People
Hopper, Stephen, D
| Job Title | Director |
|---|---|
| Department | Directorate |
| Section | |
| Science Teams |
Myrtaceae Monocots II: Commelinids Large-Scale Syntheses Monocots III: Orchids |
| Joined Kew | 2006 |
| Foreign Language(s) | English |
Qualifications & Appointments
BSc (Hons 1st class, majors in botany and zoology) 1973
PhD (speciation in kangaroo paws) 1978 from The University of Western Australia
Director/CEO of Kings Park and Botanic Garden/Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, Perth, Western Australia (1992-2004)
Foundation Professor of Plant Conservation Biology, The University of Western Australia (2004-2006)
Visiting Research Professor, The University of Western Australia (2006 - )
Visiting Professor, University of Reading (2007-2010)
Fellow of the Linnaean Society (2007 - )
Role
Research in plant conservation biology, evolution, systematics and biogeography, with special reference to southwest Australia, global granite outcrop floras, and biodiversity on the world’s oldest
Evolutionary, systematic and conservation research relating to the southwest Australian biodiversity hotspot. The discovery and description of 300 new Australian plant taxa has been one of the outcomes of this programme. Other major research areas include developing and testing evolutionary hypotheses on origins of plant species richness in the world’s Mediterranean climate regions, 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 and the development of collaborative international programs on the biogeography and conservation of granite outcrop floras. A recent focus is on the development of new theory relating to the evolution and conservation of biodiversity on old and young landscapes. Volumes are in preparation on the Haemodoraceae plant family, rock plants of the world and the southwest Australian flora.
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
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Nikulinsky, P., and Hopper, S.D. (2005). Soul of the Desert. Fremantle Arts Centre Press, Fremantle.
Hopper, S.D., and Brown, A. P. (2004). Robert Brown’s Caladenia revisited, including a revision of its sister genera Cyanicula, Ericksonella and Pheladenia (Caladeniinae: Orchidaceae). Australian Systematic Botany 17: 171-240.
Hopper, S.D., and Gioia, P. (2004). The Southwest Australian Floristic Region: evolution and conservation of a global hotspot of biodiversity. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 35, 623-650.
Burgman, M.A., Possingham, H.P., Lynch, A.J.J., Keith, D.A., McCarthy, M.A., Hopper, S.D., Drury, W.L., Passioura, J.A. and Devries, R.J. (2001). A method for setting the size of plant conservation target areas. Conservation Biology 15: 603-616.
Kores, P.J., Molvray, M., Weston, P.H., Hopper, S.D., Brown, A.P., Cameron, K.M. and Chase, M.W. (2001). A phylogenetic analysis of Diurideae (Orchidaceae) based on plastid DNA sequence data. American Journal of Botany 88: 1903-1914.
Selected Publications pre-2001
Nikulinsky, P., and Hopper, S.D. (1999). Life on the Rocks The Art of Survival. 184 pp. Fremantle Arts Centre Press, Fremantle.
Hopper, S.D., Fay, M.F., Rossetto, M. and Chase, M.W. (1999). A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the bloodroot and kangaroo paw family, Haemodoraceae: taxonomic, biogeographic and conservation implications. Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society 131: 285-299.
Hopper, S.D., Harvey, M.S., Chappill, J.A., Main, A.R., and Main, B.Y. (1996). The Western Australian biota as Gondwanan Heritage - a review. In S.D. Hopper, J.A. Chappill, M.S. Harvey and A.S. George (eds) Gondwanan Heritage: Past, present and future of the Western Australian Biota. Pp 1-46 (Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW.)
Moran, G.F. and Hopper, S.D. (1983). Genetic diversity and the insular population structure of the rare granite rock species, Eucalyptus caesia Benth. Australian Journal of Botany 31, 161-172.
Hopper, S.D. (1979). Biogeographical aspects of speciation in the south west Australian flora. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 10, 399-422.