October 10, 2012, Wednesday - A Sip of Science at Aster Cafe

Time: 5:30pm

Location: Aster Cafe, 125 SE Main Street

A SIP OF SCIENCE - Invasive Species: The Biology and the Ideology

Humans have been transporting species from one region of the earth to another, both intentionally and unintentionally for centuries. However, the rate and extent of species introductions have exploded during the past century. For the past several decades, scientists, conservationists, and environmentalists have consistently viewed species introductions as undesirable, and society spends considerable effort and money to prevent new introductions and to eradicate or manage species that have already been introduced.  Yet, to what extent are our views of nonnative species based on good science? To what extent are they influenced by beliefs and values that are not grounded within science? Join biology professor Mark A. Davis of Macalaster College for a lively discussion.
 
About our speaker:
Mark A. Davis is DeWitt Wallace Professor and Chair of Biology at Macalaster College. He is the author of the book Invasion Biology (Oxford University Press, 2009) and co-author of the influential essay "Don't Judge Species on their Origins," published in Nature in 2011. Professor Davis appeared on MPR and Science Friday with Ira Flatow. He was educated at Harvard and Dartmouth.
 
A SIP OF SCIENCE bridges the gap between science and culture in a setting that bridges the gap between brain and belly. Food, beer, and learning are on the menu in a happy hour forum in which researchers pair with musicians, artists and storytellers to put science in context through storytelling.