Please join us for our next meeting at 7:00 p.m. on September 15 when we are fortunate to welcome as our guest speaker Dr. Bryan Watts, Director of the Center for Conservation Biology and Mitchell A. Byrd Professor of Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary. Dr. Watts will present a program on the Decline of the Eastern Black Rail.
In recent decades populations of the eastern black rail, a secretive and poorly understood marsh bird, have declined steeply along the Atlantic Coast. Along with other saltmarsh-nesting birds, black rails appear to be experiencing demographic stress due to rising sea-levels. Over the past ten years the conservation community has struggled to halt the decline and develop an effective management strategy. Dr. Watts will discuss black rail ecology, recent declines and the current focus of conservation efforts.
Dr. Watts’ work is guided by his interest in exploring general ecological principles that have broad application. Over the past several years he has been involved in over 250 research projects involving avian species or communities within the mid-Atlantic region of North America. These projects have included virtually every avian community within the Coastal Plain.
Please contact us for the Zoom link.