Swimming Sparrows? How Sea-level Rise Threatens Saltmarsh Sparrows
Explore a marsh bird species facing extinction, and the conservation efforts being made to protect it.
Reservations
Not Required
Pricing
- Suggested Donation: $2.00
Location
Mather Auditorium
Maine’s coastal marshes are home to a community of birds that are uniquely adapted to living in this dynamic environment. Many of these species build nests on the marsh surface, making them highly vulnerable to tidal flooding. Rising sea levels and climate change add an additional threat to the persistence of tidal marsh birds throughout the Northeast as storm frequency and flooding duration increases. One species most threatened to these changes is the Saltmarsh Sparrow, a specialist species that is currently facing the risk of extinction within the next 30 years. Join us as we discuss the conservation of tidal marsh birds in Maine, and how we can protect these unique species and their habitat.
Bri Benvenuti is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, where she earned a Master’s degree in Wildlife and Conservation Biology. As a biologist for Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, she explores tidal-marsh bird ecology and salt marsh management under changing climatic conditions.
