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COURSE INFO PROVIDER: SWSPCP Webinar
COURSE TITLE: Small herbivores interacting with macrophytes in subtropical wetlands

INSTRUCTORS Dra. M. Celeste Franceschini

COURSE DESCRIPTION Small herbivores interacting with macrophytes in subtropical wetlands
Dra. M. Celeste Franceschini
June 23, 2021, LAC Webinar

ABSTRACT:
Neotropical wetlands show the highest values of macrophyte diversity and endemism, having high rates of plant productivity and biomass in comparison to those from temperate and cold regions. In the Neotropics, (mainly in the Northeast of Argentina), large mammal herbivores have low abundance and diversity, and therefore, macrophytes are impacted mainly by small herbivores, as invertebrates. Historically, the abundance of the small invertebrate herbivores and their influence on macrophyte communities have been little considered as a biotic process. In this webinar, we analyze and discuss the following questions (1) How important is invertebrate herbivory on Neotropical macrophytes? (2) Are herbivores really scarce within the invertebrate assemblages in these wetland ecosystems? (3) How does the herbivore-macrophyte interaction work in artificial wetlands (rice paddies) and what is its relevance for pest management? Finally, the role of invertebrate herbivores in Neotropical wetlands is discussed, comparing the results with those obtained in those from the Afrotropics.

BIO:
Celeste Franceschini is Argentinian (and also a little Italian). She is a biologist by choice and passion, graduated from the Universidad Nacional del Nordesteâ�� (Corrientes), and did her Ph.D. at the â��Universidad Nacional de La Plataâ�� (Buenos Aires). She developed part of her Ph.D. at the Max-Planck Institute fÃ¼r Limnologie (Germany). She also made stays in Spain, France, Zambia, and South Africa. Her areas of research interest are: the role and effect of invertebrate herbivores in Neotropical and Afrotropical macrophytes, invasive macrophytes and herbivore assemblages, biology and ecology of the semiaquatic grasshopper Cornops aquaticum, biological control of aquatic weeds, herbivorous insects in rice paddies, and pest management. She has published many scientific papers and acted also as a reviewer. Currently, she works as a Researcher of the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina (CONICET), at the â��Herbivory and Biological Control Laboratory (HeCoB), with an AMAZING TEAM. The HeCoB Lab is part of the â��Centro de EcologÃa Aplicada del Litoralâ��, in Corrientes province, which is a wetland paradise. She likes working multidisciplinary, taking challenges, traveling and know different people and cultures. She loves life, her job, nature, and kayaking. She dreams to go back to work in Africa.

Credit Points: 0.06

SYLLABUS/TOPICAL OUTLINE 1. Neotropical wetland ecology (15 min.) 2. The importance and scale of invertebrate herbivory in Argentinaâ��s Neotropical macrophyte communities, including artificial wetlands (rice paddies) (30 min.) 3. Discussion: The role of invertebrate herbivores in Argentinaâ��s Neotropical wetlands and a comparison with the Afrotropics (15 min.) 4. Questions (15 min.)

COURSE CONTACT

Louis Mantini
9225 CR 49, Live Oak, FL 32060
lfm@srwmd.org
P: 386.647.3144
F: 386.632.1056

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