Meshing scientific understanding with ecological data to enhance management and conservation
Main Speaker: Clint Leach
Assistant Unit Leader , Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Date: 9/11/2024
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Abstract
Monitoring and managing population spread, in the context of both species recovery and invasion, presents a number of quantitative challenges. Inference often requires linking multiple disparate data sets, and additional data are often costly to collect. Moreover, management decisions frequently require interpretable inference on ecologically meaningful quantities. Bayesian hierarchical methods, together with mechanistic models, offer a cohesive framework to address many of these challenges. We apply these approaches to understand the spread of sea otters across Glacier Bay, Alaska and the resulting changes in the nearshore community induced by sea otter predation.Speaker's Bio
Prior to joining the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Clint was a postdoc at Colorado State University, where he also did his PhD in ecology. Clint is broadly interested in statistical ecology and mechanistic modeling, and his recent work has focused on sea otter predator-prey interactions in Glacier Bay, Alaska, and brown treesnake movement in Guam.Speaker's Contact Information
- cleach8@unl.edu
Video
Bridging Differences and Finding Solutions: The Need and Opportunity for Universities to Partner with Our Communities for Sustainable Solutions
Main Speaker: Lara Fowler
Director of Penn State Sustainability and Chief Sustainability Officer , The Pennsylvania State University
Date: 9/18/2024
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: In Person Cancelled -- Only Zoom
Abstract
As the number of global challenges grow and our societies seem to become more and more divided, what role do universities play in helping bridge these differences and find solutions? Meeting the land grant need, Penn State is focused on student success, interdisciplinary research, and strong local communities. Lara Fowler, Penn State's Chief Sustainability Officer, will share how Penn State is approaching these challenges though classes like the Sustainable Communities Collaborative and the Local Climate Action Program. After providing this overview, she invites an active discussion with the audience.
Reference Point: The Pennsylvania State University President Neeli Bendapudi helps lead new higher ed council on public-impact research - Read more
Host: Mark Burbach
Speaker's Bio
Lara Fowler is Penn State's Chief Sustainability Officer. In this role, she is fostering more interdisciplinary education and research related to sustainability, helping make Penn State's operations more sustainable-- including working towards a goal of decarbonizing the university by 2035, and meeting the land grant mission of Penn State. Lara has a diverse background. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she worked with the Oregon Water Resources Department for a number of years, attended University of Washington for law school, and served as a mediator, facilitator, and attorney on complex natural resource issues. She joined Penn State in 2012, where she split her time between Penn State Law and the Penn State Institute of Energy and the Environment. In addition to teaching water law, energy law, negotiation, and mediation, she helped foster interdisciplinary research as well as participating in research projects herself. Lara also served on the Chesapeake Bay Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee for 9 years. In July 2022, she took on the role of Chief Sustainability Officer. In addition to her law degree, Lara has an A.B. from Dartmouth College. She currently serves as the chair of the jury for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize and is a board member for the Chesapeake Bay Journal.
