Bulb Show Virtual Lecture 2021
The Birds, the Bees the Flowers and the Trees: Why native plants matter for wildlife conservation
Thursday, March 4 at 4:00 pm ET
Zoom | Pre-registration required: https://bit.ly/bulbshow2021lecture
Join us for a virtual talk by Dr. Desiree Narango
Biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate across the globe—so what can we do to help in our everyday lives? The green spaces in our yards and gardens can provide one solution to restore wildlife habitat in urban and suburban landscapes. Yet, we need more information to guide our landscaping decisions and plant selection. This lecture will describe the ecological and evolutionary relationships between plants, pollinators, and songbirds and highlight recent research on why native plants are an essential component of ‘wildlife-friendly’ gardening practices. Through her research on plant-animal interactions and urban ecology, Desiree will also discuss resources to identify which native plants, and how many, are necessary to create functional wildlife habitat ‘at home’.
Dr. Desiree Narango is an ecologist who studies how birds, bees, butterflies, moths and other wildlife use novel landscapes significantly altered by people, such as urban forests, residential yards, and farmland. Her research also focuses on understanding and quantifying interactions between plants and animals as a means to inform plant selection in restoration. Her ultimate goal is to find data-driven conservation solutions for land managers to help preserve biodiversity and species interactions in a rapidly changing world. Dr. Narango is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Biology Department at University of Massachusetts Amherst and a 2020 David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow. Her current research focuses on understanding habitat and diet relationships of insectivorous migratory birds using urban and urbanizing forests in New England.
