MANTA Noon Seminars

The Seminar sessions include a variety of topics, including conservation ecology from local to worldwide scales. Attend one of these presentations and enjoy a trip to the ends of the world, an education on the local stream conditions, or get a preview of the newest installation at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Below is the agenda for upcoming sessions and short summaries of each.

All Seminars take place at:

Maryland Department of Natural Resources
C-1 Conference Room
Tawes Office Building
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland

If there is a topic you would like to see included in the upcoming series, or a recommended speaker, please contact Ron Klauda
For summaries of previous sessions, click here.

2012 Agenda

DATE: January 19, 2012

A River Runs Under It: Modeling the Distribution of Streams and Stream Burial in Large River Basins

Andrew Elmore (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Appalachian Laboratory, Frostburg MD)

Synopsis: Stream network density exerts a strong control on hydrologic processes in watersheds, but for most of the mid-Atlantic region we have very little data on the location of streams. For example, most small streams, especially those that were buried beneath urban development, are not included in stream maps used by scientists and regulatory agencies. Dr. Elmore will report on new methods for mapping these “missing streams,” describe some results for Maryland watersheds west of the Chesapeake Bay, and show how the new stream maps can be applied to studies seeking to understand the impact of land-use on stream network structure and functioning.

February 16, 2012

FOREST CERTIFICATION: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Jack Perdue (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis)

Synopsis: Forest certification has become a more common and yet controversial platform from which to manage public, industry and conservation lands. Now that the Maryland DNR has 200,000 acres under both the Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative programs, what does this really mean regarding how forests are managed and how the habitats and economies are supported on these lands. Jack Perdue, a forester with DNR for over 30 years who has been involved with certification efforts since 2003, will answer these questions.

March 15, 2012

A Snapshot of Cuba Today

SPEAKER: Dr. Gwen Brewer

Synopsis: In mid-April 2011, Dr. Brewer participated in one of the Caribbean Conservation Trust’s long-running bird surveys in Cuba. Both resident (particularly endemic) and migrant birds, 166 species in all, were seen in the course of her 2,600 km journey. She visited many of the ecosystems of this isolated island country, including pine and deciduous forest, extensive marshes, fields, caves, mangroves, beaches, and coastal scrub. Throughout her 10 day visit, Dr. Brewer had the opportunity to observe Cuban culture, history, and other natural history components such as insects, reptiles, amphibians and plants. Join us and take a look at Cuba more than 50 years after the revolution!

April 19, 2012

There’s Something About Horseshoe Crabs…….

Stacy Epperson (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis)

Synopsis: Why should we care about horseshoe crabs? The 3B’s to start: Blood, Birds, & Bait. Stacy Epperson, Education Specialist in Chesapeake and Coastal Services and program manager for Raising Horseshoe Crabs in the Classroom will explain the value of horseshoe crabs to various stakeholders and how climate change may have a negative affect on all of the horseshoe crab industries. In addition she will demonstrate how to sex a juvenile crab molt (in case you are ever on Jeopardy), and will have some live juveniles to examine.

Click here to view the presentation as a .pdf file

May 17, 2012

TITLE: Diseases Cause Some Significant Oyster Mortalities in Chesapeake Bay

Chris Dungan (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Oxford)

Synopsis: Meet the protozoan provocateurs of MSX and dermo diseases that have caused some significant oyster mortalities in Chesapeake Bay historically, but relatively low ones during recent years. Learn about the physical and environmental factors that modulate the pathogens and their diseases, and about oyster adaptations that may have shifted the play during recent decades. Disease impacts on oyster population dynamics will be reviewed in context with credits from natural and assisted recruitment, and debits from natural and harvest mortalities.

Click here to view the presentation as a .pdf file

September 27, 2012

TITLE: Locating Sources of EPA Priority Pollutants in the Anacostia Watershed

Harriette Phelps (University of the District of Columbia, Emeritus)

Synopsis:The urban Anacostia River is one of three Areas of Concern in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with TMDLs for PCBs, pesticides, and trash. There is a fishing advisory in place and over 60% of fish in the river have tumors. This project was a 12-years survey of bioavailable EPA priority pollutants at 45 sites in the Anacostia watershed using active biomonitoring with translocation of the local freshwater Asiatic clam (Corbicula fluminea). The nearby Potomac River was the source of reference clams used to study the bioavailability of 73 EPA priority pollutants and metals. Maximum bioaccumulation with minimum mortality occurred with a two-week clam translocation. The non-tidal tributaries (94% of total flow) contained 17 sites with higher bioavailable toxics than found in the tidal mainstem Anacostia. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were highest near industrial parks and Metro stations. Pesticide levels (80% chlordane) exceeded the fish consumption advisory at small urban upstream sites in four tributaries. High heptachlor epoxide levels suggested legacy chlordane dumpsites. Sediment translocation studies indicated that Corbicula accumulated toxics from the water column and not consolidated sediments.

