Please join Point Reyes National Seashore staff for Science Lectures, 45 minute presentations on scientific research being performed at Point Reyes and elsewhere in the California. Science Lectures are sponsored by the Pacific Coast Science and Learning Center at Point Reyes National Seashore. They usually occur at noon on many Thursdays throughout the year and are normally held at the Red Barn Classroom at Point Reyes National Seashore's Headquarters. All are welcome and admission is free.
Visit our Science Lectures page to learn about upcoming lectures.
Some of our Brown Bag Lectures in 2008 included:
Date: Thursday, February 26, 2008
Title: "Rangeland Best Management Practices: Reducing sediment, pathogen, and nutrient delivery to Tomales Bay"
Presenter: Beth Eisenberg, Point Reyes National Seashore Range Technician
Date: Thursday, March 20, 2008
Title: "Spatial population dynamics of Tule elk at Point Reyes"
Presenter: McCrea Cobb, a Ph.D. Candidate at UC Berkeley
Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Title: "Extent, severity, and potential effects of Sudden Oak Death at Point Reyes"
Presenters: Staff from the Moritz Lab, UC Berkeley
Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Title: "Species Composition and Movements of Nearshore Fishes from a Tag-Recapture Study near Bolinas"
Presenters: Rick Starr and Allison Green from the Moss Landing Marine Labs
Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Title: "Tuna, a Love Story"
Presenter: Richard Ellis
Summary: Richard Ellis, author of "The Empty Ocean" and the forthcoming book on Tuna, will discuss the natural history of tuna, sport-fishing, commercial (over)fishing, Japanese fish markets, the consumption of sushi, tuna farming, mercury in tuna, and what can be done to save this imperiled species. Mr. Ellis is a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC.
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Date: Saturday, April 19, 2008
Title: "Marine Conservation and Small-scale fisheries in Baja California"
Presenter: Geoff Shester, a Ph.D. Candidate at Stanford University
Summary:Geoff Shester will discuss marine ecosystems, conservation in general, and his research on the environmental, social, and economic influences on the sustainability of small-scale, cooperative fisheries along the Pacific Coast of Baja California, Mexico.
Date: Thursday, May 15, 2008
Title: "Nutrients and benthic invasion dynamics in northern California estuaries"
Presenter: Heidi Weiskel, a Ph.D. Candidate at UC Davis
Date: Thursday, May 29, 2008
Title: "Recruitment and reproductive output of barnacles along the Marin and Sonoma Coasts"
Presenter: Marian Parker, a M.S. Candidate at Sonoma State University
Date: Thursday, August 28, 2008
Title: "Ocean Film and Lecture Series Fall 2008: Double Feature and Kevin White Filmmaker Q&A"
Presenter: Kevin White
Summary: Join us for a double feature of films by award-winning producer, writer, and director Kevin White!
- Restoring Balance: Removing the Black Rat from Anacapa Island
Narrated by John Cleese, this film chronicles the efforts of state and federal resource managers to remove non-native rats from Anacapa Island, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. Faced with evidence of widespread predation on endangered seabird eggs and chicks, including the rare Xantus' Murrelet, the land managers and scientists must decide how to balance the needs of endemic species in their efforts to remove the rats and restore balance to an important island ecosystem.
- Returning Home: Bringing the Common Murre Back to Devil's Slide Rock
In 1986, a breeding colony of Common Murres on Devil's Slide Rock off the coast of San Francisco was devastated by an oil spill. Using innovative restoration techniques in a challenging location over the span of ten years, dedicated scientists worked with local schools and government agencies to restore these diving seabirds to their ancestral home.
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Date: Monday, October 20, 2008
Title: "Dominican University Ocean Lecture: Marine Mammals as Sentinels of Ocean Change"
Presenter: Dr. Frances Gulland, Director of Veterinary Science at The Marine Mammal Center
Summary: Join us for a fascinating evening with Dr. Frances Gulland, head veterinarian at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA. She has been actively involved in the veterinary care and rehabilitation of stranded marine mammals and research into marine mammal diseases since 1994. Dr. Gulland has provided medical care for thousands of seals and sea lions, has published over 100 peer reviewed articles, and is coeditor of the CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine. She chaired the working group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events for 6 years, sits on Recovery Teams for the Hawaiian monk seal and southern sea otter, and is a member of the committee of scientific advisors to the Marine Mammal Commission. Frances received her veterinary degree from the University of Cambridge in 1984, and her Ph.D. in Zoology also from Cambridge in 1991. She is dedicated to the conservation of marine wildlife. Dr. Frances Gulland's love for wild marine mammals and her enthusiasm for her work is contagious. Come for an evening you won't forget!
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2008
Title: "Ocean Film and Lecture Series Fall 2008: A Conversation on Sharks : Films and Conversation with Ron Elliot and Scot Anderson"
Presenters: Ron Elliot and Scot Anderson
Summary: Come spend a fascinating evening with Ron Elliot and Scot Anderson who will share stories of their experiences with white sharks at Point Reyes and the Farallon Islands. Elliot's short film, Man in a Grey Suit, and others, will be shown. Come spend a fascinating evening with local residents Ron Elliot and Scot Anderson. Ron Elliot is an independent urchin diver and Scot Anderson is a published white shark researcher. They will share stories of their experiences with white sharks at Point Reyes and the Farallon Islands. Elliot's short film, Man in a Grey Suit, and others, will be shown.
Date: Thursday, December 4, 2008
Title: "The Amazon: playful monkeys, hungry piranha, and pink dolphins"
Presenter: Gary Fellers from the U.S. Geological Survey
For more information about the Brown Bag Lectures, contact Ben Becker at 415-464-5187 by email.
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