In 2025, our Online Symposium and Annual General Meeting, aka Systematics Day 2025, was held online on November 25th at 13:00 AEDT (10:00 WA | 12:00 QLD | 11:30 NT | 12:30 SA).
The theme of this year’s symposium was inspiring and upskilling our student and early career researchers to tackle the challenge of identifying, classifying, describing, and naming our vast and precious biodiversity.
With guest speakers from federal funding agencies, peak biodiversity bodies, and industry, Systematics Day was an opportunity to learn how to improve your funding applications, tighten your science communication skills, and hear from your peers about conducting modern taxonomic and systematics research.
Organising committee (in alphabetical order):
- Helen Armstrong
- Erinn Fagan-Jeffries
- Perry Grace Beasley-Hall
- Nikolas Johnston
- David Juszkiewicz
- Bryan Lessard
SYSTEMATICS DAY
2025 SASB Symposium + AGM
25 November 2025
The theme of this years’ symposium is all about inspiring and upskilling our student and early career researchers to tackle the challenge of identifying, naming and protecting our vast and precious biodiversity.
| State | Start Time |
| ACT (Australian Capital Territory) | 1:00 PM AEDT (UTC+11, with DST) |
| NSW (New South Wales) NT (Northern Territory) | 1:00 PM AEDT (UTC+11, with DST) |
| NT (Northern Territory) | 11:30 AM ACST (UTC+9:30, no DST) |
| QLD (Queensland) | 12:00 PM AEST (UTC+10, no DST) |
| SA (South Australia) | 12:30 PM ACDT (UTC+10:30, with DST) |
| TAS (Tasmania) | 1:00 PM AEDT (UTC+11, with DST) |
| VIC (Victoria) | 1:00 PM AEDT (UTC+11, with DST) |
| WA (Western Australia) | 10:00 AM AWST (UTC+8) |
Overview Program
| AEDT | WA | QLD | NT | SA | |
| 13:00 | 10:00 | 12:00 | 11:30 | 12:30 | WELCOME, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY, AND INTRODUCTION (Bryan Lessard, SASB President) |
| Session 1 | |||||
| 13:10 | 10:10 | 12:10 | 11:40 | 12:40 | TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS INSIDERS SESSION (Chair: Bryan Lessard) Join us for five 10-minute presentations from leading systematics and biodiversity organisations in Australia, concluding with a 15 minute Q&A panel |
| 14:25 | 11:25 | 13:25 | 12:55 | 13:55 | 15 mins break |
| Session 2 | |||||
| 14:40 | 11:40 | 13:40 | 13:10 | 14:10 | 2024-25 SASB AWARD RECIPIENT PRESENTATIONS (Chair: Erinn Fagan-Jeffries) Join our 2024 and 2025 SASB Award recipients for five minute presentations on their research |
| 15:20 | 12:20 | 14:20 | 13:50 | 14:50 | 10 mins break |
| Session 3 | |||||
| 15:30 | 12:30 | 14:30 | 14:00 | 15:00 | PITCH YOUR SCIENCE (Chair: Nik Johnston) Join SASB members sharing their research in a series of pitch style 5 minute talks – read more and register below! |
| 16:30 | 13:30 | 15:30 | 15:00 | 16:00 | Feedback session (breakout rooms) Time to share your wisdom! Give your feedback to fellow SASB members on how they pitched their research. |
| 16:40 | 13:40 | 15:40 | 15:10 | 16:10 | CONCLUSION (Bryan Lessard, SASB President) |
| 16:50 | 13:50 | 15:50 | 15:20 | 16:20 | 10 mins break |
| 17:00 | 14:00 | 16:00 | 15:30 | 16:30 | SASB AGM Hear from the SASB executive and contribute to the future of the society. Any requests for agenda items or nominations for executive positions should be sent to the SASB secretary sasbiologists@gmail.com (details provided previously to members in the e-newsletter) |
Detailed Program
| AEDT | WA | QLD | NT | SA | |
| 13:00 | 10:00 | 12:00 | 11:30 | 12:30 | WELCOME, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY, AND INTRODUCTION (Bryan Lessard, SASB President) |
| Session 1 | TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS INSIDERS SESSION (Chair: Bryan Lessard) Join us for five 10-minute presentations from leading systematics and biodiversity organisations in Australia, concluding with a 15 minute Q&A panel | ||||
| 13:10 | 10:10 | 12:10 | 11:40 | 12:40 | Tom May, Taxonomy Australia Chair Update from Taxonomy Australia on Discovering Biodiversity: A Decadal Plan for Taxonomy and Biosystematics in Australia and New Zealand 2018–2027  |
| 13:20 | 10:20 | 12:20 | 11:50 | 12:50 | Jo Harding, Bush Blitz Manager Bush Blitz: Working with First Nations groups to uncover species new to all sciences  |
| 13:30 | 10:30 | 12:30 | 12:00 | 13:00 | Mary Finlay-Doney, ABRS Manager ABRS: supporting taxonomy through policy and action  |
| 13:40 | 10:40 | 12:40 | 12:10 | 13:10 | Mark Harvey, AJT Editor in Chief How the Australian Journal of Taxonomy can be your friend: a new publishing model to document Australia’s biodiversity  |
| 13:50 | 10:50 | 12:50 | 12:20 | 13:20 | Cam Slatyer, The Atlas of Living Australia The Importance of Being a Taxonomist – Lessons from the ALA  |
| 14:00 | 11:00 | 13:00 | 12:30 | 13:30 | Andrea Wild, CSIRO Communication Adviser How to turn your science into a story and pitch it to the media  |
