Jamie Kneitel will highlight the importance of freshwater environments and their incredible biodiversity in our region. He will also address the threats to these  ecosystems and their conservation. 

Jamie Kneitel is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at California State University, Sacramento. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, a Master’s degree from California State University, Northridge, and a Ph.D. from Florida State University.  Jamie spent 2 years as the Tyson Postdoctoral Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis and has been at Sac State since 2004. His research addresses how the environment affects biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in seasonal wetlands, including vernal pools. He has mentored close to 100 undergraduate and graduate students and has published over 40 articles, and presented over 100 talks. His research has been supported by many funding agencies, including the National Science Foundation, and includes both national and international collaborations. He also serves on the editorial board for two academic journals. He received a Fulbright Scholar Award and spent 2017-18 conducting research and teaching in Israel and Morocco.