Snakes at the Lake with Dr. Amanda Sparkman, Eagle Lake Nature Program’s first presentation of the season, will be held Saturday, June 17th, at 7:00p.m. in Merrill Amphitheater, County Road A1, at Eagle Lake’s south shore.
Eagle Lake Nature Programs kicks off its 2017 Summer Programs with, Snakes at the Lake with Dr. Amanda Sparkman. Dr. Sparkman, of Westmont University in Santa Barbara, California, and currently doing field study at Eagle Lake, has been involved in researching Eagle Lake garter snakes since 2005, but the original study of these snakes began 40 years ago.
“We’re interested in the ecology and evolution of these snakes,” Sparkman explains, “including how they’ve adapted their growth rates, reproduction, lifespan, and behavior to different habitats surrounding Eagle Lake, as well as how they are responding genetically, physiologically, and demographically to current environmental change.”
This year it will be particularly interesting to see how or if the increased precipitation has affected the snakes at all.
According to nature program coordinator Annie Henriques presentations made last year at the lake by Sparkman and a few of her research staff were a big hit with everyone – the kids especially enjoyed asking questions and seeing the snakes close-up.
If you’ve been at Eagle Lake recently, you may have seen Amanda and her team of student-researchers.
“I enjoy returning to Eagle Lake year after year, as a beautiful, peaceful place that I know well enough to notice what stays the same, and as well as what alters with each visit; I love trying to understand why the animals that live there are behaving as they are, as the world around them shifts.”
Everyone is welcome to attend the Eagle Lake Nature programs – it’s a great event for families, campers, locals, scouts, and all who appreciate Eagle Lake. All programs are free. In the event of rain, the scheduled program will be postponed or canceled.
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