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Bee vision: Shedding light on a conservation challenge

Kristin Heydt — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 20:35:58 +0000

Bee vision: Shedding light on a conservation challenge Kristin Heydt Mon, 06/13/2022 - 16:35

Bees see the world in vibrant color…but that may be changing. Smithsonian-Mason team researches the impact with bee vision.

When a bee sees a flower, it knows where to land thanks to its ability to see ultraviolet (UV) color patterns on the petals. Many factors have caused those colors to dull, and now a team at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC), funded by a grant from the National Geographic Society, is helping reveal what pollinators see, and why it matters for the future of conservation.

“Bees and pollinators are such an integral part of the ecosystem,” said junior environmental and sustainability studies major Anna Siegle. “We’re looking at the floral color diversity of wildflowers in Virginia and how bees and insects are perceiving them.”

Anna Siegle compares a flower to color standards in visual light. The image on the left shows approximate human perception, and the image on the right depicts the bee-perceived color. Photo provided by Siegle.

Pollinators and Color

Honeybees help pollinate plants that produce food; they also help maintain biodiversity. That’s part of why understanding how they interact with plants matters.

Mason professor Daniel Hanley and undergraduate Anna Siegle are researching floral color diversity of wildflowers and how bees are perceiving them. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

“Pollinators make really important decisions about colors all the time—and those colors are changing [due to climate change, changing pH levels and changing temperatures],” said Daniel Hanley, a ��AV professor and National Geographic Explorer who is Siegle’s research mentor.

The research findings could also help the team uncover which flowers may be beneficial for pollinators to have around, or what could be done to ensure wildflowers aren’t being impacted further, Siegle said.

Among the Flowers

Exploring how pollinators perceive color requires precision and technology, as UV colors are invisible to the human eye.

Siegle’s work begins with photographing, recording, and measuring flowers. She uses a multi-spectral camera that films both UV and visual light, and calibrates the camera for color precision and accuracy using color and white standards.

Using a spectrometer and spectroradiometer, Siegle also measures the reflectance of each flower and the color of the light. Later, she brings these data to the lab for analysis and processing. With the help of Python computer code, the photos are transformed into images of what a honeybee would see.

Colors Lead to Answers

Anna Siegle photographing flowers. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Hanley described his lab’s focus as primarily gathering information about how pollinators see and how perceived color diversity is quantified.

“This eventually will help us address why colors might be changing over time and how,” Hanley said. “It also helps us understand what the bees are actually paying attention to, and how it helps them with their interaction with the flower, which is critical for pollination.”

Siegle’s research is expected to have ripple effects.

“We’ll be able to see how bees are orienting to those visual signals in a way we hadn’t really been able to do before,” Hanley said. “That can be used for answering all sorts of other questions not just for pollinators, but all sorts of organisms that are using color.”

The imagery Siegle creates for the project will also be used to help bring the science to life with multimedia, including documentaries and films, she said.

Hands-on Conservation

Mason was the only school Siegle said she applied to, and SMSC was her top reason for applying.

“I have been waiting for a few years to attend SMSC,” said Siegle, who aspires to work in elephant conservation.

“It’s been amazing,” she said. “The classes have been really interesting, I’ve learned a lot, had a lot of hands-on experience, and made a lot of connections with the professors, other conservationists and guest speakers.”

It’s likewise rewarding for the mentors.

“It’s been really cool to be able to work with a student for weeks at a time to really dig into a problem,” Hanley said. “[At SMSC] you can invest in yourself and your development as a scientist in a way that other students really may nothave the chance to.”

Mason student Anna Siegle uses a spectrophotometer on a flower she photographed in the field at the Science and Technology Campus. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

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Road salt gets rid of ice, snow…and ecosystems? New student research addresses community-based solutions.

Mariam Aburdeineh — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 15:47:36 +0000

Road salt gets rid of ice, snow…and ecosystems? New student research addresses community-based solutions. Mariam Aburdeineh Thu, 04/28/2022 - 11:47

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Road salt has been touted as a lifesaver when it comes to combatting icy roads. Yet using this snow-melting mineral has a dark side once it enters waterways. Graduating senior Maggie Walker, through the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC), is gathering data at local streams to influence change.

