It is the basic resource for forestry, agriculture, fisheries and tourism. A new research program is investigating the ways in which particular groups of invertebrate animals contribute to the viability of undisturbed and production ecosystems.

Today the resource potential of biodiversity is recognised as much greater than previously suspected. The disciplines that understand biodiversity - evolutionary biology, ecology, systematics and natural history - are yielding arrays of new concepts and products from a wide variety of unexpected sources.

Evolutionary Trend Analysis has been developed by the Centre to evaluate organisms and environments as sources of novel industrial products and ideas.

Examples in which the Centre collaborates with commercial partners include the search for antibiotics from invertebrates and the use of micro organisms for the redemption of disused industrial sites.

Biodiversity is an important resource for environmental monitoring and natural resource management. Changes in the variety and abundance of organisms in response to environmental disturbance, harvesting methods and pollution provide vital management information. The Centre is developing methods that apply changes in invertebrate and microbial biodiversity to management decisions.

Much of the effort in our Research and Education Programs is focused on new methods of biodiversity assessment, conservation evaluation, natural resource management and environmental impact assessment. The emphasis is on accuracy, speed, cost-effectiveness and automation.