Great Lakes, Smithsonian scholars visit on biodiversity

Distinguished scientists will be visiting the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity this week to collaborate with UW-Green Bay faculty and student researchers:

• On Tuesday and Wednesday (Sept. 15 and 16), internationally known researcher Prof. Gerald Niemi from the University of Minnesota, Duluth will be visiting Profs. Robert Howe and Amy Wolf to discuss long-term bird monitoring in the western Great Lakes and to work with students Erin Gnass and Brenton Butterfield on their graduate studies of ecological indicators. Niemi has written over 200 publications and was named the Outstanding Scientist of the Great Lakes in 2006-2007 by the International Joint Commission. He also serves on the ecosystem technical work group for a current Upper Great Lakes water level study.

• Later in the week, senior researcher Geoffrey Parker and postdoctoral fellow Sean McMahon from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Maryland will be here to apply cutting edge LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology at various sites in northern Wisconsin, including the Wabikon Forest Dynamics Plot near Crandon and Mahon Woods in the Cofrin Arboretum. Wolf, Howe, Herbarium Curator Gary Fewless, and two vans full of undergraduates and graduate students will be working with Parker and McMahon on the project. Read more information on Parker’s LIDAR research.