Bay Area Biosystematists Meeting at Fairfield Osborn Preserve, Sonoma State University

Capturing Biological Diversity at Northern California Nature Preserves

Saturday, 31 March, 2012

Northern California is a biologically rich environment where many lineages of organisms from diverse origins have come together and have rapidly diversified. It is also a populated region with diverse land uses, an environment-conscious population, and many invasive species that threaten native ecological communities. Environmental change models offer differing predictions about future conditions in the region. Our speakers will describe the coverage of topographic and biological diversity found in the North Coast region, especially in nature preserves. They will also describe current efforts to document long-term changes in the environment.

Program organized by Nathan Rank and Claudia Luke of Sonoma State University.

Speakers:

Claudia Luke, Sonoma State University Nature Preserves- Introduction to topic and speakers.

Lisa Micheli, Pepperwood Preserve- Ground up development of a network to quantify biotic and environmental change in the North Coast region.

Stuart Weiss, Creekside Center for Earth Observation, Think Big, Connect More: The Bay Area Conservation Lands Network.

Schedule and venue:

2:00 – Guided tour of Preserve trails. We will explore ponds and creeks and visit an overlook with chapparal vegetation. We will also observe invertebrate and amphibian diversity in Preserve wetland habitats.

5:30 – Pizza, salad, and beverages at Fairfield Osborn Preserve Education Center (6544 Lichau Road, Penngrove CA) cost approx. $12.

6:30 – talks followed by discussion.

Please email RSVP to Nathan Rank, rank@sonoma.edu by Thursday March 29th. Please specify whether you wish to come on the Preserves guided tour at 2:00 or just to the pizza and talks.

For directions, enter the address above into Google Maps or download directions at (http://www.sonoma.edu/preserves/docs/application/osborn_directions.pdf). Parking is free, carpooling encouraged.

All are welcome, members or not. If you want to join the Biosystematists, a venerable yet exceptionally lively group that provides the only inter-institutional seminar/discussion forum addressing evolutionary topics in the Bay Area, visit our website at: http://www.biosystematists.org/ to sign up for our mailing list.