Beautiful California Biodiversity: Understanding and Protecting It

We share the Earth with millions of other species. But, our planet is experiencing a biodiversity crisis in which a significant portion of these species are in danger of extinction in coming decades. While the Earth has undergone mass extinctions in the past—such as when a meteor strike doomed the dinosaurs—the current mass extinction event is caused by humans. This loss of species is a tragedy for the Earth’s ecology and non-human inhabitants, but will also have significant impacts on human societies. In this talk, we will discuss the causes of the current biodiversity crisis, with a focus on California biodiversity. We will discuss what species are most endangered, what we can do to try to limit the loss of species, and efforts in our region to preserve our local biodiversity, especially endangered plants, invertebrates and animal species.

Lynne Trulio is a professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at San José State University. Her research investigates human impacts to species and habitats, especially in urban settings. Key research programs focus on public access impacts to wildlife and the ecology and preservation of the Western Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) in California. She has studied Burrowing Owls for more than 30 years, focusing on efforts to preserve urban owl populations. Dr. Trulio has a long history with SFBBO as a collaborator, science advisor, and Board member. Currently, she is co-chair of the SFBBO Board (along with Bruce Paton) and is excited to help SFBBO move forward with its mission and strategic plan.

This event is part of SFBBO's Birdy Hour Speaker Series. Learn more at https://www.sfbbo.org/birdy. Thank you to SFBBO donors for making this free event possible and to Karen Nguyen for editing the recording. If you'd like to donate to support our work, please go to https://www.sfbbo.org/give.

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The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is a nonprofit in Milpitas, CA, with the mission to promote sustainability in the Bay Area and beyond by engaging communities in avian science, habitat conservation, and education.