Kea in flight. Credit: Steve Attwood
The talk is at 7.30pm on Thursday 17th October at Blenheim School Hall, Seymour St. Gold coin donation please to help cover the hall hire.
Kea are a relatively well know bird species, because of their high-profile activities around humans in alpine areas of the South Island, but these interactions can put them at risk. Additionally there are threats from introduced predators like stoats and cats, particularly for nesting females and their nestlings. Laura has been at the forefront of researching the threats that mean population numbers are declining and then looking at ways to redress the balance.
More information about Dr Laura Young:
Field Coordinator and Community Engagement Coordinator
Ph.D(ecology); MSc(ecology); BSc (biology)
Laura completed her PhD in alpine ecology in 2012. Laura’s research showed that kea are by far the most important dispersers of seed of most mountain plants and declining kea populations may be detrimental for native plants in the long term. Laura has also been involved in a range of biodiversity monitoring, research and conservation projects – from kea to plant communities in Panama – and enjoys working with local communities to achieve conservation outcomes.