(Reporter: Maura Nabila Dwifara)

In the context of implementing the World Class University (WCU) development program for higher education endowments and the international standard Tridharma improvement program, the Biology Department of Andalas University held a Guest Lecture seminar. This seminar was held on Wednesday, May 24th, 2023 from 13.30 - 15.30 WIT. This seminar is held online through the Zoom application. The theme raised in this Guest Lecture seminar is “Recent Updates in Biodiversity Mapping and Modeling”. The speaker in this seminar is Dr. Alice C. Hughes, an associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).

This seminar was greeted with enthusiasm by the participants who attended this Zoom seminar. Various backgrounds of participants who attended this seminar, such as undergraduate students, postgraduate students, lecturers, alumni, and even international students participated in this seminar. The participants seemed enthusiastic based on the various interesting questions discussed in this seminar. Not only that, exciting discussions about the experiences and research of the speakers to the seminar participants further increased the enthusiasm of the participants.

Mapping and modeling biodiversity helps us to see information on the development of biodiversity in animals, plants, and others in all regions of the world. There are still many parts of the world, including Southeast Asia, but there is still little information about biodiversity. Through mapping and modeling biodiversity, it will make it easier for researchers to understand areas of the world that are experiencing a biodiversity crisis and can act to restore the biodiversity of the world's living things. 

Departemen Biologi Univesitas Andalas melaksanakan Workshop Survei Primata Mentawai yang telah dilakukan pada 8-10 Mei 2023. Workshop ini diadakan untuk mempersiapkan kader peneliti lapangan satwa primate Mentawai. Kegiatan workshop terdiri dari pembekalan materi selama dua hari di Plaza Biologi dan praktik lapangan pada hari ke-tiga di Hutan Pendidikan dan Penelitian Biologi Universitas Andalas.

Senin, 15 Mei 2023, pukul 14.00-16.00 Departemen Biologi, FMIPA Universitas Andalas mengadakan Guest Lecture dengan mengundang Prof. Shuichi Matsumura dari Gifu University, Japan sebagai pemateri di Plaza Biologi. Guest lecture ini dihadiri oleh para dosen dan mahasiswa jurusan Biologi. Kegiatan ini diadakan untuk memperluas wawasan para civitas akademika Biologi UNAND di bidang biosistematika dan evolusi.

Prof. Shuici membawakan materi mengenai penelitiannya yaitu evolusi Japanese Wolf, dimana merupakan subspesies yang sangat berbeda dengan jenis serigala lain. Dari pohon filogenetik yang dihasilkan, masih belum terpecahkan lokasi domestikasi anjing karena berkelompok sama dengan serigala di pohin filogenetik menggunakan mtDNA. Hal ini tentunya sangat menarik untuk dipecahkan.