The Making of Midwestern Prairie

Thomas Rosburg, professor of ecology and botany at Drake University, will present a lecture on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Rosburg’s lecture, titled “The Making of Midwestern Prairie: Plant Migration and Climate Change,” is free and open to the public. It will start at 7:30 p.m. Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center, Room 101. Refreshments will be served.

A native Iowan, Rosburg is well experienced in his field, having worked for the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming, the Fish and Wildlife Service in Colorado and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Ecosystems around the world have been altered by human activity, sometimes drastically, as in the case of the virtual destruction of tall-grass prairie in Iowa in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, ecosystems also change on their own due to factors unrelated to human action. The lecture will explore how climate patterns, both human altered and natural, have affected the prairie.

Rosburg grew up on a farm in western Iowa and was self-employed in agriculture from 1981-86. He earned his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from Iowa State University. At Drake University, Rosburg teaches numerous courses in ecology, botany, and natural history, amongst other subjects. His research includes an array of topics within plant ecology, most notably studies aimed towards understanding the factors that affect the species composition and structure of plant communities in prairie, forest, and wetland ecosystems.

The Center for Prairie Studies is sponsoring Rosburg’s event.

Grinnell College welcomes the participation of people with disabilities. Accommodation requests may be made to Conference Operations, 641-269-3235.

Minors under age 18 need to be accompanied by an adult. Grinnell College is not responsible for the supervision of minors on campus.