Speaker's Contact Information
- lbf10@psu.edu
Video
Keeping the Wild Cheetah Wild
Main Speaker: Laurie Marker
Founder and Executive Director , Cheetah Conservation Fund
Date: 9/23/2024
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: 901 South Hardin Hall
Abstract
Approximately 1,000 of the world’s remaining 7,000 cheetahs are found in Namibia, known as the Cheetah Capitol of the World. However, 90% of Namibia’s cheetahs live on livestock and game farms, outside protected areas, alongside rural farming communities, putting them in conflict with these farming enterprises. Cheetahs and other predators have traditionally been considered vermin and not a valuable component of a healthy ecosystem. During the 1980’s, Namibian livestock and game farmers halved the cheetah population, removing (trapping and killing) nearly 8,000 cheetahs from the landscape. To stop the decline of wild cheetahs, in 1990 the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) was founded, and set up a permanent research and conservation Centre in Namibia. In order to maintain ecosystem balance, conservation strategies have been developed by CCF to encourage sustainable land use while accommodating coexistence with native predator species. From CCFs early research into conflict mitigation, CCF researchers began developing and testing predator-friendly livestock management techniques and tools on CCF’s 158,000-acre integrated Model Farm and Wildlife Reserve such as the use of CCF Livestock Guarding Dogs and integrated livestock and wildlife management training programs called Future Farmers of Africa (FFA). FFA training courses build practical skills, enabling rural Namibians to engage in sustainable livestock farming that provides direct and indirect economic benefits. One of the most-effective predator management techniques CCF has implemented is its Livestock Guarding Dog program. Since 1994, CCF has bred and placed over 800 Anatolian shepherd and Kangal dogs with farmers, at little cost, to help guard farmer’s small stock. The presence of these large dogs, with a loud bark, acts as an avoidance and is usually enough to keep most predators away from flocks. Farmers who use CCF LGDs report a drop in predation rates ranging from 80- 100%, thus reducing pressure on farmers to kill or capture cheetahs and other predators. CCF is adapting these programs to the Horn of Africa to help stop the illegal wildlife pet trade, often caused by human wildlife conflict. CCF Namibia has a well-developed international Internship program which University of Nebraska Natural Resource Management students participate in annually.
Host: Larkin Powell
Speaker's Bio
Dr. Laurie Marker is a Conservation Scientist and one of the world’s leading cheetah experts. She founded Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) as the 1st global organization to save wild cheetahs in 1990. In 1974, Dr. Marker began cheetah work at Oregon’s Wildlife Safari, managing the veterinary clinic and developed their cheetah breeding program. In 1977 she conducted pioneering research in Namibia, rewilding a captive born cheetah and learned that livestock farmers were killing hundreds of cheetahs yearly. Over the next decade she traveled to cheetah range countries studying wild cheetahs. In 1982, her collaborative research with the National Cancer Institute and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, identified the cheetah’s lack of genetic diversity. She joined the Smithsonian in 1988 as Executive Director of NOAHS (New Opportunities in Animal Health Sciences) Center and moved to Washington DC. In 1990, at Namibia’s independence, she set up CCF and relocated to Namibia, to save wild cheetahs, developing the first predator conservation program outside protected areas, and setting the stage for her research into cheetah biology, ecology, conservation and integrated livestock, wildlife, and rangeland management techniques to mitigate conflict. In 1994, Marker developed the livestock guarding dog program, where over 800 Anatolian and Kangal guarding dogs have been bred and placed with farmers to protect their livestock. In addition, she developed CCF’s Research and Education Centre and 158,000-acre private wildlife reserve/ conservancy and model farm, veterinary clinic and genetics laboratory. In 2017, Dr. Marker set up a field base in Somaliland to care for confiscated cheetah cubs from the illegal wildlife pet trade, where they currently have 96 orphan cheetahs. In addition, she has developed programs in the Horn of Africa to help stop the illegal wildlife trade. In 2023, Marker helped with the reintroduction of cheetahs to India, where they had been extinct for over 70 years. Through her work in Namibia, as a global model, she now works to develop range-wide research and community-based programs. Dr. Marker holds a DPhil in Zoology from Oxford University in the UK, is an A.D. White Professor-at-Large Emeritus at Cornell University in New York, and an Adjunct Professor at University of Nebraska in the School of Natural Resource Management. She has more than 170 peer-reviewed scientific papers and four books on cheetah. Marker’s awards including the President’s Award for Conservation (2020) and the Lowell Thomas Award (2010) from the Explorer’s Club, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (2010), the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Pioneer Award (2015), and a Hero for the Planet from Time Magazine. She recently received a nomination for the prestigious 2025 Indianapolis Prize. Dr. Marker’s motto is "Save the Cheetah and Change the World".
