Dr. Nathan Van Schmidt, Director of Waterbird Science at the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, will give a virtual presentation on the Restoration Project's dilemma of needing to offer habitat for species that have accidentally ended up in San Francisco Bay after their habitat elsewhere was degraded. The event is hosted by the Golden Gate Bird Alliance.
More info and access here.
The presentation description:
California experienced rapid and widespread destruction and modification of natural hydrological ecosystems and wetlands after the Gold Rush, including the loss of nearly all tidal wetlands in San Francisco Bay, many of which were converted to commercial salt production ponds. The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project is now restoring large swaths of tidal marsh habitat, but they are faced with a new dilemma: many bird species that had used wetlands lost or degraded elsewhere in California, including the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada, have come to use the salt ponds as accidental habitat.
About Our Speaker
Dr. Van Schmidt is an ecologist whose research emphasizes understanding ecosystems and land-use as coupled systems, combining field research with simulation methodology. His talk will explore habitat use and connections between “serendipitous” anthropogenic wetlands not only in the San Francisco Bay’s salt ponds, but across California, and reflect on how efforts to adapt water-dependent ecosystems to climate change may have surprising trade-offs for wildlife that need to be accounted for. The talk will draw not only on his current work as Director of Landscape Sustainability Science, but also on past research at UC Berkeley on Black Rails in the Sierra Nevada, the US Geological Survey on saline lakes and sage grouse, and on reintroduced Whooping Crane’s use of farmland.