CULLOWHEE – A presentation on roadside trash and its implications for small mammals will be delivered Thursday, April 24, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
Patrick Brannon, director of the Highlands Nature Center at the Highlands Biological Station, will talk about research conducted by himself and his students during the 7 p.m. presentation in the museum auditorium.
For several years, Brannon and his students from WCU and other regional institutions have searched the area roadsides for bottles containing the remains of small mammals such as shrews, mice and voles. Brannon will discuss using discarded bottles as a technique for surveying small mammals and determining their distribution, and the implications of the trash on animal mortality.
A native of Tryon, Brannon earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and a master’s degree in biology at Appalachian State University.
Info: Mountain Heritage Center (828) 227-7129
– WCU
