Dr. Nina Schoch will give a lecture entitled “Mercury and Migration: Conservation Through the Lives of Adirondack Loons,” in the Eco Gallery on Sunday, October 7 at 2 p.m.
Dr. Schoch, Coordinator of the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation, has many years of experience as a veterinarian specializing in wildlife research and rehabilitation.
Dr. Schoch’s research focuses on the effects of mercury on Adirondack loons.
Mercury, a heavy metal toxin, is a contaminant of coal that is distributed to the atmosphere, in part, by coal-fired power plants which then finds its way into lakes and other surface waters through precipitation.
Mercury reaches its highest concentrations in animals, like loons, that feed at the top of these food chains.
Science on Sunday is a program of presentations about nature, jointly sponsored by View and the Central Adirondacks Arts and Science Advocacy (CAASA).
Future presentations will cover global warming, the “arms race” between butterflies and their food plants, mercury in food chains, the effects of acid precipitation on Adirondack fish, and the green technology behind View’s environmentally sustainable design.
Science on Sunday is held on first and third Sundays of the month and is free and open to the public. To learn more about View programming, please visit www.ViewArts.org or call 315- 369-6411.
