SENR Seminar Series welcomes PhD students

The SENR Seminar Series welcomes PhD students Keely Fisher and Ashani Hangawatte, who will present their research starting at 4:00 pm in room 103 Kottman Hall  or via Zoom. 

Keely Fisher will present, "A love letter to the Land: Exploring the relationship between foraging and emotional connection to the environment"

Summary: Our emotional connections influence and moderate all human behaviors and can have a particularly strong effect on behaviors relating to the environment. Oftentimes, scholars think about these positive emotions as being operationalized through sense of place. Many people, however, do not speak about their positive emotional attachment to nature in the way that scholars do, and I argue that positioning our scientific inquiry in commonly used terms like love will allow for a more nuanced way of understanding the human relationship with the natural world. I weave together literature from sociology of emotion, liberatory feminist thought, and environmental history to build a contemporary theory of environmental love. Using surveys, foraging interviews, and video interaction analysis, I plan to categorize this broader theory of environmental love in ways that reflect the variety of love that people speak about and act upon when engaging with natural spaces. I hope that these results will speak to the ways that people, including non-landowning people, can use foraging to connect to and care for the land and, by extent, help us determine ways to encourage sustainable action and advocacy in spite of socioeconomic positioning or beliefs about climate change.  

Ashani Hangawatte will present, "Unraveling the Mystery of Nasopulmonary Mites: A Study on Southern Sea Otter Health and Conservation"

Abstract: Parasites, particularly when combined with other stressors, can significantly affect the health and survival of threatened species. Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis), classified as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, face persistent and substantial threats to their survival. Infectious diseases are responsible for up to 40% of mortalities among southern sea otters, with Nasopulmonary mite (NPM) infestations observed in 25.6% of stranded animals along the California coast between 2012 and 2017. NPM infestations are recognized as a potential sub-lethal factor contributing to southern sea otter mortality. NPMs can cause severe pathology by invading the upper and lower respiratory tracts, leading to inflammation, mucosal irritation, epithelial damage, respiratory illness, secondary infections, and, in cases of severe infestation, death. Our understanding of the host-parasite dynamics is severely limited, hindering progress in addressing this ongoing issue. Previous research has identified the species of NPMs affecting southern sea otters. Studies have also emphasized the increased risk of infestation in captive environments and the heightened likelihood of infestations in areas closer to harbor seals. Additionally, at least 16 potentially pathogenic bacteria have been discovered within NPM populations.

The goal of my dissertation project is to deepen our understanding of the host-parasite interactions between southern sea otters and NPMs, with a focus on informing management and recovery efforts for this threatened species. Specifically, the project aims to: 1) investigate the immune response of southern sea otters to NPM infestations, 2) assess the role of NPMs in transmitting Streptococcus phocae, a pathogen linked to severe diseases like pneumonia and septicemia in marine mammals, 3) evaluate the survival of NPMs outside the host and explore chemical strategies for their elimination in captive settings, and 4) determine the biotic and abiotic factors driving geographic hotspots of NPM infestations in southern sea otter populations. By addressing these objectives, the project aims to enhance conservation strategies for southern sea otters and other marine mammals affected by these parasitic interactions.