December Southern Plains Drought Webinar

Webinar Description

Rainfall has finally returned to some areas within the Southern Plains, and drought is beginning to improve across the region. This webinar will provide an overview of current and forecast drought conditions for Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. 

Freshwater mussels are declining worldwide, and drought is a major threat to their persistence. Mussels inhabiting river systems characterized by frequent flash floods and extreme droughts face an especially uncertain future. This presentation provides a brief overview of freshwater mussel ecology and the impacts of drought, drawing on research conducted over the past 5–10 years in the upper Colorado River basin in Texas, where today's depauperate mussel communities are remnants of historically dense and thriving mussel beds.

This webinar will be recorded.

Presentations

• Current Drought Conditions: Joel Lisonbee, Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences, NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System
• Impacts of Drought on Freshwater Mussels: Dr. Astrid Schwalb, Texas State University