Tuesday Nov 15th
07:30 PM
Combining models and data to set guidelines for butterfly conservation
MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University
Elizabeth Crone
Tufts University
**We will be meeting on Nov.15th**
Conservation managers often need to set general guidelines for habitat management and species recovery. Typical metrics for planning include knowing the minimum area needed to support a population and the rate at which a population will expand through heterogeneous landscapes. I will show examples of how we have combined theoretical models with demography and movement data to estimate these metrics for butterfly populations of conservation concern. I will discuss some implications of these case studies for conservation, and also their implications for using insect conservation to build general knowledge of spatial population dynamics.
The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 5:45 PM) at the Changsho, 1712 Mass Ave, Cambridge.
CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (5:45 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.
Tuesday Oct 11th
07:30 PM
Benthic macroinvertebrates serve as biological indicators of water quality and aquatic habitat health
MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University
Katie Friedman and Elisabeth Cianciola
Charles River Watershed Association
**We will be meeting for dinner at Changsho, 1712 Mass Ave.**
Biological monitoring uses the biological condition of a reach in a stream as an indicator of the habitat and ecological health of a waterway. Benthic macroinvertebrates are effective for water quality biomonitoring, as they have limited ability to relocate out of polluted areas, have appropriate life-cycles to reflect impacts, and their relationship with physical water conditions is well established. Direct studies of physical and chemical properties provide an accurate picture of very specific traits of an aquatic system, but are highly influenced by the conditions at the time of sample collection. Macroinvertebrates, on the other hand, act as a general indicator of water quality, as certain groups are capable of tolerating higher loads of pollutants than others. Using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Stream Biotic Index, the Charles River Watershed Association coordinates biological monitoring through citizen science research in tributaries of the Charles River.
The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 5:45 PM) at the Changsho, 1712 Mass Ave, Cambridge.
CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (5:45 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.
Conservation managers often need to set general guidelines for habitat management and species recovery. Typical metrics for planning include knowing the minimum area needed to support a population and the rate at which a population will expand through heterogeneous landscapes. I will show examples of how we have combined theoretical models with demography and movement data to estimate these metrics for butterfly populations of conservation concern. I will discuss some implications of these case studies for conservation, and also their implications for using insect conservation to build general knowledge of spatial population dynamics.
