Kevin Thiele
Encyclopedia
Kevin R. Thiele is curator
of the Western Australian Herbarium
. His research interests include the systematics
of the plant families Proteaceae
, Rhamnaceae
and Violaceae
, and the conservation ecology
of grassy woodland
ecosystem
s. He is also interested in biodiversity informatics
, and is involved in the design of software for the Global Biodiversity Infrastructure Facility.
He obtained a PhD
from the University of Melbourne
in 1993, and has since had a number of publications, notably a treatment of the Rhamnaceae
for the Flora of Australia
series of monographs, and, with Pauline Ladiges, a taxonomic arrangement of Banksia
. In 2007 he collaborated with Austin Mast
to transfer Dryandra to Banksia
.
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
of the Western Australian Herbarium
Western Australian Herbarium
The Western Australian Herbarium is the State Herbarium in Perth, Western Australia, Western Australia. It is part of the State government's Department of Environment and Conservation, and has responsibility for the description and documentation of the flora of Western Australia.The Herbarium is...
. His research interests include the systematics
Systematics
Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of terrestrial life, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees...
of the plant families Proteaceae
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
, Rhamnaceae
Rhamnaceae
Rhamnaceae, the Buckthorn family, is a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs and some vines.The family contains 50-60 genera and approximately 870-900 species. The Rhamnaceae have a worldwide distribution, but are more common in the subtropical and tropical regions...
and Violaceae
Violaceae
Violaceae are a family of flowering plants consisting of about 800 species in 21 genera. It takes its name from the genus Viola, the violets and pansies.Older classifications such as the Cronquist system placed Violaceae in an order named after it, the Violales...
, and the conservation ecology
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
of grassy woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s. He is also interested in biodiversity informatics
Biodiversity Informatics
Biodiversity Informatics is the application of informatics techniques to biodiversity information for improved management, presentation, discovery, exploration and analysis...
, and is involved in the design of software for the Global Biodiversity Infrastructure Facility.
He obtained a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
in 1993, and has since had a number of publications, notably a treatment of the Rhamnaceae
Rhamnaceae
Rhamnaceae, the Buckthorn family, is a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs and some vines.The family contains 50-60 genera and approximately 870-900 species. The Rhamnaceae have a worldwide distribution, but are more common in the subtropical and tropical regions...
for the Flora of Australia
Flora of Australia (series)
The Flora of Australia is a 59 volume series describing the vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens present in Australia and its external territories...
series of monographs, and, with Pauline Ladiges, a taxonomic arrangement of Banksia
Thiele and Ladiges' taxonomic arrangement of Banksia
Kevin Thiele and Pauline Ladiges' taxonomic arrangement of Banksia, published in 1996, was a novel taxonomic arrangement that was intended to align the taxonomy of Banksia more closely with the phylogeny that they had inferred from their cladistic analysis of the genus...
. In 2007 he collaborated with Austin Mast
Austin Mast
Austin R. Mast is a research botanist. Born in 1972, he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2000. He is currently an associate professor within the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University , and has been director of FSU's since August 2003.One of his...
to transfer Dryandra to Banksia
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...
.