What is biodiversity & why does it matter?
Biodiversity refers to the number of species of organisms found in an area. This area can be as large as the planet Earth or as small as the hind gut of a termite (which houses a myriad of microorganisms to digest cellulose).
Of late, biologists are fervently working to preserve critical habitats and to document their species, spurred in part by the increasing influence of factors known to decrease biodiversity, such as habitat loss, introduced species, pollution, nonsustainable harvesting/exploitation and human indifference.
This symposium will showcase a few areas of current biodiversity research, specifically work with tropical butterflies and wasps, and it will present sobering assessment of the current status our planet’s ecosystems and the species they support.
Ultimately the continued success of humans, as a species, will depend upon the diversity of organisms we leave for future generations.
Featured Speakers:
- Allan W. Hook, PhD
Lucian Professor of Natural Sciences, St. Edward’s University
- Philip J. DeVries, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, La. - Eric R. Pianka, PhD
Denton A. Cooley Centennial Professor of Zoology, University of Texas at Austin
Mabee Ballroom
Robert and Pearle Ragsdale Center
Followed by
the 14th Annual Senior Seminar Symposium
ABOUT THE BROTHER LUCIAN BLERSCH SYMPOSIUM
Organized by the School of Natural Sciences at St. Edward's University, the event is free and
open to the public. This symposium and a professorship in the School of Natural Sciences were
endowed by a gift from J.B.N. Morris, hs '48, '52, and his family to honor Brother Lucian Blersch,
CSC, a longtime professor of engineering at St. Edward's who died in 1986.