“When excessive road salts get into streams, they can have devastating effects on the ecosystems in the streams,” said Julia Sargent, director of programs at Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. “The salts impact vegetation and very small river life, and that in turn can have effects on larger life, like fish, and in high concentrations, those salts may not be filtered out by our water treatment plants.”

Maggie Walker, Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation student, collects water samples in Strasburg, Virginia to measure road water pollution. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/��AV

The Impact of Road Salts

Chloride pollution, which mainly comes from road salt, can also lead to corrosion, changed soil compositions, fish die-offs, algae blooms, and more, said Walker, who is partnering with Sargent’s organization for her SMSC practicum. “For people that need to be on low salt diets, they can actually exceed their daily salt requirement just from their drinking water, so that can end up being a health concern.”

Walker’s research is assessing the scope and impact of road salts locally.

Walker, an Honors College student studying biology, selected four streams near urban land cover, including sidewalks, parking lots, and cities, that are likely to be vulnerable to chloride pollution. For five weeks this semester, she has been heading to those streams to record the water temperature and collecting samples of stream water to measure chloride levels.

“It’s important that we establish what are the baseline levels of chloride in our waterways,” Walker said. “That way we can test it throughout the years, throughout the seasons, see when levels fluctuate, when they’re highest, how road salting events impact the water quality.”

Walker measures the chloride levels using a QuanTab strip. Photo by Evan Cantwell.

Engaging the Community

There’s also a community aspect to the project that Sargent said Walker helped inspire.

“I’m creating a survey about people’s attitudes and behaviors toward road salt and road salt usage,” said Walker, which aligns with her interest in the intersection of conservation, human well-being, and community involvement. “We’re hoping to disseminate it to people who live in the North Fork… and then ultimately, using the data, determine one behavior to target for change.”

Though changing behavior and reducing road salt usage is outside the scope of this semester, Walker said the research is an important first step.

Walker, who is originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said she chose ��AV because she wanted to attend a school with excellent research opportunities, like SMSC.

“This program is helping me develop a lot of skills in a wide variety of areas within conservation that I wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Walker said. “My experience at SMSC has been really awesome.”

“Getting to hear from and work with so many different conservation professionals is really inspiring,” Walker said, adding that they actively engage with students.

It’s rewarding for mentors, too.

“It’s been inspiring to get to know and work with these young people who are just getting their start along their career paths in conservation,” Sargent said. “Seeing their passions and being a part of that process is a big honor.”

SMSC is not an opportunity to pass up.

“If you are even remotely interested in conservation, you should definitely make every effort you can to come out and enjoy SMSC,” Walker said. “It really sets you up for success in conservation [by] introducing you to all the opportunities and allows you to explore things while you’re still in college.”

“If you’re a conservation-minded person, this is definitely the place to be.”

Maggie Walker collects water samples in Strasburg, Virginia to measure salt water pollution. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services/��AV

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Smithsonian-Mason team keeps watch, so elephants can doze off

Colleen Rich — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 16:22:41 +0000

Smithsonian-Mason team keeps watch, so elephants can doze off Colleen Rich Fri, 12/17/2021 - 11:22

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Because elephants only sleep three to four hours a night, and frequently wake during that time, their sleep is a precious commodity.

Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation student Eva Noroski (left) works with Mason Alumna and Elephant Trails Keeper Ashley Fortner to research elephant sleep patterns at the National Zoo. Photo by: Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications/��AV

That’s why ��AV senior Eva Noroski has spent a month this semester assisting 2017 Mason alumna and Elephant Trails keeper Ashley Fortner at the National Zoo, researching how these massive mammals can get optimal sleep.

“Sleep is super important for the elephants because they don’t actually do a lot of it,” said Fortner, who studied for a year at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC).

“Eva’s work is actually directly, every day, impacting how we take care of the elephants.”

