Geography Colloquium: Conserving Imperiled Mammal Species in Florida Across a Changing Landscape

Conserving Imperiled Mammal Species in Florida Across a Changing Landscape

Speaker: Terry J. Doonan

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Thursday, December 5, 2019

2:50-3:50 PM (Period 8)

Turlington Hall Room 3018

University of Florida

All are welcome to attend.

Although many people know about the large, charismatic, endangered mammal species in Florida, few people are familiar with other listed mammals here. To conserve these species, we are developing solutions to address the challenges they face as conditions change across Florida’s landscape.

Geography Colloquium: Avoiding Amazonian Catastrophes – Prospects for Conservation in the 21st Century

Avoiding Amazonian Catastrophes – Prospects for Conservation in the 21st Century

Speaker: Dr. Robert Walker

Professor, Department of Geography, University of Florida

Thursday, March 14, 2019

2:50-3:50 PM (Period 8)

Turlington Hall Room 3018

University of Florida

All are welcome to attend.

New infrastructure threats confront the Amazon. Resulting development could push its forest past a “tipping point,” replacing it with tropical savanna. This would degrade biodiversity, reduce carbon storage, and harm continental agriculture. Environmental policy in Brazil has weakened over time. Luckily, indigenous peoples are capable of resisting development forces.

Geography Colloquium: Amazons Within The Amazon – A Multiscale Assessment of Urbanization

Image courtesy Ms. Roberta Mendonça De Carvalho

Amazons Within The Amazon – A Multiscale Assessment of Urbanization

Speaker: Dr. Roberta Mendonça De Carvalho

PhD Alumna, Department of Geography, University of Florida

Thursday, November 14, 2019

2:50-3:50 PM (Period 8)

Turlington Hall Room 3018

University of Florida

All are welcome to attend.

Urbanization in the Brazilian Amazon has reached 80%. This is a recent and rather intensive process. At the same we see population increase, we see the fortification of the hydropower system. But how and where this urbanization is reshaping the profile of the rainforest? And what is the role of hydropower in stimulating urbanization?

Geography Colloquium: Maintaining Diverse Wildlife in Africa’s Rapidly Changing Savannas

Image courtesy Dr. Robert McCleery

Maintaining Diverse Wildlife in Africa’s Rapidly Changing Savannas

Speaker: Dr. Robert McCleery 

Associate Professor, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation , University of Florida

Thursday, November 7, 2019

2:50-3:50 PM (Period 8)

Turlington Hall Room 3018

University of Florida

All are welcome to attend.

With a full complement of large herbivores and predators the wildlife of Africa savannas are unique but face an increasingly trouble suite of challenges. In this talk, we will explore some of the challenges and opportunity to maintaining wildlife on the rapidly developing continent.

Geography Colloquium: Technology-Based Interventions to Promote Physical Activity and Healthy Eating

Technology-Based Interventions to Promote Physical Activity and Healthy Eating

Speaker: Dr. Danielle Jake-Schoffman

Assistant Professor, Department of Health Education and Behavior,, University of Florida

Thursday, October 16, 2019

2:50-3:50 PM (Period 8)

Turlington Hall Room 3018

University of Florida

All are welcome to attend.

Modifiable lifestyle behaviors have immense power to prevent and treat chronic disease. Yet, the majority of people in the US are insufficiently physically active and not consuming adequate fruits and vegetables.

This talk will explore the ways in which mobile technology can help engage people in behavior change interventions and expand the reach of evidence-based programs for physical activity and healthy eating.

Geography Colloquium: Drone Mapping for Coastal Seagrass Monitoring and Citizen Science

Image courtesy Dr. Bo Yang

Drone Mapping for Coastal Seagrass Monitoring and Citizen Science

Speaker: Dr. Bo Yang

Citizen Science GIS, University of Central Florida

Thursday, October 10, 2019

2:50-3:50 PM (Period 8)

Turlington Hall Room 3018

University of Florida

All are welcome to attend.

High quality multi-spectral observations with fine spatial resolution and frequent temporal coverage are indispensable in seagrass monitoring and analyses. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), equipped with a multispectral sensor, affords an opportunity to improve upon satellite imagery for coastal management because of the very high spatial resolution, multispectral capability, and opportunity to collect real-time observations.

This talk will present results of our NSF seagrass drone mapping project. We performed multispectral UAV mapping fieldworks along the west coast of US. The UAV multi-spectral mapping method provided advanced information of the physical, an improved land feature delineation, and a significantly better mapping product than satellite imagery with coarser resolution (figure below). We also incorporated drone training and community outreach into the project with citizen science.

Geography Colloquium: The Mad Dog Initiative – Identifying and Mitigating Invasive Species Threats in Madagascar

Image courtesy Dr. Kim Valenta

The Mad Dog Initiative – Identifying and Mitigating Invasive Species Threats in Madagascar

Speaker: Dr. Kim Valenta

Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida

Thursday, October 3, 2019

2:50-3:50 PM (Period 8)

Turlington Hall Room 3018

University of Florida

All are welcome to attend.

Since 2013, The Mad Dog Initiative has worked to humanely reduce cat and dog presence in and around Madagascar’s protected areas, while also monitoring endemic biodiversity in the world’s hottest hot spot. This is the story of the mishaps, wins and losses of addressing a slippery problem in a far away place.