Big Muddy Speaker Series

Presentation by biologist Lisa Webb, Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Missouri-Columbia

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

• 7 p.m. presentation (6 p.m. Social Hour)
• Les Bourgeois Vineyards Bistro in Rocheport, MO
• Google Map – Directions Below

The Bistro Restaurant is closed on Tuesdays, but the bar will be open. You ARE welcome to come early, bring some food and gather with friends before the presentation. Speaker Series attendees are welcome after 6:00 p.m.

Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticide widely adopted for agricultural use throughout North America and Europe, in large part because they are selectively more toxic to insects than vertebrates.  Neonicotinoids are highly water-soluble and have reported half-lives of greater than 1000 days. The combination of these characteristics in concurrence with their widespread use suggests horizontal movement of neonicotinoids via runoff into surrounding terrestrial habitats, as well as various surface waters such as streams and wetlands.

Due to the widespread use of neonicotinoids in the midwestern United States and the recent concern over the effects on non-target taxa, Lisa Webb and her colleagues have implemented a series of field experiments to quantify neonicotinoid concentrations in Missouri wetlands and associated impacts to aquatic invertebrates and reliant avian species.

She will provide a brief overview on neonicotinoids and then discuss the results of recent studies evaluating the distribution of neonicotinoids in Missouri wetlands and what this means for aquatic invertebrates, wetland food webs and tree swallow nesting efforts.

Lisa Webb is the Assistant Unit Leader of the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and Cooperative Associate Professor in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri – Columbia.

Directions

• 14020 W. Hwy BB, Rocheport, MO
• Take I-70 to the Rocheport, MO, exit (Exit #115). It’s the first exit east of the Missouri River.
• Head north toward Rocheport.
• After about a mile, turn left at the sign for Les Bourgeois Bistro. Follow the signs to the Bistro. You will probably need to park in the lot above the Bistro and walk the trail down.
• The presentations are held in upstairs in the restaurant. The restaurant is no longer open on Tuesdays but the bar is! You are welcome to bring your own food or snacks.