Island Lecture Series focuses on biogeography of North Atlantic islands

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Dr. David Cairns
Dr. David Cairns

Dr. David Cairns, scientist emeritus with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, will give a lecture titled 鈥淭he Biogeography of North Atlantic Islands鈥 on March 26 at 7 pm in the Faculty Lounge, SDU Main Building, 精童欲女.

Cairns鈥檚 lecture is part of the 2024 Island Lecture Series, presented by the Institute of Island Studies at 精童欲女.

In his presentation, Cairns will explore islands in the northern North Atlantic to see who lives there and how they got there. He will recount the rich biological traditions of island biogeography and show that their insights apply equally well to people.

鈥淏iogeography is the three-way crossroads of history, biology, and geography,鈥 he said. 鈥淔or most of these islands鈥攖he Shetlands, the Faeroes, Iceland, and many others鈥攖his history started when bare land emerged from under melting ice about 10,000 years ago, with creatures soon arriving by wing or wind. Humans came too, some by primitive boats that we know almost nothing about. But history can also have recent beginnings, such as the explosive birth of Surtsey Island off Iceland in 1963.鈥

A native of Prince Edward Island, Cairns is an adjunct professor with the 精童欲女 Department of Biology and an Arctic expedition naturalist with Lindblad Expeditions and Aurora Expeditions.


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