Inspiration Dissemination

In a rapid fire interview, Rebecca Mostow connects her research on dunegrasses along the coastline of the Pacific Northwest and Dune, the new film adapted from a SciFi book series. The book series envisions a planet with constantly shifting sand dunes, an idea that the books’ author originally had when he visited Oregon’s sand dunes in Florence in the 1950’s. During this time period, federal and local agencies were planting a variety of plant species to keep the sand dunes stable making the lives of coastal communities less … sandy. It worked, and some would consider it a real-life example of terraforming. This concept is exemplified by a character in the Dune series named Pardot Kynes, a plant ecologist helping locals adapt to their sandy environment through their knowledge of plants as a sand dune stabilizer. In real life, there have been trade-offs between more stable sand dunes, helpful for local communities and limiting coastal erosion, but at the detriment of two currently threatened birds who depend on sand dunes that are constantly shifting in the winds. We discuss Rebecca’s findings of a new hybridized beach grass as part of her PhD, a community science project mapping more of these dunegrasses, and its implications for how to manage ecosystems and communities moving forward.

Hosted by Lisa Hildebrand and Adrian Gallo.

Inspiration Dissemination Blog: https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/inspiration/2021/10/25/the-promise-and-peril-of-new-plants-on-oregons-sand-dunes/

Show Notes

In a rapid fire interview, Rebecca Mostow connects her research on dunegrasses along the coastline of the Pacific Northwest and Dune, the new film adapted from a SciFi book series. The book series envisions a planet with constantly shifting sand dunes, an idea that the books’ author originally had when he visited Oregon’s sand dunes in Florence in the 1950’s. During this time period, federal and local agencies were planting a variety of plant species to keep the sand dunes stable making the lives of coastal communities less … sandy. It worked, and some would consider it a real-life example of terraforming. This concept is exemplified by a character in the Dune series named Pardot Kynes, a plant ecologist helping locals adapt to their sandy environment through their knowledge of plants as a sand dune stabilizer. In real life, there have been trade-offs between more stable sand dunes, helpful for local communities and limiting coastal erosion, but at the detriment of two currently threatened birds who depend on sand dunes that are constantly shifting in the winds. We discuss Rebecca’s findings of a new hybridized beach grass as part of her PhD, a community science project mapping more of these dunegrasses, and its implications for how to manage ecosystems and communities moving forward.

Hosted by Lisa Hildebrand and Adrian Gallo.

Inspiration Dissemination Blog: https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/inspiration/2021/10/25/the-promise-and-peril-of-new-plants-on-oregons-sand-dunes/

What is Inspiration Dissemination?

Inspiration Dissemination is an award-winning radio program that occurs Sunday nights at 7PM Pacific on KBVR Corvallis, 88.7FM. Each week on the program, we host a different graduate student worker from Oregon State University to talk about their lives and passion for research here at the university. By presenting these stories, we can present the diverse, human element of graduate research that is often hidden from the public view.

Please find us on social media!

Twitter: twitter.com/kbvrID

facebook: www.facebook.com/InspirationDissemination/

Blog: blogs.oregonstate.edu/inspiration/

Radio Station: www.orangemedianetwork.com/kbvr_fm

Host University: oregonstate.edu

This show was founded in 2012 by Joey Hulbert and Zhian Kamvar. It has been made possible by all the current and former hosts of the show, Orange Media Network, the KBVR-FM students and staff, and of course the amazing graduate students at Oregon State University.