Effects of Climate Change on Native Plants
with David Karowe, Professor of Biological Sciences, WMU
Wednesday, February 28, 6:30-8:30 pm on Zoom
Dr. David Karowe is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Western Michigan University.
Dr. Karowe and his students are investigating potential ecological consequences of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, including changes in plant growth, nutritional quality, and defensive chemistry, and how such changes affect the feeding, growth, and survivorship of insect herbivores and their natural enemies. The ultimate goal of this research is to expand understanding of the ecological and evolutionary consequences of elevated CO2 to include higher levels in the food chain. This work has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Dave Karowe has been a leader in developing interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate training programs to address climate change. He helped found the WMU Climate Change Working Group, which has organized a wide variety of events both on and off campus to heighten awareness of the climate crisis. Dave has also given more than 200 public presentations about climate change over the past 30 years.
Dave will begin his presentation with a description of what the future climate of the Great Lakes Region will be like under different levels of global warming, emphasizing how important our decisions about greenhouse gas emissions are in determining future changes in extreme temperatures, altered precipitation, drought, and agricultural productivity.
Dave will then address aspects of climate change that most directly affect Michigan plants and plant communities, including indirect effects on plants via changes in herbivore winter survival, arrival of new pests and pathogens from south of Michigan, and ecological asynchrony between plants and their pollinators and seed dispersers.
The February 28 program is a virtual event and will be hosted on Zoom.
We can accommodate up to 300 participants.
Reserve your spot by registering here for the event.