4:46 p.m., Nov. 1, 2007--The Latin American Ecologies Series, organized by the Latin American Studies Program, will present two programs and a photo exhibition in November.

The photo exhibition on the Galapagos Islands from Monday, Nov. 5, through Friday, Nov. 16, in the Perkins Gallery, will display images by award-winning photographer, Maryellen McGrath, who also is photo editor of The New York Times. The talk and exhibit were arranged by Suzanne Tierney-Gula, assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures.

The first talk “Galapagos: Problems in Paradise,” will be given by naturalist diver, Peter Freire, at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 14, in the Perkins Gallery. The talk will focus on the impact of human activity by residents and tourists on the islands, located 600 miles off the Ecuador coast, and other issues as observed by Friere during his life in the islands.

A panel discussion, “Marine Protected Areas in the Caribbean: An Interdisciplinary Approach,” will be held at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 26, in 103 Gore Hall, with a reception to follow at 6:45 p.m. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have special status to improve the management of marine resources around the world.

The program was organized by Carla Guerrón-Montero, assistant professor of anthropology, who studied MPAs in Panama from an anthropological perspective. The speakers will be Manuel Valdes-Pizzini, professor anthropology and sociology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (UPRM), and Shirley J. Fiske, a practicing anthropologist for 22 years in the federal government and currently an independent consultant and adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Maryland.

Valdes-Pizzini is director of the Marine Extension Program at and the Interdisciplinary Center for Coastal Studies at UPRM and is interested in the human-nature interface. His research, which includes MPAs, fisheries and conservation, coastal gentrification and the historical and recreational uses of forests, has taken him to such places as St. Croix, Grenada, St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic. He is engaged in the development plans for MPAs in Puerto Rico.

Fiske spent 16 years with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in ocean and atmospheric policy and research, affecting ocean and coastal resources and communities and also worked for the National Sea Grant College Program. Recently, she worked for U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka of Hawaii as legislative aide for energy, natural resources, ocean and the environment. She also has served as the president of the Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists.

The series is sponsored by Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and International Programs, the Latin American Studies Program, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Marine and Earth Studies, the departments of Anthropology, Art, and Foreign Languages and Literatures, and the University Faculty Senate Committee on Cultural Activities and Public Events.

Photos from “Galapagos: Problems in Paradise,” courtesy of Maryellen McGrath