Calendar of Events
Community Events

Online

  • 1/11/24 7pm
    How old am I? The answer is in my genes
    Please join us at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11 for a Winter Wildlife Series lecture titled "How old am I? The answer is in my genes." Ehren Epperson will present work from a collaborative project with ADFG staff Jeff Stetz, Sarah Rauchenstein and Trista Sims, and staff from USFWS and AITRIC, using epigenetics analysis to develop a "genetic clock" to estimate ages for polar bears, brown bears, and black bears in Alaska.

    Ehren has worked for USFS as a wilderness ranger at Pack Creek Brown Bear Sanctuary on Admiralty Island, and as a research technician studying black bears for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife. He has also worked for NPS at Sequia Natl Park as a bear management ranger and served two years with the Alaska State Troopers A-star Helicopter team. Ehren is currently a Wildlife Tech III in Palmer and is excited to share work from this ground-breaking collaborative project. Registration for the online presentation is required. Register here.
  • 2/8/24 7pm
    Studying Tree Swallows in Southcentral Alaska
    Join us at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 8 for the Winter Wildlife Series virtual presentation "Studying Tree Swallows in Southcentral Alaska" with Rachel Gingras. North America has experienced a 32% decline in birds that feed on seasonally abundant insect populations. Pinpointing the non-breeding origins and routes of migratory birds is critical for understanding these declines. Using Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor; TRES) as a model organism, stable isotope ecology techniques and geolocator data are being used to study interannual variation in both breeding and non-breeding origins, migratory catchment, and dispersal for Tree Swallows breeding in Southcentral Alaska. While pursuing a BS degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage, Rachel Gingras worked on a Tree Swallow monitoring project examining stable isotope variability in multiple tissues. She received an MS in Biological Sciences from UAA in 2022 studying Tree Swallow migration. Rachel is a Wildlife Technician 3 at ADF&G's Wildlife Information Center. Registration is required for this online event and is available here.