Life Sciences Seminar
Living on the edge: pollinating insects and plant
communities along
highways
Dr. Kaitlin Stack
Whitney
Assistant Professor, Department of Science,
Technology & Society, RIT
Abstract:
What does the shift towards using roadsides for
conservation mean for pollinators and people? This seminar will present
on the results of over 5 years of research, conducted in collaboration
with many RIT students and land managers across upstate New York. We
undertook a landscape-scale experiment to study the potential impacts of
altering highway roadside management on pollinating insects, plant
communities, and human health. Additionally, we incorporated social
psychology surveys, qualitative interviews, and cost-benefit analyses to
gain deeper insights into peoples’ perceptions of the project and
roadsides as ecosystems.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Stack Whitney earned a PhD in Zoology with a
minor in Science & Technology Studies from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. Previously, she worked for the US Environmental
Protection Agency and the USDA Farmer to Farmer program. She is an
assistant professor in the Department of Science, Technology &
Society, which houses the environmental studies minor and immersion, and
an affiliated faculty member with the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality
Studies program. She teaches courses like ‘Biodiversity and Society,’
‘Introduction to Environmental Studies,’ and soon a new course in
feminist biology and queer ecology. Her research mixes quantitative and
qualitative approaches across environmental studies-- often with insects
as a lens to understand broader systems.
Intended Audience:
All are welcome.
To request an interpreter, please visit myaccess.rit.edu
Event Contact: Elizabeth Dicesare | ewdsbi@rit.edu
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