Alastair Richardson

Despite an early interest in mammals, and a PhD on the ecology of a terrestrial snail, Alastair became fascinated by the freshwater and terrestrial crustaceans of Tasmania, thanks to early encounters with landhoppers, burrowing crayfish and the giant freshwater crayfish. With its diverse crustacean fauna and still-undisturbed transitional habitats between sea and land, Tasmania is an ideal place to deduce how crustaceans are colonising land. Alastair has investigated this process in the sandhoppers ands their terrestrial relatives, and in burrowing crayfish.

Raised and educated in the UK, Alastair taught zoology at the University of Tasmania for nearly 40 years. Since retirement he has worked with The Bookend Trust encouraging school students to take up environmental careers, and participating in citizen science projects.