Dr. Amy Long, UNC-W talks about biodiversity and ecology. photo credit: Jeff Wenzel Amy Long, Lecturer and TA Coordinator, in the Dept. of Environmental Sciences at UNC-Wilmington spoke to the Club Tuesday morning about the unique biodiversity found here in Southeastern NC. Our area is one of the 'hotspots' for biodiversity in the United States. We have a unique collection of plants that have adapted to the maritime forests, pocosins, and upland forests found in the southeastern corner of the state. Amy pointed out that all these different types of ecosystems are found within 50 miles of Wilmington.
One of the reasons our area is designated an environmental 'hotspot' is the unique carnivorous plants that occur in the pocosins. The most well known among these special plants are the Venus flytrap and the pitcher plant both of which have unique 'moving' parts to capture prey (insects and spiders, mainly) that have been attracted by scent or waving plant part.
Amy pointed out the need for fire to maintain habitat suitable for these carnivorous plants as well as the dominant pine species, longleaf pine. Lightning was the source of fire before civilization developed in these habitats and continues today as we all know. However, today she explained the additional need for 'controlled burns' such as those conducted by the NC Forestry Division as a means to maintain this environment as well as reduce the risk of a major wild file where the entire tree becomes engulfed in a rapidly spreading forest fire.
Amy mentors several undergraduate students at UNCW who are conducting research on various aspects of the ecosystem in our biodiverse region. Among these topics is ecosystem services which provide benefit to our environment. For example, forest trees and plants remove carbon dioxide from the earth's atmosphere and store it in their cells as they grow, thus reducing the effect of CO2 on global climate change. In a more obvious ecosystem service, forests and boggy landscapes provide ground cover along with plant roots that act to control water run-off after heavy thunderstorms or tropical storms and thus reduce flooding in rural and urban areas. By understanding how the ecosystems 'work' in these biodiverse landscapes, Amy and her students hope to translate their scientific findings into actions that land planners and managers can take to maintain and enhanced these vital ecosystems which really affect all our lives in so many ways.
Please click the blue 'Amy's Talk' button below to see Amy's presentation.
- The first few slides were added to show the extensive background information that Amy presented at the beginning of her talk. These text slides will help to understand her presentation. Please note that Amy also has included 'speaker notes' with some of her slides. Slides with a 'comment button' icon at the top left of slide have speaker notes. To turn them on click on the 'comment button' icon. Some but not all slides have speaker notes, so just check the upper left corner of the slide to look for the speaker note icon.