(Photo above: professor Carl Schreck)
Oregon State University – Cascades continues its Science Pub offerings with a lecture about the ancient, serpentine-looking Pacific lamprey presented by Carl Schreck, a professor of fisheries in OSU’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. “What Our Most Ancient Fish is Telling Us About Our Waters” will be presented Tuesday, May 19 at SHARC, the Sunriver Homeowners Aquatic Recreation Center, in Sunriver.
The lamprey has survived for millions of years, serving as a food source for northwest tribes who harvested the fish along Oregon’s rivers and tributaries. Within the past two decades biologists at OSU recognized that lamprey numbers were rapidly declining. OSU scientists are now working with researchers throughout the region to better understand the Pacific lamprey life cycle, habitat and reproductive needs.
A leader of the United States Geological Survey’s Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Schreck studies the physiology of fish and the effects of stress on their health, migration and development. His talk will explore the lamprey’s life cycle, which starts in sediment at the bottom of streams and continues to adulthood when the lamprey matures into a meter-long and parasitic fish. Schreck will explain how, despite their appearance and behavior, the lamprey provide numerous valuable ecological services.
Science Pubs take place from 5:30-7:30pm. Networking and food and beverage service begin at 5:30pm, and the presentation begins at 6:30pm. Science Pubs are free to community members, but reservations are required. Space is limited to 100 guests.
To register, visit http://www.osucascades.edu/sciencepubs.
RSVP online by 5pm the day prior to each Science Pub.
