M.Ed., Coordinator, Great Salt Lake Institute
Westminster University
Bio:
Carly Biedul is an ecologist and educator who has recently become enamored with Great Salt Lake. She went to Rice University and received a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and studied cannibalistic flour beetles. After attending a graduate program on Outdoor Education at Teton Science Schools, she moved to Salt Lake City to finish her M.Ed. at Westminster University. Carly taught 1st - 5th Science Lab until she joined Great Salt Lake Institute in 2022. She is working on a monitoring plan for the brine fly population and brings students out to assist in sampling as much as possible. When not at Great Salt Lake, Carly is hiking in the Wasatch with her husband and their dog or reading with their cats.
Panel Discussion: On the Fly: The Unsung Insects Feeding Great Salt Lake Birds
Abstract: Brine flies may be the most important insect on the saline lakes corridor in the Western U.S., but they have flown under the radar, so to speak, and have not been a primary focus in most salt lake research. This panel will speak to the significance of the Ephydra species and their friends in the Great Salt Lake food chains. Brine flies have been under stress as salinity climbs in shrinking lakes, and the birds that eat them could also find themselves in peril. The panelists will broaden our view of the diversity of flies and their unique physiology. Also, how should we be monitoring them and how does this report on the health of the ecosystem? Join us as we investigate what we can do to protect brine flies and the birds they feed.