For a .pdf version of this presentation, click here

October 18, 2012

TITLE: Emerging Threats to Pennsylvania’s Ichthyofauna: Natural Gas Extraction/Climate Change

David Argent and William Kimmel (California University of Pennsylvania)

Synopsis: Historically, surface water quality throughout southwestern Pennsylvania has been degraded by a variety of anthropogenic activities. Mandates from the Clean Water and Surface Mine Reclamation Acts have improved water quality and fostered recovery of fishery resources. Recently, several new threats to aquatic ecosystem integrity are emerging that could interrupt the recovery process. This seminar will describe baseline studies which highlight the potential impacts of two such stressors: natural gas extraction and climate change.

Click here to view the presentation as a .pdf file

November 15, 2012

TITLE: Integrating Stream and Wetland Restoration to Maximize Functional Benefits

Joe Berg (Biohabitats, Inc., Baltimore MD), Keith Underwood (U&A, Inc., Annapolis MD) and Solange Filosa (University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Science, Solomons MD)

Synopsis: This seminar will provide a perspective on stream, wetland, and floodplain ecology and restoration in the region, including a discussion of the historical context and current management challenges. The speakers will address the sediment-rich, post-colonial land clearing period in this region; active channel enlargement due to modified watershed hydrology; sediment transport in urban streams; the need to modify hydrology to truly ‘restore’ streams; converting conveyance channels to material processing systems; and the regenerative design as one approach to benefiting society and the resource. The seminar will touch on how multiple restoration approaches, including Natural Channel Design, floodplain excavation, placement of woody debris, and base-flow channel design have been used to meet management goals. The seminar will also provide an overview of the University of Maryland’s stream monitoring results and offer insights into how stream restoration may be used to further some of the Bay Program goals.

January 17, 2013

THIS SEMINAR HAS BEEN CANCELLED, SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

TITLE: Mothers and management influence reproductive potential in Chesapeake Bay striped bass

Adam Peer (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory)

Synopsis: This seminar will present results of an analysis designed to evaluate the likely environmental drivers of migration phenology in Chesapeake Bay striped bass. Possible cues for migration phenology in the context of climate change and possible reproductive consequences of interactions between a variable climate and a temporally-fixed “trophy” fishing season will be discussed. This seminar will also present results of a study designed to investigate the importance of female striped bass energetic condition on three measures of reproductive potential: (1) probability of a mature female spawning, (2) relative fecundity, and (3) relative oocyte volume.

February ,14 2013

TITLE: Maryland’s GreenPrint: A Land Protection and Planning Tool for DNR-Wide Conservation Priorities

Christine Conn (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis)

Synopsis: Christine Conn, with MD/DNR's Office for a Sustainable Future, will provide an overview of the Department's updated GreenPrint interactive map. The GreenPrint tool has been expanded to include additional information and guidance on DNR’s comprehensive set of conservation priorities. This enhancement was designed not only to update the ecological priorities DNR uses to focus Stateside Program Open Space conservation funding, but to also improve the communication and implementation of DNR’s conservation values. Christine, along with other DNR GreenPrint Team members, will discuss how the tool is being used in a variety of applications including local government planning, integration with sister state agency programs, regional conservation planning and education, and outreach to land trusts and environmental groups.

March 14, 2013

TITLE: From Columbia to Colombia

Sarah Widman (Maryland Department of Natural Resources)

Synopsis: Bring your lunch and join Sarah, a DNR Fisheries Service employee, as she reminisces about her month-long adoption journey to Colombia, South America. She’ll show photos and tell you about Ibague, Bogota, and Cartagena. She’ll also share stories from her adventures, including what she learned about Colombian culture, geography, and much more.

April 18, 2013

TITLE: Can Terrestrial Landscapes Remove Mercury from the Atmosphere?

Mark Castro (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Appalachian Laboratory)

Synopsis: TBD

May 9, 2013:

TITLE: Snakes Wanted: the Maryland Herp Atlas Project

Glenn Therres (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis)