Tern Conservation and Research on Great Gull Island, A Jewel of Long Island Sound
Margaret Rubega, Ph.D., Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, UConn, and Research Associate, American Museum of Natural History
Over 50 years, Helen Hays of the American Museum of Natural History and countless volunteers built one of the most important tern colonies in the world on Great Gull Island, a former US Army Fort in Long Island Sound. The next 50 years will change conditions for the terns dramatically, threatening them through sea level rise and water warming e[ects. In this presentation, Dr. Rubega , who is collaborating with colleagues at other universities and non-profits, will describe current conservation planning and management on behalf of the terns, and research addressing future challenges.
Biography
Margaret Rubega is a Professor, and Curator of Ornithology, in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut, as well as the Connecticut State Ornithologist. She first set foot on Great Gull Island in 1979, and the experience made her a biologist. Work in her lab focuses on a diverse array of birds, across a variety of habitats. She approaches questions in avian conservation, ecology and evolution mechanistically, integrating tools from functional morphology, biomechanics, physiology, and animal behavior. She has conducted research on shorebirds, seabirds, hummingbirds, swifts and a variety of passerines, in field sites in the Arctic, Antarctic, and North America. Her recent work on the conservation of terns at Great Gull Island brings her full circle.
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