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Lecture: Audubon Presents "Undercover: The secretive lives of rails” with Laurie Hall.

  • Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History 165 Forest Avenue Pacific Grove CA 93950 US (map)

Laurie Hall is starting the sixth year of her Ph.D. in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley.  She has spent the past five years up to her knees in mud, peering into the cattails, trying to understand one of the most secretive species of birds in the world-the Black Rail.  Her dissertation is focused on dispersal of rails among wetlands in northern California, and she uses a number of methods to measure wetland connectivity, including radio-telemetry, genetics, and stable isotope chemistry.  In her presentation, Laurie will describe population dynamics, connectivity, and habitat use of rails and discuss how her research will help inform conservation and management decisions for wetlands and their wildlife in the face of continued habitat loss and fragmentation caused by development and climate change.  Her work was recently highlighted in a Bay Nature article. http://baynature.org/articles/elusive-black-rail-may-adapt-better-than-youd-think/.  To learn more about Laurie and her research please visit https://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/beislab/rail/html/index.html.    

Doors open at 7:00PM. Talk to Begin around 7:30, at the PG Museum of Natural History.

All monthly Audubon meetings are held at the Pacific Grove Museum on the second Tuesday of the month. All meetings are free and members and non-members are welcome! Doors open at 7:00 PM with soft drinks and cookies provided by MAS hospitality. Monterey Audubon has been devoted to the understanding, conservation and enjoyment of Central California's birdlife since 1943. We strive to connect communities and individuals to the region's avifauna through educational programs and outdoor recreation. As a chapter of America's oldest conservation group we are also committed to advocacy on behalf of native avifauna and ecosystems as well as the implementation of stewardship practices which conserve and restore the Monterey region's precious biological diversity and wildlife.

Tuesday, November 11, 7 pm