Noroski has been accessing footage from the Smithsonian’s camera system to monitor the elephants from 5 p.m. until 5 a.m., and logging what she observes. In particular, she’s tracking Kamala, a female elephant who has arthritis, which causes her difficulty in laying down and getting up.

“I’m trying to determine which elephants she sleeps best with, if she sleeps best by herself, if there are any social dynamics that appear during the night that I can let the keepers know about,” said Noroski, an environmental science major and conservation studies minor. “That’s all really significant information because their sleep is important to their health, and if any mammal is losing sleep, they could become more susceptible to illness.”

Noroski’s findings will help management create pairings that offer the best sleep for each of their five elephants, said Fortner, who graduated from Mason with a integrative studies degree and a concentration on applied global conservation.

When Noroski isn’t behind the computer, she can be found performing zookeeping tasks, and shadowing Fortner as she interacts with, trains, and completes wellness checks with the elephants.

“I have made great connections, not only with people here at the zoo, but also with my [SMSC] teachers who are active conservationists,” Noroski said. “They’re super willing to help students find opportunities as well as connect us with other people—that’s a really unique thing you can’t just get in any conservation program.”

That’s exactly why Fortner said she also “fell in love” with the SMSC program.

“It means so much,” Fortner said of being able to mentor students in the same way she was mentored. “Once I found my path, I found that having those practicums and hands-on learning experiences helped me make that decision.”

“For the mentor side of it, it’s giving back to the conservation community,” she said. “It was really important for me to not only take care of elephants and give back to conservation in that way, but to help people that also want to do this see that this is possible.”

Noroski, who grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said she chose Mason after researching schools with the best conservation programs.

Being at SMSC with a small cohort of students and teachers is one of the most rewarding parts, she and Fortner agreed.

“It’s a great program where you get really personal attention, as well as amazing practical experience that you will not just be able to find anywhere else,” Noroski said. “You are put in a position where you are pretty much handed useful, practical experience in the real working world.

“That’s invaluable when you’re an undergrad and trying to get your foot in the door,” she said.

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In memoriam: Lee Talbot

John Hollis — Tue, 11 May 2021 20:17:23 +0000

In memoriam: Lee Talbot John Hollis Tue, 05/11/2021 - 16:17

Faculty, family and friends remember the dynamic life of a pioneering scientist, explorer, educator and race car driver in Lee Talbot. Photo provided

Lee Talbot, 90, a professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy within Mason’s College of Science, died at home on April 27, 2021, following a battle with cancer.

“As an educator, Lee Talbot was both an inspiration and a pioneer, his passion and dedication to his students ever-evident over his 29 years at ��AV,” said Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, dean of the College of Science. “During that time, Talbot developed eight graduate-level classes and received countless student accolades and faculty awards, including the recent Dean’s Career Award for Distinctive Service in December 2020.”

A global ecologist and geographer with more than 50 years of experience in national and international environmental affairs, biodiversity conservation, management of wild living resources, environmental policies and institutions, and environment and development, Talbot is widely recognized as the author/co-author of the U.S. Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, CITES and the World Heritage Convention. A senior environmental advisor to World Bank and United Nations organizations, he supported ecological research and advising efforts in 134 countries.

His former positions included, among others, chief scientist and foreign affairs director of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality for Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter; head of environmental sciences for the Smithsonian Institution; director-general of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) t; member of more than 20 committees and panels of the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council; and senior scientific advisor to the International Council of Scientific Unions. Over the course of his 50-plus year career, he conducted more than 130 exploratory and research expeditions to remote or unknown areas on five continents. Talbot wrote more than 300 scientific, technical and popular publications, including 17 books and monographs, with some translations in nine foreign languages. Talbot’s first book, published in England in 1960, was “A Look at Threatened Species,” and a majority of his subsequent publications addressed endangered species either directly or in the context of broader conservation issues.

Beginning his career as a wildlife biologist on one of his earliest assignments, he mapped and collected data on animals in Kenya and Lake Tanganyika. The results were the creation of the Serengeti National Park, the Masai Mara National Reserve and much more. He and his wife, Marty, his co-adventurer, spent years assessing the status of species across Africa and Asia.