Speaker's Contact Information
- director@cheetah.org
Video
Science education research in the Netherlands on Faculty Professional Development Leave
Main Speaker: Dr. Jenny Dauer
SNR Associate Director for Undergraduate Education , University of Nebraska-Lincoln | School of Natural Resources
Other Speakers: Dr. Joe Dauer
Date: 10/2/2024
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Abstract
The Dauers took their faculty development leave in 2022-23, traveling to Utrecht University, the Netherlands. After identifying researchers at the prestigious Freudenthal Institute for Science and Mathematics Education aligned with both of their research interests, they worked to develop research projects at UNL and UU that would improve their education research and teaching. Joe connected with biology education researchers studying interdisciplinary teaching and learning, which is integrated into UU biology curriculum and fosters creativity in thinking. Joe also advanced his teaching, using the time to revamp his approach to teaching towards mastery grading and putting these innovations into practice after returning to UNL. Jenny collaborated with research studying how students learn through socioscientific issues, particularly connect their learning to a sense of competence for engaging in real world issues to improve their communities. The collaboration supported a new model for SCIL 101 instruction that was awarded an NSF grant in 2024, two paper manuscripts and opportunities for future collaboration.Speaker's Bio
Dr. Joe Dauer is an Associate Professor in the School of Natural Resources. He conducted plant ecology research for a decade before switching his research trajectory to focus on how undergraduate students learn biology. His work on student construction and evaluation of biology models informs his pedagogy through his teaching Introductory Biology and Ecology. Dr. Jenny Dauer is the Associate Director for Undergraduate Education in the School of Natural Resources and an Associate Professor. She conducts science education research on undergraduate students’ science literacy, particularly in the context of SCIL 101 Science and Decision Making for a Complex World. The Dauers also co-teach College Science Teaching for graduate students.Speaker's Contact Information
- jenny.dauer@unl.edu
Video
Assessing water availability in the drylands using remote sensing and cloud computing
Main Speaker: Nawaraj Shrestha
Geospatial Science Specialist , University of Nebraska-Lincoln | School of Natural Resources
Date: 10/9/2024
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Abstract
Water is available in only very limited quantities in the arid and semi-arid regions. Much of the water in the form of precipitation is lost as evapotranspiration while contribution from snowmelt and subsurface processes such as groundwater are not readily measurable. As water is critical in drylands, measuring water availability in space and time is important in understanding and management of drylands. Water availability assessment in the drylands using surface water alone does not reflect important water sources in drylands such as irrigated water, soil moisture conditions due to precipitation, snow melt, and sub-surface flow. Mesic vegetation responds rapidly to change in environmental condition and provides an integrated response to available water in the drylands. Mesic vegetation including wetlands, wet meadows, riparian habitats, playas, and high-elevation rangelands provides valuable insight on water availability in the drylands. We use time series of satellite image archives and cloud computing to measure the inter- and intra-annual water availability in the drylands.Speaker's Bio
I am an Assistant Geoscientist at the conservation survey division at the School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I received Ph.D. in Natural Resource Science from the School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My research mainly uses remote sensing to characterize water resources in the arid and semi-arid regions of the United States. Before joining UNL, I worked as faculty at the Department of Geomatics Engineering at Kathmandu University, Nepal.Video
The application of models linking genetics and environment to inform real-world conservation and management decisions in a rapidly changing world
Main Speaker: Ryan Harrigan
Evolutionary Biologist | Associate Adjunct Professor , Center for Tropical Research | Institute of the Environment and Sustainability | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Date: 10/16/2024
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Abstract
Recent advances in our understanding of how population structure and environmental associations differ across a species range has allowed for new insights as to why variation arises in populations. However, it is still imperative that we use this new information to address real-world, immediate issues these populations face, especially in a rapidly changing world. Although not readily observed in the outward appearance of organisms, an individual’s ability to cope with environmental change is often encoded in their genes. Genomics have the potential to play a pivotal role in conservation not only to detect threats to species and populations but also to restore biodiversity through manageable actions. For this seminar, I will provide an overview of some of the current approaches using genomic data being used to understand the relationship that organisms have with their environment and how we can track these relationships through both space and time. Using real-world examples ranging from studies looking at the annual cycle of Neotropical migratory songbirds to illegally poached pangolins in Africa, I will illustrate how these new approaches can be applied to aid conservation efforts for a wide variety of species and systems. By seminar’s end, I hope to impart the broad utility and excitement these approaches offer to provide evidence for a new line of biological inquiries on a global scale.
