On Thursday, July 14 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife biologist Annie Little will describe the work that has been done since 2002 to help populations of birds on the Channel Islands recover from loss of habitat and the adverse effects of the pesticide DDT, during the July From Shore to Sea lecture.
DDT was a pesticide discharged into the ocean that worked its way up the food chain and eventually accumulated in birds, like seabirds, falcons, and eagles. The DDT caused their eggshells to be too thin to withstand incubation in the nest, and populations of these birds declined.
Little will describe the various restoration efforts that Montrose Settlements Restoration Program (MSRP) has created to help these populations, including the bald eagle reintroduction program, habitat restoration and social attraction for seabirds on Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara Islands, feral cat removal on San Nicolas Island, and seabird restoration on the Baja California Pacific Islands.
The From Shore to Sea lecture series is sponsored by Channel Islands National Park to further the understanding of current research on the Channel Islands and surrounding marine waters. The series takes place at 7:00 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month, January through December, at the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center, 1901 Spinnaker Drive in Ventura Harbor.
This lecture can also be viewed live online at http://www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/live-programs.htm.
