Two University of Central 海角社区 professors will be featured on KUAR’s听radio show听Arts & Letters听(89.1 FM) on听July 30,听2015 at 8:30 p.m. Fish writer and writing professor Mark Spitzer and biology professor Dr. Reid Adams will appear on the 30-minute program.
Hosted by J. Bradley Minnick, the special program will focus on Spitzer鈥檚听nonfiction book,听Return听of the Gar, recently published by the听University of North Texas Press. Spitzer, who has written two books on gar,听and Adams, who specializes in gar research,听are recognized as leading听specialists in the study of this species, especially in regard to the alligator gar, a fish听which can reach lengths of 10 feet long.
Weaving听excerpts听from Spitzer鈥檚听book with听sound bites from听Adams and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gar听authority Lindsey Lewis, the collage format of the show incorporates听original听music by the Sioux City Kid (Jared Griffin) and Know Who鈥檚 a Robot.听Produced and edited by Chris Hickey and Minnick听at KUAR, the show paints a portrait of a fascinating native species and current conservation efforts to bring听back听some nearly extinct populations.
According to Spitzer, 鈥淭he theme of gar returning happens on a few different levels. On one hand, there鈥檚 a lot of collaboration now between federal and state agencies, universities, private and public labs and hatcheries, commercial fisheries and aquariums all over the world. Basically, we鈥檝e had some success in resurrecting gator gar in the United States, which will be good for environmental balance, but there鈥檚 still a lot of work to do.鈥�
In other countries, the outlook is much bleaker for the gar family. In听Return of the Gar, Spitzer investigates gar farms in Mexico and tropical gar in Costa Rica and Nicaragua to assess the global gar situation. He also fishes for alligator gar in Thailand, where the alligator gar is considered a trophy fish and stocked along with Mekong catfish and Amazonian arapaima.
Arts &听Letters听showcases aspects of听the humanities and听literary arts听in 海角社区 and beyond. The show ends on a听highly personal听note as Spitzer, reflecting on various eco issues, releases his pet gar of 10 years into the wild.
鈥淭his听show will be rebroadcast with dates to be announced later,鈥� Minnick remarked. 鈥淭he podcast will be available at KUAR.org and also on iTunes. Check out the supplemental听section of the webpage for excerpts from interviews.鈥�
In Conway,听Return of the Gar听is听available at Hastings听and听the UCA Bookstore. It is also available online.听For more information听on this听gar episode of听Arts听& Letters,听contact Hickey at听(501)听569-8485听or Minnick at听jbminnick@ualr.edu.
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