Rivers of the American West: Embracing Biological Complexity for a Sustainable Future
Wyatt Cross, Associate Professor, Department of Ecology and Director of the Montana Water Center, Montana State University
Details
Date: Monday, October 28, 2019
Time: 6 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Place: Hager Auditorium, Museum of the Rockies
The lecture will be followed by a reception in the museum lobby.
This lecture is co-sponsored by the Burton K. Wheeler Center for Public Policy.
Summary
Rivers are the lifeblood of the American West. We depend on them to provide water, power, protein, recreation and so much more. Yet, our increasing dependence on rivers has paradoxically changed them in ways that threaten their ability to sustain our own livelihoods. Over the past century, river scientists have worked hard to understand and describe the basic physical and biological properties of rivers and, in the process, have uncovered fascinating details about how these ecosystems ‘work.' The common themes that emerge from this science suggest that healthy rivers are physically complex, biologically diverse and reticulated, and thrive most when they are allowed to change naturally over time. This lecture will focus on the fascinating ecology of rivers and how many of our activities may be undermining their delicate ecological balance.
About the speaker
Wyatt Cross is an associate professor in the Department of Ecology at Montana State University. He is also the director of the Montana Water Center, a cross-university center aimed at supporting research and education that helps to secure Montana’s water future. His research laboratory is focused on the ecology of river food webs and how biological communities respond to various human activities such as land use, river regulation, climate warming and nutrient pollution. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado, an M.S. from the University of Alabama and a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Georgia (2004). He teaches a variety of classes at MSU in the general areas of biology and freshwater ecology.
About the Lecture Series
The American West Lecture Series features experts from around the country discussing the history, literature and culture of the West; issues affecting the wildlife and fisheries of the region; and the West's geography, geology and resources. The series is co-sponsored by the Burton K. Wheeler Center and is a program of The Ivan Doig Center for the Study of the Lands and Peoples of the North American West, an interdisciplinary research center within the MSU College of Letters and Science that is focused on the places and peoples of the Western United States and Canada.