Meeting: Prof. Ron Rutowski: Dry Season tour of African Savannah: Landscapes, Organisms, and Questions.
location:
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
In May to June of 2018 I had the opportunity to tour the wildlands and parks of northern southern Africa. Most time was spent in savannah environments in Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. However, we also visited the coast, desert, and highland areas in Namibia. In my presentation I hope to give you a quick overview of what we saw and learned on this month-long trip. We encountered and photographed many of the iconic mammals and birds of the region, but saw butterflies as well. Still, much of what we saw was puzzling. Why are there so many large animals in the African savannah? Why is the Namib desert where it is? How and why is the butterfly diversity different from that of savannah areas in North America? I will present the observations that stimulated these questions and discuss the potential answers to them. ~Ron Rutowski
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