WSU Entomology E. Paul Catts Seminar

The WSU Entomology Department will be hosting our annual “E. Paul Catts” Lecture on May 25 from 4–5 p.m. in Abelson 201 on the Pullman campus. This year’s speaker is Dr. Elizabeth Borer, a regents professor at University of Michigan. Elizabeth will speak about one of the biggest current challenges in ecology, which is to understand how biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are affected by changes in climate, nutrient cycles, and species distributions. To effectively plan for conservation, restoration, and ecosystem management, we need strong scientific data to predict when and how these global changes will impact biodiversity and the services provided by ecosystems. She will share her experience in developing and leading the Nutrient Network, a global collaboration of identically replicated grassland experiments. This network is providing unique insights into how ecosystems respond to global changes like increased nitrogen and changing climate. In her talk, she will highlight key findings on how these factors interact to shape biodiversity and ecosystem processes in grasslands around the world.