Brown Bag Lecture at Bradbury Science Museum Examines Laboratory’s Wildlife Monitoring Aug. 13

Bradbury Science Museum. Courtesy/BSM

LANL News:

Maria Musgrave, Emily Phillips and Audrey Smith, all of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Environmental Stewardship group (ENV-ES), will discuss the important role wildlife monitoring plays in maintaining a healthy and well-rounded ecosystem.

The talk is noon to 1 p.m., Aug. 13 at the Bradbury Science Museum in downtown Los Alamos.

The Avian Nestbox Network (ANN) and the Wetland Wildlife Camera Project both evaluate the effects of Laboratory operations and other possible environmental stressors on wildlife. Wetlands support a unique biodiversity and supply wildlife with valuable sources of water. In order to monitor and compare the species and their frequencies, three remote cameras were deployed at two different wetlands on Lab property. Images from the cameras show a large number of species that use the wetlands.

ANN was started in 1997 by Jeanne Fair. Since then, hundreds of nestboxes were placed in nesting habitats throughout the canyons and mesa tops surrounding Los Alamos facilities. Important population parameters that have been studied using the ANN include: feeding habits, reproductive success, nestling sex ratios, immunological changes, physical changes in eggs and parasite loads. 

In the talk, Musgrave, Philips and Smith will discuss how long-term studies such as ANN and the Wetland Wildlife Camera Project contribute to a better understanding of wildlife populations and ecosystem health.

As always, Brown Bag Lectures at the museum are free and open to the public. Attendees are welcome to bring a lunch to the lecture.

About the Bradbury Science Museum

The Bradbury Science Museum is open 1-5 p.m. Sunday and Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The museum is at 15th Street and Central Avenue in downtown Los Alamos. Admission is free and photography is allowed.

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