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\u201cFlorida algae bloom leads to record manatee deaths.\u201d \u201cBiggest python ever captured in Florida caught in Miami-Dade County.\u201d \u201cEPA faces lawsuit over south Florida beach pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Florida has been making headlines this year with one environmental news story after another: red tide, invasive species, pollution that threatens tourism. The Everglades Wetland Research Park at Florida Gulf Coast University will tackle these timely issues and others of regional and global concern in its second \u201cMoonlight on the Marsh\u201d lecture series beginning Thursday, Dec. 12.<\/p>\n
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Distinguished scientists from the United States and abroad will share their expertise in the public lectures at the research park, which is at FGCU\u2019s Harvey Kapnick Education and Research Center at the Naples Botanical Garden, 4940 Bayshore Drive, Naples.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMoonlight on the Marsh\u201d was launched last year by renowned wetlands researcher William J. Mitsch, Ph.D., who was appointed director of the research park and Juliet C. Sproul Chair for Southwest Florida Habitat Restoration and Management.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe inaugural year was quite successful, with an all-star cast of scientists and engineers suggesting how we can protect and clean up the environment,\u201d Mitsch said. \u201cThe 2013-14 series is even better and will focus on some of the gigantic ecological and environmental issues we have in Southwest Florida.\u00a0 Experts will talk about red tide, beach pollution and invasive pythons in the Everglades. We also have two presentations on wetlands and how they can provide important ecosystem functions.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Ulo Mander, professor of landscape ecology and geography department head at the University of Tartu in Estonia, will launch the lecture series on Dec. 12 with a presentation on water quality improvement with wetlands.<\/p>\n
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Other talks in the series are:<\/p>\n
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— Jan. 16, 2014: \u201cAlgal blooms and red tides: What\u2019s manageable and what\u2019s not,\u201d by Hans W. Paerl, Ph.D., William R. Kenan Professor of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of North Carolina Institute of Marine Sciences, Morehead City, N.C.<\/p>\n
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–Jan. 30: \u201cWho is polluting the beaches? Understanding contamination sources, health risks and protection of beach water,\u201d by Jiyoung Lee, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Environmental Health Science, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.<\/p>\n
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–Feb. 13: \u201cReclaiming, using and protecting wetlands: The Dutch approach,\u201d by Jos Verhoeven, Ph.D., Professor of Ecology and Biodiversity, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.<\/p>\n
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–Feb. 27: \u201cThe problem of invasive pythons in the United States,\u201d by Michael E. Dorcas, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology, Davidson College, Davidson, N.C.<\/p>\n
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All lectures are at 7 p.m. in the Kapnick Center auditorium. Seating is limited and can be reserved for a $5 donation. Call (239) 325-1365 for reservations or more information.<\/p>\n
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The Everglades Wetland Research Park is dedicated to research on the wise management of freshwater and coastal ecosystems of Southwest Florida and to protection and enhancement of wetlands and water resources worldwide.\u00a0 Details are on the park\u2019s website, www.fgcu.edu\/swamp<\/a>.<\/p>\n