Josefine Gyllensporre/ Contributing Writer
Canadians and New Yorkers are not the only ones that fly south for the winter.
South Florida plays an important role in bird migration, and on Tuesday Feb. 19, University students, faculty and alumni will migrate to the Luna Star Café for urban ecologist John Withey’s Ph.D., lecture “Urban environments: a bird’s eye view.”
Withey has been teaching ecology and zoology at FIU since spring 2012 and his lecture is coordinated by the School of Environment, Arts and Society.
“Dr. Withey’s work focuses on how we can better adapt our city designs to preserve habitats and create spaces for our avian visitors to South Florida,” SEAS coordinator Elaine Pritzker wrote. “This is extremely important especially in light of the large migratory populations that call Miami home at least part of the year.”
This area of the country works as both a temporary home for migrating birds, but also as an ecosystem rich with different species.
“A lot of species or a lot of individuals either pass through South Florida on their way to wherever they’re going to spend their winter and then there are quite a few species that actually do spend the winter here,” Withey said.
The lecture will cover how birds can adapt and thrive in urban environments. Withey said that this will challenge the conventional way most people think about wildlife as being mainly rural.
Withey will speak about the importance of developing and maintaining such urban areas as city parks, in order to keep birds close.
According to Withey, balancing development and growth with ecological responsibility is a must. However, this is not the sole message he wants to convey. There is also value and possibility in being close to nature, even in an urban setting.
“Having wildlife in the city is kind of nice to have that kind of connection with nature, you can have that with trees in your backyard too but I think it’s really valuable to have that as part of the urban system,” Withey said.
Though he does not describe himself as “anti-development,” Withey sees the importance in investing in the nurturing of wildlife within city limits not solely for aesthetic purposes, but also as a nesting place for different species.
“Even though the economy is down there is pressure for continued development of small parks, ” said Withey. “It’s not just that it’s nice to have some trees around but birds and other species really use them; they are important. If they disappear completely it would be a big loss for people to be able to see these species.”
Withey’s lecture is part of the Eat Think and Be Merry series sponsored by SEAS through the National Science Foundation. These events are all free and open to the public.