| 14:10 | 11:10 | 13:10 | 12:40 | 13:40 | Panel Q&A |
| 14:25 | 11:25 | 13:25 | 12:55 | 13:55 | 15 mins break |
| Session 2 | 2024-25 SASB AWARD RECIPIENT PRESENTATIONS (Chair: Erinn Fagan-Jeffries) Join our 2024 and 2025 SASB Award recipients for five minute presentations on their research | ||||
| 14:40 | 11:40 | 13:40 | 13:10 | 14:10 | Introducing 2024 SASB Award recipients |
| 14:45 | 11:45 | 13:45 | 13:15 | 14:15 | 2024 SASB Student Travel Award – Cameron Dodd Cryptic Kultarr: Integrative Taxonomy Reveals Unrecognized Species of Carnivorous Marsupial (Dasyuridae: Antechinomys) in Arid Australia. |
| 14:50 | 11:50 | 13:50 | 13:20 | 14:20 | 2024 SASB Student Research Award – Andrea Piccinini Integrative taxonomy of six new species of Australian wishbone spiders (genus Aname) from the Northern Jarrah Forest subregion. |
| 14:55 | 11:55 | 13:55 | 13:25 | 14:25 | 2024 SASB Early Career Researcher Award – Jeremy Wilson An update on the Australian wishbone spiders (Aname): Tackling the taxonomy of one of Australia’s most diverse spider genera. |
| 15:00 | 12:00 | 14:00 | 13:30 | 14:30 | Announcing 2025 SASB Award recipients |
| 15:05 | 12:05 | 14:05 | 13:35 | 14:35 | 2025 SASB Student Travel Award – Joshua Lenton Diversity and systematics of a novel group of brush-footed trapdoor spiders (Araneae: Barychelidae). |
| 15:10 | 12:10 | 14:10 | 13:40 | 14:40 | 2025 SASB Student Research Award – Saphira Bloom-Quinn A framework phylogeny for the Australian mosses. |
| 15:15 | 12:15 | 14:15 | 13:45 | 14:45 | 2025 SASB Early Career Researcher Award – Pedro de Souza Castanheira My career path and the world of orb-weaving spiders. |
| 15:20 | 12:20 | 14:20 | 13:50 | 14:50 | 10 mins break |
| Session 3 | PITCH YOUR SCIENCE (Chair: Nik Johnston) Join SASB members sharing their research in a series of pitch style 5 minute talks – read more and register below! | ||||
| 15:30 | 12:30 | 14:30 | 14:00 | 15:00 | Intro (Nik Johnston) |
| 15:35 | 12:35 | 14:35 | 14:05 | 15:05 | Jeremy Wilson (Mid-Career) Taxogen – an R package to facilitate rapid taxonomy. |
| 15:40 | 12:40 | 14:40 | 14:10 | 15:10 | James Buxton (Early Career) I Curse Forel Daily: A Government Entomologist Takes on Australian Ant Taxonomy |
| 15:45 | 12:45 | 14:45 | 14:15 | 15:15 | Andre Wanderley do Prado (Early Career) Revising Artoria (Araneae: Lycosidae): uncovering the diversity of Australia’s most speciose wolf spider genus |
| 15:50 | 12:50 | 14:50 | 14:20 | 15:20 | Tareva-Chine Atkin-Zaldivar (PhD Student) Not Another Chalcid Phylogeny! The Importance of Systematics Within the Family Tanaostigmatidae |
| 15:55 | 12:55 | 14:55 | 14:25 | 15:25 | Ethan Briggs (Early Career) Born in Asia, Thriving in Australia: The Rapid Radiation of Australian Tarantulas |
| 16:00 | 13:00 | 15:00 | 14:30 | 15:30 | Encui Wang (PhD Student) Integrative systematics of taxonomically challenging Australian blowflies |
| 16:05 | 13:05 | 15:05 | 14:35 | 15:35 | Liam Foley (PhD Student) Uncovering hidden Australasian cluster fly diversity through integrative systematics |
| 16:10 | 13:10 | 15:10 | 14:40 | 15:40 | Nicole Fechner (PhD Student) Global origins and spread of pest snail invasions in Australia |
| 16:15 | 13:15 | 15:15 | 14:45 | 15:45 | James Bickerstaff (Early Career) A new phylogeny of bark and ambrosia beetles (Curculionidae: Platypodinae & Scolytinae) underpins comparative genomic analyses |
| 16:20 | 13:20 | 15:20 | 14:50 | 15:50 | Madalene Giannotta (PhD Student) Fuzzy wasps with fuzzy generic boundaries: UCE-phylogenomics unravels Mullerian mysteries in an unexplored Australian radiation |
| 16:25 | 13:25 | 15:25 | 14:55 | 15:55 | Feedback session (breakout rooms) Time to share your wisdom! Give your feedback to fellow SASB members on how they pitched their research. |
| 16:40 | 13:40 | 15:40 | 15:10 | 16:10 | CONCLUSION (Bryan Lessard, SASB President) |
| 16:50 | 13:50 | 15:50 | 15:20 | 16:20 | 10 mins break |
| 17:00 | 14:00 | 16:00 | 15:30 | 16:30 | SASB AGM Hear from the SASB executive and contribute to the future of the society. Any requests for agenda items or nominations for executive positions should be sent to the SASB secretary sasbiologists@gmail.com (details provided previously to members in the e-newsletter) |
Pitch Style Presentations
This year, we have opted for a 5-minute pitch style for our research presentations. This concise format offers an excellent opportunity for presenters to practise communicating the core aspects and significance of their systematics research in a brief, impactful manner. Presenting in this way challenges researchers to distil their work’s importance and key findings, preparing them for a variety of professional scenarios where clear and efficient communication is essential.