Lee Talbot and his wife Marty spent years assessing the status of species across Africa and Asia. Photo provided

“If you want to know why species like tigers and gorillas and rhinos and African elephants are still roaming the wild, here’s why,” said Thomas Lovejoy, a noted conservation biologist and University Professor within ESP.

Talbot completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California Berkeley, receiving a degree in liberal arts and wildlife ecology, an MS in vertebrate ecology and an interdisciplinary PhD in geography/ecology. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

After finishing his Marine Corps service in 1954, Talbot was asked to research African and Asian endangered species at the National Academy of Sciences, which led to the position of first staff ecologist of the Brussels-based IUCN.

“Talbot had three ‘true loves,’—his wife, Marty, and their family; exploring his passion for endangered species and conservation policy; and car racing,” said A. Alonso Aguirre, chair of Mason’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy. “Yes, Lee loved racing cars.”

Talbot was 18 when he was chosen to enter his first professional race in 1948, and 87 at the time of his final one in 2017. During that 69-year stretch, he enjoyed competing in—and frequently winning—a wide variety of vehicles and types of races, including dirt track sprint cars, dirt and ice rallying in production-based cars, and grand prix and road racing in formula cars, sports racers, production and vintage race cars.

“He was truly a towering figure,” wrote Talbot’s son, Russell, in a powerful tribute to his father. “I think of him as an amalgamation of the best aspects of John Muir, Ernest Hemingway, and James Bond. But I think he was humbler and, arguably, more influential than any of those characters.”

While teaching at Mason, Talbot mentored countless graduate students who are now spread out across the planet continuing his fight for sound conservation policy and development.

“We have lost a hero of the environment, but his impacts on species will likely extend far into the future because of his incredible efforts.” Aguirre said.

Marty, Talbot’s wife of 62 years, and sons Lawrence and Rusty plan to hold a celebration of his life in the coming months.

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What’s in a cell? Mason team analyzes genomes to support conservation, cloning project

Mariam Aburdeineh — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 22:05:47 +0000

What’s in a cell? Mason team analyzes genomes to support conservation, cloning project Mariam Aburdeineh Thu, 04/15/2021 - 18:05

Elizabeth Ann, the first cloned black-footed ferret at 48-days old. Credit: USFWS National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center

Black-footed ferrets were once thought to be extinct, until a small population was discovered in Wyoming in 1981. The species is still endangered, but scientists—including a ��AV researcher and students at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC)—are coming to the rescue.

In December 2020, Willa, a black-footed ferret who died in 1988, was cloned using her cells that had been frozen. That clone, Elizabeth Ann, is now the first North American endangered species to be cloned in the United States. Senior Research Scientist Klaus-Peter Koepfli conducted critical research on her genetic cell line.

“As conservation geneticists, we try to understand how much variation there is and inform conservation breeding best practices,” Koepfli said. “This really is a revolution in terms of how we can use new tools to help endangered species.”

Revive and Restore, the organization that spearheaded the cloning project, sequenced and analyzed the genetic material (or genome) of Willa’s cell cultures. The cell cultures serve as a way to grow and study cells outside their native environment, and are used to help scientists better understand the species’ physiology and biochemistry.

Klaus-Peter Koepfli

Recognizing Koepfli’s extensive expertise in applying genomics to conservation, the organization asked him and SMSC to further analyze that data, compare it to the previous genome of Willa’s cells, and to other black-footed ferrets.

“What we found is that Willa is contributing variants that we don’t see in any other black-footed ferrets [through Elizabeth Ann],” Koepfli said. “That’s where the cloning is becoming important—if we can clone other cell lines, we can contribute additional new variation to the black-footed ferret population.”

“This research is everything to me,” said senior biology major Marcus Dooley, who assembled the mitogenome of 49 ferrets to compare genetic differences within their sequences. “Being able to live my childhood dream by helping support an endangered species is priceless.”

