Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
The Future of the Beautiful and Biodiverse Amazon Rainforest
Speaker
Nigella Hillgarth, PhD
Coordinator
Steve Clarey
The Amazon River is one of the longest rivers in the world and it has the largest watershed and the most tributaries of any river in the world. The Watershed, or Amazon Basin is 2,720,000 square miles and spans nine nations in South America. Its flora and fauna are extraordinarily diverse and it is a fascinating place to visit. This vast rainforest sequesters carbon dioxide and produces vital oxygen, however, climate change, mining and forestry are having a serious impact on the Amazon. In recent years scientists have realized that the destruction of the Amazon also impacts rainfall across much of South America. This realization is helping to slow further damage and the Amazon may have a brighter future than predicated. This lecture will discuss some of the diversity of the region based on the speaker’s recent visit there and explain why the Amazon has such a huge influence on the whole South American continent.
Speaker Bio
Presenter: Nigella Hillgarth, PhD is an Affiliate Professor in the Biology Department at the University of Washington, Seattle. She was previously the Executive Director of the Birch Aquarium at UC San Diego, the outreach arm of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and was responsible for developing the first major exhibit on climate change in the US focusing on oceans. Nigella was born in Ireland and received her bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Oxford University in the UK as well as a PhD in Evolutionary Biology. She is a noted wildlife photographer
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