Kat is a third year PhD student at the ANU Fenner School and CSIRO. Kat's PhD project compared the distribution patterns of ground-dwelling beetle communities in a mixed-farming landscape in the NSW Lachlan Catchment. She used pitfall traps to catch beetles along 400 m transects that extended from remnant woodland patches into four contrasting farm land uses during an entire growing season.

Kat will present some findings on the habitat preferences of beetles and the effects of seasonal change, based on a large data set of 495 species and 11,360 individuals. Her talk will give everyone an insight into the delightfully challenging world of entomology and the importance of conserving beetle biodiversity.