“Nooks and Crannies in Oyster Clusters and their Species Diversity”

by Kwan Kim

Interstitial spaces between structures are used by prey species as a refuge and this affects the predator-prey interactions and local species diversity. To experimentally test this hypothesis, Kim will be artificially creating structures with different space morphologies to see how those various shapes of spaces can affect the species colonization over time. His presentation focused on the processes of preparing the experiment as well as results.

Kim is a Fulbright Ph.D. student from South Korea. He spent his childhood in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he witnessed the beauty of wetlands. This experience drove him to become a wildlife ecologist/conservationist and a project coordinator before coming to UF.

“SiteSightCite: Engagements with Place via Artistic Research”

by Meghan Moe Beitiks

Beginning with her Fulbright studies of site-specific performance in Latvia and ending with her most recent multi-chapter performance project, artist and UF Lecturer Meghan Moe Beitiks discussed artistic approaches to sites through the lenses of theater, performance art, and artistic research. She unpacks the historical, material, ecological and aesthetic presence of various sites and her attempts to engage with them, contextualized within cultural and art historical influences.

Beitiks has an M.F.A. in performance art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied bio-art, social practice, environmental chemistry and performance methodologies. She was a Fulbright Student Fellow to Latvia in theater arts. Beitiks is currently an interdisciplinary studio art lecturer at UF.

“Native Predators: The Protectors of Complex and Fragile Ecosystems”

By Diego Juárez-Sánchez

Predators are one of the main drivers that shape the structure of communities by controlling the prey species population and behavior. When a nonnative species enters a system, it faces different obstacles to establish a reproducing population. Native predators are one of the toughest obstacles they face. Can native predators be used as bio-controls for invasive species in complex ecosystems? Can humans learn to tolerate the predators and get benefits from this coexistence?

Juárez-Sánchez was a visiting Fulbright from Guatemala during his M.S. He is in his second year as a Ph.D. student in Christina Romagosa’s lab in the UF Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department. His research centers on trophic ecology, focusing on the interactions of native predators and nonnative prey.

For information about Fulbright Programs, please contact the UF International Center.