The idea that a single gene can affect an entire landscape, with implications for climate change and ecosystem restoration, forms the basis of a documentary produced by Northern Arizona University and featuring one of its top faculty.
A Thousand Invisible Cords: From Genes to Ecosystems, will have its premiere screening at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, in NAU’s Cline Library Assembly Hall. A panel discussion will follow.
“Just as the ‘green revolution’ has used genetics to help feed the world, community genetics can be used to help save and restore natural ecosystems,” said Tom Whitham, NAU Regents’ professor and executive director of the Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research.
The hourlong documentary showcases groundbreaking interdisciplinary research by a team of internationally recognized scientists from NAU and other universities around the world.
The science discussed in the film addresses several pressing issues—from safeguarding the health and biodiversity of the planet to influencing and mitigating climate change, guiding restoration of damaged ecosystems and gauging the effects of new technologies on the environment.
After the showing, a panel discussion will include individuals interviewed in the film, NAU faculty and administration, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the film’s production crew.
A Thousand Invisible Cords was produced by NAU’s IDEA Lab and is scheduled to air on PBS stations.