In the future, the genomic data could potentially be used for other conservation efforts, Koepfli said, such as understanding and minimizing the presence of damaging genetic mutations, and even reengineering a species’ immune system to become resistant to deadly diseases.

Marcus Dooley. Photo provided.

“That sounds like blue-sky thinking, but with gene-editing technology and the tools we have today, it’s in the realm of possibility,” Koepfli said. “There’s still a lot of research that needs to be done to understand this, and we’re trying to help with our genome analysis program.”

Koepfli said he began working with black-footed ferrets in 2017, and started the genomic analysis program when he worked at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. He’s since brought the program to SMSC, where students can be part of this research that helps save endangered species.

Dooley, who attended SMSC in Fall 2020, said he plans to pursue a career in conservation. He feels Mason’s program is setting him up for success.

“The best part is how immersive the [SMSC] courses are,” Dooley said. “Everything you learn is applicable to the conservation profession and you are constantly out in the field performing hands-on activities to help prepare you for that line of work.”

He adds: “If you’re passionate about the environment and conservation, and truly want to pursue a career in this field, SMSC is the best option.”

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New research coming out of its shell: Mason, Smithsonian study could help save wood turtles

Mariam Aburdeineh — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 21:19:17 +0000

New research coming out of its shell: Mason, Smithsonian study could help save wood turtles Mariam Aburdeineh Tue, 02/23/2021 - 16:19

Two SMSC research students and a Turtle Conservation Ecology intern surveying for Wood Turtles in Virginia. Photo credit: Jessica Meck

For decades, research on wood turtles—a threatened reptile species native to North America—has focused on trying to better understand and protect their populations. But there’s one area of wood turtle research that’s been lacking. This spring, a team from ��AV, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), and the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) is heading to the streams to fix that.

Hunter VanDoren holding a juvenile wood turtle. Photo Credit: Jessica Meck

“The assumption with animals that have a long-life history, like turtles do, is that adult survival is really the most important thing to focus on for conservation,” said J. Hunter VanDoren, a Mason environmental science and policy PhD student and graduate fellow with SCBI. “But you can’t leave out juveniles, and they have largely been left out of the literature.”

VanDoren, a Front Royal native who interned with SCBI before becoming a graduate fellow, is part of a team headed by Mason alumnus and Smithsonian researcher Tom Akre, who’s been developing science for the conservation of threatened turtles for more than 20 years.

Virginia wood turtle habitat consists of both upland protected forest regions and lowland mixed agricultural areas. Surprisingly, Akre’s data showed juvenile recruitment to be low at protected upland sites, despite reproductive rates remaining high and the land being preserved. To understand why, the team’s research will be of particular importance. It will also be a final piece needed to conduct Integrated Population Modeling and inform a Population Viability Analysis.

A juvenile wood turtle. Photo credit: Jessica Meck

To understand the factors involved and how juveniles fare in both habitats, VanDoren will be putting radio transmitters on the young turtles (primarily identifiable by the length of their shell) and tracking them to estimate their known fate (an estimation of survival probability).

Each week, VanDoren will check on the turtles, collecting data on their status, survival, and location, as well as qualitative habitat data. Later, he will analyze the results in the lab.

The goal is to track 30 turtles at each site, but that will depend on how many juveniles can be captured and tracked, VanDoren said, adding that part of the reason juvenile research is limited is because individuals are elusive and difficult to study.

A radio-telemetry antenna used to track wood turtles at a SCBI study site in VA. Photo credit: Jonathan Drescher-Lehman.

“Juveniles are the missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to understanding their life history, how populations are reacting to land use change, and all the threats they face from habitat loss and fragmentation, road mortality, and illegal collection for the pet trade,” said Jessica Meck, Turtle Conservation Ecology project manager. “The pieces already in place are important for conservation of the species…but the missing data on juvenile survival is particularly crucial for informing landscape-scale conservation in Virginia.”

In addition to their hands-on research, Meck and VanDoren have been mentoring an undergraduate SMSC student each semester. These undergraduates learn experientially by supporting the team in the field and lab.

