Rainforest canopies foster tremendous diversity and complexity, but remain one of the most poorly understood communities on Earth. Using mountain-climbing techniques, construction cranes and hot-air balloons, canopy researchers have documented the rich flora and fauna that live their entire lives in the canopy. To further examine the canopies, Nalini Nadkarni, professor of forest ecology at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., will present the fourth annual NDSU College of Science and Mathematics Lectureship series "Life in the Treetops: Three Decades of Forest Canopy Research" on Tuesday, April 20, at 7 p.m. at the Fargo Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.
Nadkarni's research in the cloud forests of Costa Rica and the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula has shown that canopy communities contribute substantially to maintenance of biodiversity, nutrient cycling and enhancement of wildlife habitat for the whole ecosystem. However, human disturbances such as forest fragmentation, air pollution and global climate change, can have strong negative effects on canopy biota.
To raise awareness of the fragility of forest canopy biota and encourage their protection, she developed novel pathways to communicate results of her canopy studies to the public by creating partnerships with artists, faith-based communities and incarcerated men and women. Nadkarni describes this work as a potential model for other scientists to bring their research to the public and thereby become open to new perspectives on their studies.
Nadkarni co-founded and is president of the International Canopy Network, a non-profit organization that fosters communication among researchers, educators and conservationists concerned with forest canopies. She conducts outreach to the general public, children and policymakers on matters concerning forest canopies and forest conservation. She has appeared in numerous television documentaries, and most recently was featured as a canopy scientist in the National Geographic television special on tropical forest canopies, "Heroes of the High Frontier," which won an Emmy Award for Best Documentary Film of 2001.
A new project she initiated involves the creation of a multidisciplinary Forest Canopy Walkway project on The Evergreen State College campus. In 2001, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship to pursue her interests in communication of forest canopy research results to non-scientists with collaborations of artists, musicians, physicians, sports figures and religious leaders.
For more information and special accommodation needs, contact Keri Drinka at
(701) 231-6131 or keri.drinka@ndsu.edu.
