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K-State Today

March 28, 2019

Division of Biology Seminar March 29

Submitted by Division of Biology

The Division of Biology welcomes guest speaker Debra S. Finn, Missouri State University, as part of its seminar series at 4 p.m. Friday, March 29, in 221 Ackert Hall.

Finn will talk on streams that are branching networks that drain heterogeneous terrestrial landscapes. From headwaters to mouth, natural streams have broadly predictable gradients of environmental change — but habitat mosaicism is also common, especially when streams drain complex topography and/or geology. Finn has long been captivated by the branching structure of stream networks in mountainous topography, and she will give an overview of how her research has developed through a couple of decades. Finn will emphasize multiscale ecological connectivity within and among stream networks and how natural habitat heterogeneity influences connectivity and inflates regional-scale biodiversity from population to ecosystem levels. She will specifically discuss, chronologically: 1) broad-scale patterns of dispersal and gene flow, including species of conservation concern with isolated populations in high headwaters; 2) habitat heterogeneity within and among headwaters, including the potential for identifying climate refugia in alpine streams undergoing rapid warming; 3) the potential roles of surface/subsurface (“hyporheic”) connectivity in providing refugia from flow disturbance and in powering diverse stream and riparian food webs by substantially inflating secondary production.

If you would like to visit with Finn, contact Lydia Zeglin at lzeglin@k-state.edu