Jessica Meck holding an adult wood turtle. Photo provided.

Teaching the future generation of conservationists is of critical importance, Meck said, adding that the applied conservation experience is rewarding for both mentor and mentee.

As a student, VanDoren agrees.

“Something I didn’t fully grasp as an undergraduate was just how important the experience itself is in comparison to just learning something out of a book,” he said. “It’s the experience that develops you as a scientist and allows you to fully understand what it is you’re doing and why.”

From networking with leading researchers and academics, to the experiential learning, VanDoren said his experience has been unrivaled.

“I’ve had great mentors, I’ve had great courses that I’ve learned a lot from,” he said. “I would strongly encourage anyone who’s interested in looking into Mason to do so—the opportunities are absolutely incredible and it’s been a fantastic experience at Mason and SCBI.”

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When moving conservation classes online, SMSC shows innovation is key

Mariam Aburdeineh — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 00:05:00 +0000

When moving conservation classes online, SMSC shows innovation is key Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 06/22/2020 - 20:05

Outside their dorms, students at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) have visual access to rare and endangered species. On any given day, you can find them doing field and laboratory work with influential conservation mentors. Midway through the spring semester, the school known for its hands-on conservation training, had to quickly transition their courses online due to COVID-19.

“It was challenging,” said Anneke DeLuycker, associate professor at SMSC who is teaching and coordinating two of their digital offerings for the summer. “I knew something was going to work because at SMSC, we do everything in our power to give students the best education, time, and experience that they could have, whether in-person or virtually.”

��AV students in the “Research in Conservation” course work one-on-one with conservation mentors on specialized projects. Though video chat replaced face-to-face meetings and learning content, the core mission of SMSC remained.

A student at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation records observations in the field. Photo by Robert Barrett.

“The goal of the research course is to give these students experience in contributing new knowledge to advance the field of conservation,” DeLuycker said.

Creative brainstorming from mentors means students can still achieve that goal online, DeLuycker said, and that’s why she’s excited for this summer.

What does a hands-on conservation course look like online?

It varies from project to project, DeLuycker said. This summer, students in the research course are able to choose from projects that include:

Analyzing video footage of endangered species to collect behavioral data that could be used to help reintroduce the species to the wild;
Gathering data on the impact of COVID-related travel restrictions on the movement of wildlife globally, and training computer algorithms to automatically detect wildlife in aerial and satellite images;
Creating an illustrated guide of the distribution and history of bees in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, using museum records and data from the U.S. Geological Survey Native Bee Laboratory; and
Using Google Earth Engine and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to model animal movements which could provide forecasts of changes in biodiversity.

Darryl Carter, an environmental sustainability studies senior, took the research course last spring. Converting to online was difficult at first, he said, but it had unexpected benefits.

“It required me to find solutions to challenges in new ways,” said Carter, who studied elephant behavioral ecology with Smithsonian scientist Shifra Goldenberg. “I was still able to successfully complete my research project and even continue my research beyond the semester.”

For SMSC students who don’t work directly on research projects with mentors, such as those in the “How to Succeed in Conservation” course, they also receive unparalleled networking opportunities, Deluycker said.

This summer, students will hear from speakers such as Francine Madden, executive director of the Center for Conservation Peacebuilding; Ed Maibach, director of Mason’s Center for Climate Change Communication; and Smithsonian scientists who are engaged in current issues of wildlife trafficking, species reintroduction, and conservation of coral reefs.

“One thing I really wanted out of SMSC was to have a networking experience,” Carter said. “I was concerned that I wasn’t going to be able to have that [online], but I was still able to go to the GIS lab meetings and connect with amazing scientists.”

The experience also taught Carter that now is the time for students to make an impact.

“In a crazy and changing world, we are able to find new ways to innovate and problem solve, which is what conservation needs,” he said.

