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Thu, Jun 7, 7:30pm
As the Bay checkerspot butterfly populations on the San Francisco Peninsula collapsed and vanished over the course of the last two decades, a group of Stanford research scientists were paying very close attention. An incredible amount of knowledge was gained while studying these local population extinctions, revealing not only a detailed picture of an endangered butterfly species ecology, but also a complex and profound set of relationships between the plant kingdom and modern human activity.
Dr. Stuart Weiss, a former member of the Stanford research group and strong advocate for the conservation of Bay checkerspot butterfly habitat, will speak to us about the research path that he has taken, which led to a milestone reintroduction event this spring. In February and March, 1,000 Bay checkerspot caterpillars were collected on Coyote Ridge and transferred to Edgewood County Park. On April 5, a ceremonial release of 12 adult butterflies provided a celebratory moment, one that was covered by local media including TV stations and newspapers.
Dr. Weiss, a CNPS Santa Clara Valley Chapter member, is a freelance conservation biologist who has been studying checkerspot butterflies and serpentine ecology since 1979. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford in 1996, and has authored more than 25 scientific publications. He has been a driving force in conserving the delicately balanced serpentine plant communities on Coyote Ridge, an area southeast of San Jose that is key to the survival of the federally-endangered Bay checkerspot. |
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San Francisco Botanical Garden's beauty and value as a major cultural resource are the result of a successful public/private partnership between San Francisco Botanical Garden Society and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department.