Host: Rob Wilson
Speaker's Bio
Dr. Harrigan’s main research interests revolve around the broad areas of evolutionary biology and ecology of species and species complexes. The origin of the biodiversity we witness across the globe are influenced by a multitude of factors across various timescales. Although many of these factors may appear separate, they are often interconnected contributing to the not only to the formation of different species but the persistence of populations within species. Particular interesting are cases where additional anthropogenic forces are likely contributing to already complex natural processes. Increases in global transport, land use conversion, and climate change all dramatically alter the way in which humans interact with their environment, and understanding these changes is key to making sound conservation and management decisions. Dr. Harrigan’s current work focuses on how these decisions can be informed by next-generation genomic and remote-sensed datasets and modeling approaches, and what current relationships between organisms and their environments can tell about how they differ in a world subject to rapid anthropogenic change.
Speaker's Contact Information
- iluvsa@ucla.edu
Video
A Comparative Analysis of Primary Photophores in Lanternfishes (Myctophidae)
Main Speaker: Rene Martin
Fish Biologist , University of Nebraska-Lincoln | School of Natural Resources
Date: 10/23/2024
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Abstract
Fishes have evolved the ability to produce bioluminescence at least 27 independent times. This light is produced either endogenously via light-producing cells or symbiotically via a relationship with bioluminescent bacteria housed and maintained in specialized light organs. The majority of bioluminescent lineages of fishes are found in the deep sea (areas below 200 m depth). The adaptive significance of bioluminescence in these deep-sea fishes includes camouflage, predation, predator avoidance, and communication. Across the tree of fishes, bioluminescent organs vary greatly in their size and shape, in their light intensity and color, and in their location and number. The variation in the anatomy and morphology of light producing organs across deep-sea fishes continues to be an understudied avenue of research in our pursuit of knowledge regarding fish evolution and adaptation in the deep sea. Using a combination of methods and techniques, including dissecting and histology, I describe variation in the anatomy and morphology of light organs in previously uninvestigated species of deep-sea fishes.
Host: Trenton Franz
Speaker's Bio
Rene is an Assistant Professor in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in Ecology and Field Biology from St. Cloud State University (MN) and her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas (KS). Although her B.S. and freshwater fieldwork experience lies in the realm of natural resources and fisheries, her research focuses on studying the evolution and diversification of deep-sea fishes. Specifically, she answers questions pertaining to the evolution of lanternfishes (Myctophidae) and other deep-sea fish lineages. Her work includes creating phylogenetic hypotheses of genus-level relationships and uses them as frameworks to investigate evolutionary questions related to evolution and diversification. She is also interested in exploring the morphological changes within a phylogenetic context.
Speaker's Contact Information
- rmartin52@unl.edu
Video
Resource stoichiometry and nutrient form influences growth and cyanotoxin quotas in diverse cyanobacteria
Main Speaker: Nicole Wagner
Assistant Professor , Oakland University | Biological Sciences
Date: 10/30/2024
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Abstract
Elements and energy are the building blocks required to create organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems. Since elements are conserved between the abiotic and biotic environment, they can be used to track changes from the sub-cellular to ecosystem scales. In this seminar, Dr. Wagner will explore how anthropogenic nutrient enrichment and the imbalance of nitrogen to phosphorus ratios affects the eco-physiology and cyanotoxin concentration and quotas in cyanobacteria bloom-forming genera. This topic will be explored at different scales from manipulative controlled laboratory experiments to whole ecosystem high-frequency monitoring.
