| Below are the list of presenters and description of their presentations. Please use this to decide which ones you will attend. Please note that in some cases, there are presentations that are delivered in two parts. Choose accordingly. |
iNaturalist: A window into biodiversity
Lauren Hull
10:00 – 10:50 AM – Horizon Room
Come explore iNaturalist, a fantastic community science tool for all levels of naturalists and nature lovers. iNaturalist is an app and web-based platform to record observations of organisms across the world. Anyone can make observations using a digital camera or smart phone, which can be used by individuals and organizations to leverage biodiversity data across space and time. Join us to explore the basics of using iNaturalist and its potential as a community science tool. Check out iNaturalist.org or download the app today to get started!
Mushroom ID and Common Fall Mushrooms of the PNW
Quinn Colling
10:00 – 10:50 AM – La Raza Room (208)
Learn the basics of mushroom ID and what mushrooms you might expect to see in the fall.
Bird Walk and Intro to eBird
Joe Liebezeit
10:00 – 10:50 AM – Outdoors (Meet in Horizon Lounge)
Joe Liebezeit, staff scientist at Portland Audubon, will provide a bird walk and introduction to eBird tutorial.
The Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains: Remote, diverse, and geologically/botanically unique
Jeff LaLande
11:00 – 11:50 AM – Horizon Room
This presentation will discuss the ecological character of the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains. Occupying the southwestern-most corner of Oregon and extending into California, this region is one of the least-known areas of the Pacific Northwest. The Klamath-Siskiyous’ geological origins, topography, and location (e.g., relative to latitude/longitude) have all contributed to the renowned diversity and uniqueness of its flora, as well as to its interesting human history and even to its distinctive political-social culture.
Portland Audubon Community Science Opportunities
Joe Liebezeit
11:00 – 11:50 AM – La Raza Room (208)
Joe Liebezeit, Staff Scientist & Avian Conservation Manager at Portland Audubon, will provide an overview of over 10 Community Science opportunities his organizations offers from free-roaming cat counts in Portland, to Brown Pelican surveys on the coast, and ranchland bird surveys in eastern Oregon. These opportunities provide the public a way to engage in science projects that help inform conservation and policy.
Significant trees on the OSU campus
Patrick Breen
11:00 – 11:50 AM – Outdoors (Meet in Horizon Lounge)
Join this tour with an OSU botanist to learn about the most significant landscape trees in the central OSU campus area. Both native and exotic plant material will be pointed out and discussed.
Marine Mammals Ashore: Responding to strandings in Oregon
Jim Rice
1:30 – 2:20 PM – Horizon Room
Stranding events offer a wealth of information to researchers and resource managers by providing valuable insights into the lives of marine mammals, including their seasonal distributions, natural history, environmental contaminant levels, impacts due to human interactions, and incidence of disease. Jim will provide an overview of the work of the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network and present a summary of stranding trends and case investigations.
Oregon Lichens (Part 1)
Bruce McCune
1:30 – 2:20 PM – La Raza Room (208)
Learn about the basics of lichen biology, how to identify them, and their roles in Pacific Northwest ecosystems. The first 50 minute session will be indoors, followed by a 50 minute tour of lichens on campus by foot.
Campus BioBiltz with iNaturalist
Lauren Hull
1:30 – 2:20 PM – Outdoors (Meet in Horizon Lounge)
Get hands on experience using iNaturalist in a min-bioblitz of OSU’s campus. You’ll be surprised how many species we can find! Bring your camera or smartphone to join the fun.
The Oregon Bee Atlas: To boldly go to find the bees that no Oregonian has seen before
Andony Melathopoulos
2:30 – 3:20 PM – Horizon Room
Oregon has about 500 different species. We say ‘500’ because we actually don’t know, as much of the state has been poorly surveyed. The bees also tend to be associated with distinct Oregon plant communities, but these associations are even more obscure. The Oregon Bee Atlas’ ‘five year mission’ is to train volunteers to generate museum quality specimens and data with an eye to a complete inventory of the bees of the state (as well a list of the plant communities they are found in).
Serpentine Ecology: Wacky soils build glorious places
Kristi Mergenthaler
2:30 – 3:20 PM – La Raza Room (208)
Where mantle rocks are found on the earth’s surface, you will also find exquisite landscapes, red rocks, and rare and unusual plants. Serpentine ecology is the science that describes the interactions between mantle-derived soils (or serpentine soils) and plants and animals. In Oregon, we are lucky to have significant “wacky soils” in the NE and SW corners.
Oregon Lichens Field Walk (Part 2)
Bruce McCune
2:30 – 3:20 PM – Outdoors (Meet in Horizon Lounge)
This is a continuation of the previous indoor session on Oregon Lichens. This session will be a 50 minute tour of lichens on campus by foot. If you wish to join this session, please keep in mind that if you didn’t attend the first session, you may not fully keep up with the information presented on this tour.