Research
Contact Information
For all enquiries relating to Professor Stephen Hopper's research, please contact:
Dr Rhian Smith
Director's Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Richmond
Surrey TW9 3AB
Email: rhian.smith@kew.org
Tel: 020 8332 5105
Research Interests
- Evolution, systematics and conservation of the southwest Australian biodiversity hotspot.
- Elucidation of new aspects of vertebrate pollination ecology, flora conservation and conservation genetics applied to the Australian flora.
- The revision of phytogeographic concepts and regionalisation for the ancient landscapes of south-western Australia and the Greater Cape Region of South Africa.
- Origins of plant species richness in the world’s Mediterranean climate regions.
- The development of collaborative international programs on the biogeography and conservation of granite outcrop floras.
- The development of new theory relating to the evolution and conservation of biodiversity on old and young landscapes.
Current Research Projects
- Granite outcrop plants - biogeography, evolution and conservation
- Haemodoraceae - phylogenetics, biology and conservation
- Old, climatically-buffered, infertile landscapes – evolution and conservation of biodiversity
- Systematics, evolution and conservation of Australian orchids
- Systematics and conservation of Western Australian eucalypts
Current Research Students
Name |
Project Title |
Institution |
Supervisors |
Alea Faber |
Ecology and phylogenetics of rare granite outcrop Paracaleana (Duck Orchids) |
Kings Park and Botanic Garden / School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia |
Prof. Stephen Hopper, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Dr. Pieter Poot, University of Western Australia |
Ryan Phillips |
The role of pollinators and mycorrhiza in rarity and speciation in Drakaea (Hammer Orchids) |
Kings Park and Botanic Garden / School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia |
Prof. Stephen Hopper, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Dr. Andrew Batty, Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth, Australia; Prof. Kingsley Dixon Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth, Australia |
Leslie Saul-Gershenz |
Chemical and pollination ecology and natural history of thynnid wasp pollinators and their respective sexually deceptive orchid species in Southwestern Australia. |
Kings Park and Botanic Garden / School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia |
Prof. Kingsley Dixon, Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth Australia; Prof Rod Peakall, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia; Prof Stephen Hopper, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
Renee Tuckett |
Biogeography and seed ecology of vernal pool species in Western Australia |
Kings Park and Botanic Garden / School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia |
Prof. Kingsley Dixon, Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth, Australia; Prof. Stephen Hopper, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Dr. David Merritt, Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth, Australia; Dr. Fiona Hay, Millennium Seed Bank |
