Wildlife & Wine: Mutual Benefits Among Owls, Songbirds, and Vineyards in CA – Johnson – 11/19/25 SPZ

Описание: The lecture’s title is “Wildlife & Wine: Mutual Benefits Among Owls, Songbirds, and Vineyards in California.” The speaker is Dr. Matt Johnson.

This lecture was part of the Sequoia Park Zoo's 2025-2026 Conservation Lecture Series, hosted by the Sequoia Park Zoo Advisory Group's Conservation Council. These lectures are free for our community, and your donations to the Sequoia Park Zoo Conservation Fund make this possible. You can donate at www.RedwoodZoo.org/donate

Talk synopsis:
Most narratives of biodiversity and agriculture go one of two ways: either the relentless march of agriculture threatens wildlife, or wildlife species pose a risk to farmers' livelihoods. But there is a third path, one in which farmers and wildlife not only coexist but mutually benefit each other. This talk will explore such win-win scenarios with birds in California's winegrape vineyards, with special emphasis on barn owls, bluebirds, and swallows. Dr. Johnson and his students have been studying how these birds can help control pests in vineyards and how farmers can invite them onto their farms. Using state-of-the-art telemetry devices and molecular diet analyses, his team is helping reveal beneficial relationships between wildlife and the winegrape industry.

Matt Johnson is a professor of wildlife habitat ecology in the Department of Wildlife at Cal Poly Humboldt, where he has taught since 1999. Matt received his B.S. in Wildlife from the University of California at Davis and a Ph.D. in Ecology at Tulane University. Matt investigates wildlife habitat selection and habitat quality, with a particular emphasis on animals in agricultural ecosystems and the potential ecosystem services they can provide.

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