from 2011–2015. Bergstrom has been the Australian national representative for the SSG-LS (SCAR standing group – life sciences). [16] She was also the chair of the National Antarctic Research Committee at the Australian Academy of Science (2011–2014), where she was key to fostering engagement with various national and international Antarctic organisations. Bergstrom is active in providing mentoring and training for early career researchers. [17]
Bergstrom invests heavily in public outreach of Antarctic science, where she promotes the global importance of Antarctic ecosystems and researching in the Antarctic. She has been interviewed numerous times for paper, television and radio interviews. [11] [12] [14] Bergstrom founded the 'Pure Antarctic Foundation', [18] a non-for-profit organisation with the overarching goal to bring Antarctica to the world, via an immersive cultural and scientific experience. She championed the efforts to install sub-Antarctic displays in the Royal Hobart Botanic gardens and Australian National Botanic Gardens in order for the public to be able to experience the unique flora of remote sub-Antarctic islands. [19]
Bergstrom was the book author of "Antarctica", a new musical, which premiered in October 2016 in Hobart at the Theatre Royal. The show aimed to foster an appreciation for Antarctic ecosystems. [20] [21] [22]
In 2021 she won the Australian Museum Eureka Prize in the Leadership in Innovation and Science category. [23]
The Antarctic is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole.
The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is a division of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The Division undertakes science programs and research projects to contribute to an understanding of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. It conducts and supports collaborative research programs with other Australian and international organisations, such as the Bureau of Meteorology and Geoscience Australia, as well as administering and maintaining a presence in Australian Antarctic and sub-Antarctic territories.
Casey Station, commonly called Casey, is one of three permanent stations and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Casey lies on the northern side of the Bailey Peninsula overlooking Vincennes Bay on the Budd Coast of Wilkes Land in the Australian Antarctic Territory, a territory claimed by Australia. Casey is 3,880 kilometres (2,410 mi) due south of Perth, Western Australia.
Macquarie Island is an island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. Regionally part of Oceania and politically a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1900, it became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978 and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Mawson's Huts are the collection of buildings located at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, in the far eastern sector of the Australian Antarctic Territory, some 3000 km south of Hobart. The buildings were erected and occupied by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) of 1911-1914, led by geologist and explorer Sir Douglas Mawson.
The Macquarie Island Station is a permanent Australian subantarctic research base on Macquarie Island, commonly called Macca, situated in the Southern Ocean and located approximately halfway between mainland Australia and Antarctica, managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). The station lies at the base of Wireless Hill, between two bays on the isthmus at the northern end of the island.
Azorella selago is a species of cushion plant native to the sub-Antarctic islands of the Southern Ocean, including the Crozet Islands, the Possession Islands, the Heard Island and McDonald Islands, the Kerguelen Islands, and the Prince Edward Islands. The closely related Azorella macquariensis, which is endemic to Macquarie Island, was split from it taxonomically in 1989. A. selago is often a keystone species where it occurs and is well studied for its contribution to its native ecosystems.
Cats are an invasive species in Australia. Because they are not native to Australia and were only introduced by European colonists as pets in the early 1800s, native Australian animals did not co-evolve with them. As of 2016, some 3.8 million domestic cats and up to 6.3 million feral cats continue to live in Australia.
Leanne Armand was an Australian professor of marine science. She was an expert in the identification of diatoms in the Southern Ocean. She was known for her contributions to the understanding of past Southern Ocean dynamics and sea ice as a result of her knowledge of diatom distributions and ecology.
Patricia Margaret Selkirk, is an Australian plant biologist and ecologist. Her career has focused on Antarctic and subantarctic terrestrial ecosystems and she is recognized as being a pioneering female Australian Antarctic scientist.
Elizabeth Marchant Truswell is a former Chief Scientist at the Australian Geological Survey Organisation and is known for her application of recycled palynomorph distribution as an indicator of sub-ice geology.
Barbara Wienecke is a senior research scientist with the Australian Antarctic Division. She is a seabird ecologist who uses satellite tracking to investigate seabird population dynamics and ecology. Wienecke has played a key role in enhancing the quality of, and overseeing the implementation of, a number of Antarctic Specially Protected Area management plans for wildlife concentrations in East Antarctica.
Roumiana Panayotova Metcheva is a Bulgarian Antarctic researcher, best known for her work on ecotoxicology and biodiversity protection in the Antarctic. She is the Head of Department of Ecosystem Research, Environmental Risk Assessment and Conservation Biology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Mount Mecheva was named after Metcheva for recognition of her work.
Justine Shaw is an Australian Antarctic researcher, best known for her conservation work on subantarctic islands, currently working at the Queensland University of Technology. She has a wide global research network, having worked in Australia, South Africa, sub-Antarctic/Antarctic and the Arctic.
Jennifer Lee is an Antarctic researcher, best known for her work on invasion biology. She is the Environment Officer in the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Catherine K. King is an Australian ecotoxicologist who studies sub-Antarctic and Antarctic regions, with a focus on climate change and the impacts of contaminants and environmental stressors in terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
Kim Crosbie is a former Executive Director of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and has been working in the polar regions since 1991.
Belinda Carlene Ferrari is an Australian microbiologist who specialises in the genetics and ecology of soil bacteria and fungi, particularly in polar regions. She is an associate professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, where she heads a microbiology laboratory.
This is a Timeline ofwomen in Antarctica. This article describes many of the firsts and accomplishments that women from various countries have accomplished in different fields of endeavor on the continent of Antarctica.
Megaherbs are a group of herbaceous wildflowers growing in the New Zealand subantarctic islands and on the other subantarctic islands. They are characterised by their great size, with huge leaves and very large and often unusually coloured flowers, which have evolved as an adaptation to the harsh weather conditions on the islands. They suffer from overgrazing due to introduced mammals.
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