Seminar on Beachgrass Hybrid

Beach at Bob Straub State Park, with beachgrass in the foreground.\Photo by Bonnie Moreland.

Those who missed CoastWatch’s seminar with Rebecca Mostow on the recently discovered beachgrass hybrid that will be the focus of a new citizen science project will get another opportunity.  Mostow will be giving a similar talk on Thursday, June 25, 3:30 p.m., as part of the Hatfield Marine Science Center’s seminar series, now online due to the pandemic.  The talk is free and open to all. 

The presentation is entitled “A new kid on the dune: the unlikely hybridization between two non-native beachgrass species in the Pacific Northwest.”

Rebecca Mostow is a PhD candidate and National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow in the Department of Integrative Biology at Oregon State University.

The two dominant beachgrasses of the Pacific Northwest, Ammophila arenaria (European beachgrass) and A. breviligulata (American beachgrass), build tall, stable dunes that increase protection for coastal infrastructure but threaten native animal and plant species and ecological communities. For decades, these intentionally planted but invasive grasses have presented complex tradeoffs to land managers trying to balance conservation and protection of the built environment. It was recently discovered that these two grass species, which have differential effects on dune shape and native plant diversity, are hybridizing. Mostow will tell the story of how this unexpected discovery was made and explain how you can help map new hybrids and expand our understanding of this unexpected event.

To join this online presentation, go to https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/94555731151.