The Second Annual Conservation Ecology Seminar Series will feature leading international scientists discussing topics ranging from wolf predation in Yellowstone National Park to the effects of climate change on biodiversity.
The series opening Friday is organized by the Conservation Ecology field of study at the School of Natural Resources and Environment. All lectures begin at 3 p.m. in the Dana Building and are open to the public. Receptions will follow each seminar.
“This year’s speakers are among the leaders in their fields, and their insights into current research will be of interest to many disciplines across the university,” says Don Zak, the Burton V. Barnes Collegiate Professor at SNRE and a professor in conservation ecology. The field encompasses a range of disciplines, from aquatic sciences and terrestrial ecosystems to biology and ecology.
The dates, lecturers and seminar topics are:
•Friday: William H. Schlesinger, president, Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies, with the seminar “Chasing nitrogen atoms in its global biogeochemical cycle,” in Room 1040.
•March 16: Jessica Hellmann (B.S. ’96, ecology and natural resource management), associate professor of biological sciences, University of Notre Dame. She presents the seminar “Understanding and managing climate change: the genetic basis of species’ responses and conservation strategies for helping species adjust,” in Room 1040.
•March 23: Shahid Naeem, Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, Earth Institute, Columbia University; chair and professor of ecology in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University. Seminar: “Ecological capacity and biological insurance: A trait-based approach to understanding why rare species matter,” Room 1040.
•March 30: Hugh Ducklow, director and senior scientist, The Ecosystems Center, Woods Hole Marine Biological Lab. Seminar: “Ecosystem Transformation Driven by Rapid Warming of the Antarctic Peninsula,” Room 1040.
•April 6: Stephen Jackson, Department of Botany and director of the Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming. Seminar: “Biodiversity consequences of climate change: forecasts from the past,” Room 1040.
•April 12: Daniel MacNulty, assistant professor of wildlife ecology, Department of Wildland Resources, College of Natural Resources, Utah State University. Seminar: “Behavioral Ecology of Wolf Predation in Yellowstone National Park,” Room 2024.
For more details, go to www.snre.umich.edu/conservation_ecology/2012_seminar_series.
