October 09, 2024
The September 18 debut of GCA in San Francisco drew a full house of sixty young professionals for Dr. Brent Hughes' presentation, "Unlikely Heroes: Sea Otters in Monterey Bay". Why “unlikely heroes”? Dr Hughes, whose study initially focused on eelgrass, discovered eelgrass was recovering in spite of a destructive algal bloom. He said that the loss of the top--or apex--predator can imbalance the environment and precipitate a natural disaster. The sea otter, Dr. Hughes explained, was the apex predator. Once the sea otter was introduced to Monterey Bay, balance was restored. Dr. Hughes warned this is a cautionary tale as we are losing many of our apex predators.
The evening was sold-out with a waitlist for future GCA in the City SF events. Attendees mingled, enjoying California wines, IPAs, and the chance to meet speakers and GCA club members. Dr. Hughes’ research, featured in “Nature” as “Significant Otters”, highlighted the sea otters' other role in restoring estuaries by eating invasive marsh crabs.
In addition, Dan Spiegel, a GCA 2024-2025 Rome Prize Fellow in Landscape Architecture, shared insights on life-changing GCA scholarships.
The group will reconvene on October 26 for a private tour of The Marine Mammal Center, the world’s largest marine mammal hospital. Interested young friends can be invited to future events by emailing gcainthecity@gcamerica.org.
In Other News...
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October 02, 2024
GCA Grant Helps Restore Bayou Bend in Houston
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The GCA Announces the Montine McDaniel Freeman Medal
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