June 2020
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Details
Lancaster County’s landscape is a patchwork of agricultural, developed, and forested lands. Which means that those remnant patches of forest (less than 15% of our overall landscape) take on an even greater importance to our county’s remaining wildlife. In collaboration with the Lancaster Conservancy, Dan Ardia and his students at Franklin & Marshall College have been studying how forest animals use the Conservancy’s nature preserves for the last six years. Dan will report interesting patterns of forest use by both common species, such as red fox and deer, but also by less common and more forest-dependent species, such as gray fox and wild turkey. Increasingly, studying the ecology of wildlife also requires studying the ecology of people! Visitation to preserves is not evenly distributed, as some areas, such as Tucquan Glen, Kelly’s Run, and Welsh Mountain receive heavy use. The talk will discuss patterns of recreation and how human visitation affects how animals use the forest. Dan will also dive into how all of these patterns of use can be considered within the broader landscape ecology of Lancaster County.
About the Presenter
Dan Ardia is a Professor of Biology at Franklin & Marshall College. His primary research interest is understanding how organisms interact with their environment in response to rapid environmental change. Much of his research focuses on the physiology and behavior of birds across the world, including in Africa, South America and Alaska. But, understanding ‘home’ is equally important, so recently, he started the ‘Lancaster Wildlife Project’ to better integrate his local research projects, including forest mammals, urban bats, and the broader urban and social ecology of the City of Lancaster. Ardia is currently the President of the Association of Field Ornithologists, and he sits on the Board of Directors of Pennsylvania Master Naturalist; North Museum of Science and Nature; and Millport Conservancy.
About Nature Hour
Nature Hour is a new virtual lecture series by Lancaster Conservancy that will be taking place every other Wednesday during the months of June and July 2020. To find out about other events in the series please follow this link: www.lancasterconservancy.org/events/
With consideration for the restrictions around COVID-19 and the safety of everyone, the Conservancy is excited to expand our educational outreach using technology to feature presentations and lectures from some of our favorite local and regional experts.
How to Participate
Registration is required. Attendees will receive an e-mail with a link to access the presentation via Zoom the day of the event. Conservancy staff will be on hand starting at 5:30pm prior to each lecture to answer your questions and help you familiarize yourself with how Zoom works.
We’re grateful for the support of generous sponsors who make educational programming like Nature Hour possible!