As our symposium centres on the theme of inspiring and upskilling researchers, these pitch sessions serve as a platform to share insights that could enhance the research being presented. By offering thoughtful suggestions and engaging in meaningful discussion, all participants contribute to the professional growth and development of our research community.
Audience Engagement and Feedback
Following these pitches, listeners were encouraged to provide comments and constructive feedback to the presenters in small breakout rooms. This interactive element is designed to foster a collaborative atmosphere and facilitate the exchange of ideas. Audience members can suggest potential funding opportunities that align with the research, propose avenues for collaboration, or recommend additional analyses and research directions that could further strengthen the projects.
We’ve provided a template (if you wish to use it) to help structure feedback for presenters:
Presenter Bios –Taxonomy and Systematics Insiders Session
Dr Mary Finlay-Doney: Mary is an entomologist with a background in ecological and applied agricultural research in tropical Australia and south-east Asia. Her work has included using beneficial insects to improve horticultural production and studying the ability of managed pollinators to transmit plant pathogens of biosecurity concern. She has worked in national biosecurity policy and currently manages the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS), which administers the annual National Taxonomy Research Grants Program, maintains the National Species List and contributes to the development of national taxonomy and biodiversity policy.
Dr Tom May: Tom is a mycologist at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria where he has worked for more than three decades on the taxonomy, ecology and conservation of larger fungi. Tom has combined a distinguished research career with a passion for communicating and educating about fungi. He has held many roles in professional and citizen science organisations, including as inaugural President of Fungimap and as a member of the founding executive of the Australasian Mycological Society, and is currently Chair of the Taxonomy Australia Steering Committee. Tom is a Fellow of the International Mycological Society and his contributions to science and citizen science have been recognised by award of the Nancy T. Burbidge Medal and the Australian Natural History Medallion.
Jo Harding: Jo is the Bush Blitz Manager, successfully leading the world’s largest species discovery program since 2010.
Dr Mark Harvey: Mark’s career has focused on the systematics, phylogenetics, phylogeography and conservation of the Australian invertebrate fauna. Although he specialises on arachnids, he also has extensive expertise in other groups of terrestrial invertebrates including millipedes. He has undertaken countless field trips into most parts of Australia. He is passionate about documenting the Australian biota via the recognition and description of new taxa, and has described over 1,000 new species, 108 new genera and several new families and subfamilies. He has published nearly 400 papers in peer-reviewed journals, as well as several book chapters and books.
Mark is the Editor-in-Chief for the Australian Journal of Taxonomy and currently serves as an Associate Editor for Invertebrate Systematics. He was an Associate Editor for the Journal of Arachnology for over 20 years.
He has been awarded the Edgeworth David Medal from the Royal Society of NSW (1993), the Pierre Bonnet Award from the International Society of Arachnology (2013), the Distinguished Career Award from the Society of Australian Systematic Biologists (2017) and the Distinguished Career in Taxonomy & Systematics Award from the Australian Biological Resources Study in its 50th Anniversary Awards for Excellence (2023).
After spending 36 years as Curator of Arachnids and Myriapods at the Western Australian Museum, he is happily ‘retired’ but seems to be as busy as ever.
Cam Slatyer: Cam Slatyer manages the taxonomic backbone of the Atlas of Living Australia and chairs the international TDWG working group on a sensitive species date extension. He was previously Branch Manager of Life and Geosciences in the Australian Museum Research Institute. He is a past Director of the ABRS and has worked in Australian Government including on the Square Kilometre Array, National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, heritage assessment and regional forestry assessment. He created BushBlitz and the Australian Natural Heritage Assessment Tool and was awarded a Chevallier d’ Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French Government for his work on international science policy.
Andrea Wild: Andrea is an author and science communicator at CSIRO. She works with CSIRO’s biodiversity collections to publicise taxonomic research in engaging and accessible ways.