Mason researcher studies the evolution of blue and fin whales

Colleen Rich — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 16:51:22 +0000

Mason researcher studies the evolution of blue and fin whales Colleen Rich Thu, 01/23/2020 - 11:51

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Red pandas on red alert: Mason student, alumni conduct research to save endangered species

Mariam Aburdeineh — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 15:30:00 +0000

Red pandas on red alert: Mason student, alumni conduct research to save endangered species Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 12/02/2019 - 10:30

Saving an endangered species is possible, but it takes a village. Conservationists, including three ��AV alumni working at the Smithsonian and a current student, are part of the team at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation (SMSC) working to ensure red pandas move off the endangered list.

“Our main focus is breeding, expanding the population and looking at genetics,” said SCBI’s carnivore curator Juan Rodriguez, BS Biology ’09. In the event that something catastrophic happens in the wild, their goal is to have a genetically viable population in captivity to stave off extinction, he said.

Rodriguez and his team help produce red panda and clouded leopard cubs and maned wolf pups, he said. This year, 4-year-old red panda Moonlight gave birth in June.

Moonlight's new cub was born in June. Photo by Jessica Kordell/Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Since April 2018, Monika Conrad, an environmental science and policy graduate student, has been conducting behavioral research on the red pandas, including Moonlight and her cub, at SCBI and the National Zoo as part of her master’s program.

“The idea is to understand what disturbs red pandas, what changes their behaviors and their physiology, to see what may negatively impact welfare,” said Conrad, who also assists the undergraduate students in their research at SMSC. “If we can give them the best possible welfare, we can improve breeding success.”

Conrad, who came to Mason after learning about Mason School of Integrative Studies professor and Mason alumna Elizabeth Freeman’s red panda research during a Smithsonian internship, spent 14 months observing the animals and logging their behaviors. She also recorded the climate (temperature, humidity and wind speed), noise levels, and zoo visitor numbers to see if and how these environmental factors influence red pandas.

This semester Conrad spends her days in the SCBI endocrine lab, extracting hormones from the red panda’s fecal samples. Later, she’ll analyze the behavioral data with the hormone concentrations to see if there are connections between the two.

Jessica Kordell, who has been an animal keeper at Smithsonian since 2007, helped hand-raise Moonlight when she was a cub, and continues to provide care for SCBI’s red pandas and clouded leopards. The Mason alumna, who earned her master’s in environmental science and policy in 2017 and studied under Professor Freeman, also mentors undergraduate practicum students attending SMSC.

Mason student Monika Conrad (left) and Mason alumna Jessica Kordell. Photo by Evan Cantwell/��AV

Working with the young cubs and educating students are the most rewarding parts of her job, Kordell said.

“The work that we do here, both with the students and with the animals day-to-day, really matters because we are in this stage where if we don’t work hard to save them or save their environment, [the species] could be gone,” Kordell said.

Moonlight's cub. Photo by Evan Cantwell

Kordell said her Mason experience was significant for her career.

From courses on climate change to learning about collecting genetic samples noninvasively, her classes “really helped me understand more about what I do as a professional and how that actually helps save our species.”

The preservation extends beyond the animals, since each species plays a unique role in the ecosystem and in everyone’s survival, Kordell and Rodriguez agreed.

“Students like Monika are excellent for what we do,” Rodriguez said. “It’s really very fulfilling to see that such a younger generation is ready to go out there and preserve these amazing species.”

This semester Conrad spends her days in the SCBI endocrine lab. Photo by Evan Cantwell.

Conrad and undergraduate students at SMSC work directly with scientists who are at the forefront of conservation research. It’s an unparalleled experience, as most students would otherwise learn about these topics from books or videos, Rodriguez said.

“It’s amazing to be here as a student,” Conrad said. Both the Smithsonian scientists and Mason professors are eager to answer questions and inspire the next generation of conservationists, she said.

“[You’re] never going to be able to find another program that can really immerse [you] in conservation like coming to SMSC will,” Conrad said. “I love that I’ve been able to have this opportunity—not just the knowledge, but the opportunities to connect with these researchers and learn more.”

Moonlight and her cub. Photo by Evan Cantwell/��AV

Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute