Florida Panhandle as 'Biodiversity Hotspot'

Oct. 8 lecture at FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory

“The Florida Panhandle: A National Ecological Treasure and Biodiversity Hotspot” is the topic of a free public lecture to be held Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009, from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, located in St. Teresa, Fla. Light refreshments will be served. The talk will highlight the natural riches of the region, which is one of the five, rare-species biodiversity hotspots identified in the continental United States. Compared with other areas in the Sunshine State and across the nation, the Florida Panhandle supports an astounding number of imperiled species.

Gary Knight will present the lecture, which will include a special emphasis on rare plants and their habitats and an overview of conservation efforts in the region. Knight is the director of the Florida Natural Areas Inventory, a non-profit organization administered by FSU and dedicated to gathering, interpreting and disseminating information critical to the conservation of the state of Florida's biological diversity. Armed with a master’s degree in biological science from The Florida State University, he has served as FNAI director since 1995 and, before that, was the organization's managed areas biologist and senior botanist between 1990 and 1995.

The lecture is the next monthly event planned for the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory’s “Coastal & Marine Conservation Lecture Series.” The laboratory is collecting non-perishable food items at each of its monthly lectures, in association with Second Harvest of the Big Bend, part of “The Nation’s Food Bank Network.” Attendees are asked to bring an item or two in order to help solve the community’s hunger crisis.

“THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE:
A NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL TREASURE AND BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT”

THURSDAY, OCT. 8, 2009
7-9 P.M.
FREE PUBLIC LECTURE / REFRESHMENTS TO FOLLOW

AUDITORIUM, FSU COASTAL AND MARINE LABORATORY

3618 HIGHWAY 98, ST. TERESA

The Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory is located in Franklin County, halfway between Carrabelle and Panacea at the intersection of highways 98 and 319, about 45 miles southwest of Tallahassee. For additional information on the lecture Oct. 8 or on future talks planned as part of the monthly lecture series, contact the laboratory at (850) 697-4095 or via e-mail at sthoman@fsu.edu.