Host: Jessica Corman
Speaker's Bio
Nicole completed her BS (2007), MS (2009), and Ph.D. (2015) at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Her doctoral research focused on identifying physiological traits in zooplankton that are indicative of nutritional stress. After her Ph.D, she worked as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Toronto, Canada, Cornell University NY, and Baylor University TX. In the fall of 2022, Nicole joined the Biological Sciences Department at Oakland University as an Assistant Professor. Much of her research interests revolve around how anthropogenic stress affects organisms and ecosystems.
Speaker's Contact Information
- nicolewagner@oakland.edu
Video
Assessing the Responses of Caribou to Changing Habitat Conditions in the Arctic
Main Speaker: Heather Johnson
Research Wildlife Biologist , Alaska Science Center | US Geological Survey
Date: 11/6/2024
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Abstract
Recent declines in most barren-ground caribou herds across North America have coincided with the ‘greening of the Arctic’, raising concerns about the influence of changing summer habitat conditions on caribou populations. The short Arctic summer provides caribou with important forage but is also the time they are exposed to intense harassment by insects, factors which are both being altered by longer, warmer growing seasons. Additionally, the summer ranges of barren-ground caribou in Alaska often overlap areas targeted for energy development, compounding concerns about the resilience of caribou to changing conditions. This talk will highlight recent research by USGS and our partners to better understand the influence of summer habitat and human development on caribou behavior and demography in the Alaskan Arctic, with implications for how populations may be impacted in the future.
Host: Sarah Songsthagen
Speaker's Bio
Heather Johnson is a Research Wildlife Biologist at the USGS Alaska Science Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Heather has a PhD in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana, a MS in Wildlife Science from the University of Arizona, and a BS in Ecology from the University of California, San Diego. Heather’s research primarily focuses on understanding how climate- and anthropogenic-driven changes in habitat conditions influence the behavior and demography of large mammals, and the effectiveness of management strategies for minimizing impacts. Prior to working for the USGS, Heather conducted research for Colorado Parks and Wildlife and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Speaker's Contact Information
- heatherjohnson@usgs.gov
Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) foraging ecology across Europe
Main Speaker: Teresa Oliveira
Wildlife Ecologist , University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Date: 11/13/2024
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 107 South Hardin Hall (Auditorium)
Abstract
Europe hosts diverse habitats and environmental conditions, with increasing populations of large carnivores. The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is a large solitary felid of conservation concern, and a top predator in European landscapes. Many lynx populations, particularly in Central Europe, have suffered from severe inbreeding in recent decades, prompting several reintroductions and population augmentation efforts. I will begin by providing an overview of the status of lynx populations across Europe, as well as presenting the outcomes of a recent, successful reinforcement project in the Dinaric Mountains of Slovenia and Croatia. While conservation efforts continue, initiatives are also underway to combine and standardize datasets across Europe, advancing our understanding of Eurasian lynx ecology. I will be presenting some of the work developed within these initiatives related to lynx foraging ecology across Europe. We show that foraging parameters varied significantly between populations and with respect to multiple ecological factors on a pan-European scale. Lynx showed high adaptability to such factors, particularly human disturbance. We also investigated the spatial distribution of kill sites by females in relation to their den sites and found differences between climates and prey species, with females in northern areas generally traveling more to obtain food resources. As one of the main conservation challenges facing the Eurasian lynx is perceived competition with hunters, a deeper understanding of foraging ecology and its drivers is essential for improving lynx conservation efforts and mitigating conflicts with hunting communities in Europe.
Host: John Benson
Speaker's Bio
I have been working with several carnivore species across Europe, from the European wildcat in the Iberian Peninsula, to the grey wolf and Eurasian lynx in Central/Eastern Europe. I have mostly focused on understanding their basic ecology, as well as collaborating on conservation projects. I have recently concluded my PhD at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), where I studied Eurasian lynx foraging and spatial ecology at different spatial scales across Europe. I am particularly interested in basic and applied ecology of predators, especially with respect to foraging behaviour and predator-prey interactions.
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