Institute’s September lecturer to address climate anxiety

WANCHESE — Dr. Pail Taillie, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Environment, is the featured speaker for the next “Science on the Sound” Lecture Series at the Coastal Studies Institute on the East Carolina University Outer Banks Campus.

The monthly, in-person lecture series brings perspectives from all over the state and highlights coastal topics in northeastern North Carolina. This month, Taillie is to present his lecture, “Coastal Ecosystems and Rising Seas: Impending Collapse or Conservation Opportunity?” at 6 p.m. Sept. 26.

The program being offered at no charge to the public is taking place on campus, 850 N.C. Highway 345, Wanchese.

“The negative consequences of climate change seem to be everywhere, making it hard to be optimistic about the future,” campus officials said in the announcement. “For anyone suffering from climate anxiety, this lecture promises some relief. Dr. Taillie will discuss the many ways that coastal ecosystems are highly resilient and capable of adapting to increasingly rapid changes in sea level. From simply counting birds with pen and paper to remote cameras and telemetry tags, he uses a variety of different techniques and tools to better understand how coastal plants and animals are responding to rising sea levels and how these responses can be used to help inform how we manage our coasts. He’ll conclude by arguing that this resilience represents a unique conservation opportunity where the impacts of climate change don’t have to be so depressing.”

Taillie earned both a master’s and doctorate in fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology from North Carolina State University. Following graduate school, he worked at the University of Florida as a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. His research and teaching broadly aim to address the implications of global change for biodiversity conservation, with a particular emphasis on wetlands, estuaries, and coasts.

The program will also be livestreamed on YouTube.