April 13-17

04/10/2015 Uncategorized Comments Off on April 13-17

Monday, April 13

No Seminars

Tuesday, April 14

No seminars

Wednesday, April 15

No Seminars

Thursday, April 16

Phenology Walk with the Student Naturalists
Join the St. Olaf Student Naturalists this Thursday, April 16th at 4:00 pm to take a phenology walk through the Natural Lands! We will be looking for signs of spring including spring ephemerals, arriving migratory birds, and any other fun flora and fauna we can spot. Also join us if you are interested in hearing about the ecological research being done at St. Olaf or the diverse natural habitats of the Natural Lands! We will be meeting outside of the Science Library. This event is in collaboration with SustainAbilities “Quiet Day”.
Questions? Email boll@stolaf.edu
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Friday, April 17

Biology Seminar: Understanding Range Collapse in Large African Carnivores
Andrew Jacobson, St. Olaf Biology major ‘05
Graduate student, University College London/Zoological Society of London
3:00 PM RNS 410
East Africa holds globally significant, yet declining, populations of lions Panthera leo, cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus and African wild dogs Lycaon pictus. These carnivores contribute to multi-billion dollar tourism operations, and as apex predators help regulate ecosystems; however, they are also responsible for significant human and livestock deaths. Despite their status as large carnivores, these species vary in their susceptibility and reaction to threats. Illegal killing and habitat loss via land conversion are two primary threats to large carnivores. Using recently released human population estimates and newly created data on land conversion, I investigate these carnivores’ susceptibility to their primary threats using two species distribution modeling approaches to ascertain which environmental factors explain current distribution. Results from this research will aid in determining appropriate management and conservation strategies. Identifying how species respond to land conversion and human population increases will enable land use planners to better designate zones where large carnivores can survive despite increasing human populations and land conversion.

MSCS Seminar: Matching Method for Nodal Solutions of Boundary Value Problems With Integral Boundary Conditions
Tom St. George, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Carroll University
In this talk, I will be discussing a result on existence of solutions, with certain zero counting properties, to boundary value problems involving double Riemann-Stieltjes integral boundary conditions. The proof of this result rely on the matching method. A result on nonexistence of solutions with certain zero counting properties will also be discussed.
3:35 PM RNS 204