FREE Virtual Conservation Lecture hosted by Sequoia Park Zoo

The Sequoia Park Zoo Conservation Lecture Series is going VIRTUAL for 2020/21

The first virtual lecture is scheduled for Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at 6:45pm.

Barbara Clucas will be joining us from Humboldt State University’s Department of Wildlife to discuss Humboldt’s flying squirrels. She was awarded the Zoo’s Conservation Grant in 2019 and looks forward to sharing the results of her research with our community. Zoo updates and information will begin at 6:45 PM with the lecture starting at 7:00 PM promptly. Attendees can ask questions to the speaker at the end of the presentation via the chat box on Zoom. The Zoom link will be available on our website at www.SequoiaParkZoo.net and on our social media.

Special thanks to Papa & Barkley for sponsoring the Conservation Lecture Series!

Details:

• Wednesday, November 18, 2020
• Zoo Information begins at 6:45 PM, Lecture begins at 7:00 PM
• Online via Zoom.us
• FREE
• To Join the Zoom Meeting:

Go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86225621519?pwd=L1duWlJaaStSVVM3ZWJhNmttZXdKZz09
Meeting ID: 862 2562 1519
Passcode: 582545
Join Zoom Meeting by Phone: +16699006833,,86225621519#,,,,,,0#,,582545# US (San Jose)

The Humboldt’s flying squirrel (Glaucomys oregonensis) is a newly “discovered” species of flying squirrel in North America. This species was previously thought to be part of the geographically widespread Northern flying squirrel (G. sabrinus) but recent molecular studies show that flying squirrels in California up to Washington are a distinct species. Flying squirrels are nocturnal, cryptic animals that are ecologically important. In California and the Pacific Northwest, flying squirrels are important prey species for several species of conservation concern. They also play a role in fungus dispersal, which is important for growth in young trees and forest health. Therefore, an understanding of the ecology and behavior of the Humboldt’s flying squirrel is a key conservation issue in northern California. Flying squirrels are also very unique species – they glide through the forest using specialized morphology, produce ultrasonic vocalizations (like bats), and their fur even glows under ultraviolet light! This presentation will cover current research on the species in Humboldt County and some of these unique aspects of the species.

Dr. Barbara Clucas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Wildlife at Humboldt State University, Arcata, California. She received her Ph.D. in Animal Behavior from the University of California, Davis, and conducted her postdoctoral work at the University of Washington in Seattle and Humboldt-Universität in Berlin, Germany. Her general research interests are in animal behavior, urban ecology, conservation biology, and human dimensions of wildlife biology and she has done research on vocal communication in songbirds, predator-prey interactions between ground squirrels and rattlesnakes, human-avian interactions in urban areas, and more recently the behavior and ecology of tree squirrels and flying squirrels. Her research focuses on interspecific interactions and how species can adapt and survive in human-modified environments, as well as how we can conserve biodiversity in urban areas. 

If you would like help with the Zoom app, please email cac@sequoiaparkzoo.net by November 16 for troubleshooting assistance.