When: |
7 p.m., Wednesdays October 22–November 12 |
Where: |
Conservation and Research Center Auditorium Front Royal, Virginia |
Journey with Smithsonian scientists as they travel the globe to study and protect species and ecosystems. Share their adventures during our free science lecture series, held in the auditorium at the National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center (CRC) in Front Royal, Virginia. The series is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, so be sure to arrive early. Get directions to CRC.
“Work with large animals under difficult conditions (extreme cold, ice, wind) for seven days a week,” said the Zoo notice. Weddell seals give birth deep in the fast ice of Antarctica, further south than any other mammal species. The ice is austerely beautiful and free from predators, but it offers very little food and is pitiless to the needs of lactating moms and their dependent pups. In 2006 and 2007 a team of scientists from the National Zoo traveled to Antarctica to study how Weddell seals manage to rear their young in such an unforgiving environment. Lisa Ware will share her experiences of “life on the ice” as part of the 2007 team.
The Appalachian Mountains are a hot spot for amphibian diversity with 14 percent of the world’s salamander species residing in the region. Jennifer Sevin, biodiversity conservation specialist with the Zoo’s Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability, will give a presentation that will open your eyes to these amazing organisms as we explore their diversity and ecological and human importance. With a global amphibian crisis now occurring, her presentation will enlighten you to the key threats to the salamanders in the region and what actions need to be taken to address the threats. Learn with Jennifer during her current research for the Zoo, and as she pursues her Ph.D., about a species unique to our area, the endangered Shenandoah salamander.
Adrienne Crosier, research biologist at the Zoo’s Center for Species Survival, and Craig Saffoe, biologist at the Zoo’s Cheetah Conservation Station, want to tell you all about our cheetahs. Craig will be talking about the natural history of adaptations of and conservation efforts for cheetahs. Crosier will talk about the Zoo’s recently built state-of-the-art Cheetah Science Facility (nine acres) here at the 3,200-acre Conservation and Research Center. The facility will be used to study basic species biology including reproduction, genetics, behavior, health, disease, and nutrition.
Mike Henley, animal keeper at the Zoo's Invertebrate Exhibit, manages the Zoo’s coral collection. Two of the major reef-building coral species of the Caribbean, elkhorn and staghorn, are dying off at an alarming rate. Mike Henley is involved with a conservation project—SECORE—an initiative to save these two threatened corals species. Find out why these and other corals are disappearing and what zoos and aquariums, including the National Zoo, are doing to help save these important animals.
For more information
Email us
or call 540.635.6540.
You can see and hear webcasts of some past lectures at the National Zoo via our Webcast Archive.
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