Citizen Science Lecture

Title:  Snowbirds and concerts- A short story about shorebirds visiting Key Biscayne and Virginia Key.

Shorebirds are protected species that migrate every season from their nesting grounds in upper latitudes to lower latitudes feeding areas.  Many species of them spend late summer, fall and winter in Key Biscayne and Virginia Key were they can be seen in beaches and mudflats.  Shorebirds are protected under US laws and international treaties and some of them are endangered of extinction.  The recent controversy about the ULTRA concert in Virginia Key highlighted the possible environmental impacts of large events on the environment of our barrier islands, including shorebirds. In this talk we present a short summary of shorebird populations in Key Biscayne and Virginia Key and the possible impacts that events like ULTRA can have on these “snowbird” visitors from the North.

Dr. David J. Die is a research associate professor at the Marine Ecosystem and Society department of the University of Miami. He has worked for 30 years on research devoted to the assessment and management of marine ecosystems. His research has been instrumental in the development of management changes promoting sustainability of the marine environment. He has current collaborative research links with scientists in scientific institutions all around the world. He has previously worked as a scientist in Australia and for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy. He has been a resident of Key Biscayne since 1999.

Key Biscayne Community Center, 10 Village Green Way

Lighthouse Room, 2nd Floor