The 5:30 p.m. program in the Mainstage Theatre of the Drama Building is open to the public in recognition of Earth Week and sponsored by the CSU Stanislaus Department of Biological Sciences. The title of Patton’s talk is “The Legacy of Joseph Grinnell: Predicting the Future from the Legacy of the Past.”
Patton, a Professor Emeritus of Integrated Biology at UC Berkeley and Curator of Mammals at that University’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology from 1969 to 2001, has followed up on research by the late museum founding director Joseph Grinnell to document changes in the distribution of animal species in the Yosemite National Park region. Tracing the footsteps of Grinnell who started his extensive surveys of animal diversity in California’s high country nearly 100 years ago, Patton’s resurvey project has provided important information on the responses of natural communities and ecosystems to climate change.
“In 1910, Joseph Grinnell predicted that his survey of animals in Yosemite would be a valuable source of ecological data for future generations of scientists,” College of Natural Sciences Dean Roger McNeil said. “Nearly 100 years later, James Patton’s resurvey of Grinnell’s field sites has resulted in tremendously important evidence for the transformation of animal communities and Sierra Nevada ecosystems as a result of climate change. We are thrilled to have Patton visit CSU Stanislaus to share the results of his research with the campus and community.”
Patton is known for his fundamental contributions to museum-based studies of mammalian evolution as the most prolific gatherer of mammal specimens in the Berkeley museum’s history. He has collected nearly 20,000 specimens for the museum during his nearly 40 years of research and contributed articles to more than 140 publications.
For more information on the April 24 program, contact CSU Stanislaus Professor of Ecology Dr. Matthew R. Cover at (209) 664-6694, mcover@biology.csustan.edu.