JMSS Parent/Carer Night:
Dear JMSS Parents/Carers,
Why do animals grow when they do, reproduce when they do, and stop growing when they do? Predicting the future of fishes and fisheries
Join with other JMSS Parents and Carers for the second of our parent events for 2026. Come to meet other families and hear from Professor Craig White, Head of the School of Biology at Monash University.
Event details
Thursday 17 September 2026
6.15 pm to 8.00 pm
JMSS Ground Floor
Parents and carers of JMSS students (adults only)
No cost – but only 200 tickets are available. Book early to secure your place.
Why come along?
- Hear from an expert biologist in an accessible, engaging format
- Ask your own questions
- Meet and connect with other JMSS parents
This isn’t just a talk. It’s a chance to meet other JMSS parents/carers, share a conversation, and be part of building a stronger school community.
Speaker: Professor Craig White, Head of School of Biology, Monash University
Craig is an evolutionary physiologist interested in describing and understanding the causes and consequences of physiological variation in animals. His group studies a range of traits, with an emphasis on body size, metabolic rate, water loss, and breathing patterns, and employs a range of approaches including manipulative experiments, comparative studies, experimental evolution, and quantitative genetic analyses. His group work predominantly on insects, but have collected physiological data for over 60 species, including marine invertebrates, aquatic and terrestrial arthropods, and vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals).
Talk: Why do animals grow when they do, reproduce when they do, and stop growing when they do? Predicting the future of fishes and fisheries
Why do animals grow when they do, reproduce when they do, and stop growing when they do? Our work explores these questions using evolutionary theory that connects three fundamental aspects of life – the rate at which animals expend energy, the rate at which they grow, and the rate at which they reproduce. In this talk, I will attempt to predict the future of fishes: how they will adapt to future climates and the consequences of that evolution for the sustainable yields of capture fisheries. We predict that fish in warmer waters will grow faster but evolve earlier maturation, decreasing their maximum size. This evolution is good for fish but bad for fisheries: evolution will help fishes cope with climate change, but it will worsen future fishery losses by ~50%. Excluding evolution overestimates future yields under all greenhouse gas emissions scenarios, but the impact of evolution is greatest under the most extreme scenarios.
Book now on CompassTix – JMSS Parent/Carer Evening: https://compasstix.com/e/h624s2qi07
This event is for parents and carers of current JMSS students only. This is not an event for students.
We are looking for a team to support the organisation of this event. Are you willing to help out with this event or others over the year? Please get in touch with ilyamandel@gmail.com.