Whales along the West Coast have been having a tough couple of years. Humpback whales in particular are getting entangled in fishing lines more often than usual, leading to injuries and deaths. It also costs fishing fleets money, time and equipment. No one wants whales caught in lines meant for fish. So OSU’s Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab (GEMM) has been studying how to detect and prevent these incidents. On their excellent lab blog, GEMM postdoctoral scholar Lindsay Wickman explains how and why entanglements happen, and what can be done to lower the danger.
Speaking of coastal wildlife hazards, anyone heading to the northern Oregon coast this week can help local wildlife by keeping an eye out for oiled seabirds. The Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuges posted on their Facebook page on Monday, asking visitors to report any oiled birds along the coast, as reports have been coming in of oiled gulls and murres from an unknown spill. The post includes numbers to call if you encounter an oiled bird. Chintimini Wildlife Center here in Corvallis has also asked their followers and fans to watch for oiled birds at the coast.
Okay, that’s enough with the sad coast news. This week, there are several events around Corvallis for gardeners, science enthusiasts and nature lovers of all ages.
Thursday: Slug Chat
Slugs can be an Oregon gardener’s worst enemy. But they don’t have to be, and if it does come to conflict between our slimy gastropod neighbors and your precious food and flowers, you have options. This Thursday, OSU professor Rory McDonnell is hosting a 45-minute online slug chat, breaking down the most recent research on how we can live with, and without, slugs in our gardens, including the effectiveness of beer traps, essential oils, and the newest discovery in slug management: bread dough. The chat starts at noon this Thursday, May 23 over Zoom. Click here for more details and to register.
Saturday: Avery Park Work Party
Did you know that, in addition to its rose garden, Corvallis’ own Avery Park has a native plant garden? This Saturday, you can get to know the park’s native plant collection by helping out the Corvallis chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon with a spring cleanup. Meet at 1 pm this Saturday, May 25, at the Avery House Nature Center, and bring your gloves, shovels and clippers. Dress for the weather, which in May in Corvallis means dress for anything. The work party will run for two hours, until 3 pm.
Saturday: Kids’ Science Saturday
As great as it is living in a college town, with talks and events on science and nature topics just about every week, the littlest kids can get left out. But this Saturday, the Corvallis branch of the Benton County Public Library continues their Science Saturday series, with an hour-long storytime and interactive activity session. This week’s topic: Robots. The event is geared toward kids from 0-5 years old, and runs from 10:30 to 11:30 am this Saturday, May 25, at the Library’s main meeting room.
Sunday: Butterfly and Wine Tour
On Sunday, the focus shifts back to grownups. Combine two great things that go great together— butterfly conservation and Willamette Valley wine. The Institute for Applied Ecology invites community members to a tour of one of their conservation sites near Wren, where they are working to conserve the Fender’s blue butterfly and its host plant, the Kincaid’s lupine. After the tour, visitors can join IAE staff for a wine tasting or glass of wine at Lumos Wine Company’s tasting rooms. The tour runs from 1 to 3 pm this Sunday, May 26.
The exact location of the site is kept private to help protect the species restoration effort. RSVP is required to get directions. To RSVP and learn more about this event, click here.
Tuesday: Ocean Microbes Talk
Last but not least—but maybe littlest—we have a talk this week about ocean organisms that don’t often get the attention they deserve. Whales, fish, octopus and other charismatic megafauna of the ocean depths get the bulk of our attention and funding, but the smallest pieces of the ocean ecosystem, microbes, have important roles to play too. Next week, OSU’s 2024 Berg Lecture will be presented by MIT’s Dr. Jeff Gore, on the topic “Simple Predictive Rules in Microbial Community Assembly: From the Lab to the World’s Oceans.”
The talk starts at 5 pm next Tuesday, May 28, at the LaSells Stewart Center’s Construction and Engineering Hall. For more information and to RSVP, click here.
By Ian Rose