Brookdale Science Monday Explores New Technologies Protecting New Jersey’s Endangered Species

Brookdale Science Monday Explores New Technologies Protecting New Jersey’s Endangered Species
Free November 23 lecture highlights innovative conservation efforts to protect the state’s most vulnerable wildlife

How can cutting-edge technology help save New Jersey’s endangered wildlife? From the American kestrel, the state’s smallest falcon, to the elusive bog turtle and eastern tiger salamander, scientists are using innovative tools to better understand and protect species at risk.

Brookdale Community College’s next Science Monday lecture, “Habitat Conservation for Endangered Species in NJ,” will take place Monday, November 23, at 6:30 p.m. in the Twin Lights Rooms of the Student Life Center on the Lincroft campus. The event is free and open to the public.

The featured speaker, William “Bill” Pitts, senior zoologist with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Fish & Wildlife Endangered & Nongame Species Program, will explore how emerging technologies are transforming wildlife conservation efforts across the state.

Attendees will learn how scientists use environmental DNA (eDNA), which detects traces of genetic material in environmental samples, to identify the presence of species without directly observing them. Pitts will also discuss geographic information system (GIS) modeling, a technology that helps researchers identify suitable habitats and better understand the ecosystems endangered species need to survive.

These advances are expanding scientists’ ability to monitor wildlife populations, protect critical breeding habitats and develop conservation strategies that support the long-term survival of threatened and endangered species.

Pitts has worked with the Endangered & Nongame Species Program since 2005, managing conservation projects involving eastern tiger salamanders, migratory shorebirds and American kestrels. His work also includes partnerships with organizations such as the Conserve Wildlife Foundation and Raritan Headwaters Association, helping engage communities in wildlife conservation through public education and citizen science initiatives.

Presented in collaboration with the Sierra Club’s Jersey Shore Group, Brookdale’s Science Monday series brings scientists, researchers and environmental experts to campus to share discoveries and explore issues affecting the natural world.

Lectures are held at on the fourth Monday of November, January, February, March and April in the Twin Lights Rooms of the Student Life Center. All presentations are free and open to the public, and light refreshments are served.

For more information and the complete Science Monday schedule, visit brookdalecc.edu/academics/steam/science-monday-events/.