Shine's free talk, "Conservation of Snakes: Why Bother?" will take place at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 22, in the Whitsett Room, room 451, of Sierra Hall on the west side of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

"He is unquestionably the most prolific herpetologist in the world right now," said Northridge assistant biology professor Robert E. Espinoza, director of CSUN's Laboratory of Integrative Comparative Herpetology. Herpetologists are biologists who study amphibians and reptiles.

"Shine's research extends far outside the specifics of his field and into branches of evolutionary biology and ecology," Espinoza said. "This is an incredible opportunity for our students, faculty and the community to meet him and hear him talk. He has collected data on a wide variety of snakes from all over the world, from Southeast Asia and Africa to Japan and the Southern Pacific. While his focus is primarily Australia, his presentation will encompass the world of serpents, and promises to be entertaining and fascinating."

Shine's research on snakes has appeared in more than 400 publications. Although his passion lies in studying the biology of snakes, primarily those from Australia, he has also published extensively on other reptiles, amphibians and insects.

His research lies at the interface between evolution and ecology, usually focusing on the adaptive significance of evolutionary transitions in life history and on sexually selected traits of snakes.

Shine has received many awards for his work, including the E.O. Wilson Award from the American Society of Naturalists and a Clarke Medal from the Royal Society of New South Wales. He also is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences.