The Greater Sage-Grouse, an iconic and threatened species of the American West, is known for its spectacular mating displays as well as for extraordinary conservation efforts to address a 90%+ population decline caused in large part by habitat loss. Gail Patricelli, professor at University of California, Davis, studies Sage-Grouse courtship behaviors using robotic female replicas she calls “fembots” to determine what attracts males on the lek, what disrupts those mating signals, and how that information can contribute to saving the species as well as its habitat.
Gail will share insights from her fascinating research – including video of dancing males with spiky tails spread and yellow chest sacs inflated to impress her remote-controlled “ladies” – as well as a brief profile of the bird’s lifecycle, range and conservation status.
ONLINE PARTICIPATION INSTRUCTIONS
The presentations will be on Zoom. You must install the Zoom application (Zoom Client for Meetings) on your computer. We strongly recommend doing this BEFORE the events.
We will be emailing online participation instructions for each event. You must be on the email list to receive the link to the program.
Download the Zoom Client for Meetings here.
Questions? Tech support BEFORE the event? Test drive? Please call Sonny Cohen (847) 971-1101. NO SUPPORT WILL BE PROVIDED AFTER 4PM ON THE DAY OF EVENT.