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List of Conservation Committee Members: 2006 - 2007



Colleen Cassady St. Clair, Chair
Guillermo Paz-y-Miño C., Past Chair

Allison C. Alberts
Daniel T. Blumstein
Richard Buchholz
Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf
J. Cully Nordby
Debra Shier
Ronald R. Swaisgood
Ilonka von Lippke
Mark L. Wildhaber

More information about our members

Colleen Cassady St. Clair, PhD, Chair
Department of Biological Sciences University of Alberta cstclair@ualberta.ca

I work at the interface between Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Biology by studying the movement behaviour of animals living in human-altered landscapes. Recent work with my students concerns the way animals assess and respond to habitat barriers and corridors. My group is also studying the relative importance of landscape configuration to species distribution and population parameters by comparing these landscape effects to small-scale habitat selection and large-scale weather phenomena. A final aspect of this research assesses the potential to use behavioural manipulation, such as aversive conditioning, to solve management problems that stem from changes to the movement and distribution of animals in fragmented landscapes.

Guillermo Paz-y-Mino C., PhD, Past Chair
Department of Biology Kalyan K. Ghosh Center for Science & Technology ST-L310 Worcester College 486 Chandler Street Worcester, MA 01602-2597, USA e-mail: gpazymino@worcester.edu

I have broad interest and training in different fields of science, including behavioral ecology, cognitive ethology, neurobiology, and conservation biology. My research focuses in three main areas: the link between different levels of social organization and the cognitive abilities of animals (social cognition); the association between socio-sexual behaviors and the communication of signals for the recognition of kin (particularly the role of social memory for kin recognition); and the application of behavioral paradigms in conservation biology. I work with different biological systems including birds, mammals, and nematodes.

Allison C. Alberts, PhD
Applied Conservation Division Zoological Society of San Diego aalberts@sandiegozoo.org

Much of my career has been spent studying iguanas, and I currently serve as co-chair of the IUCN-World Conservation Union Iguana Specialist Group. Because they facilitate germination, promote seedling growth, and disperse the seeds of the native plants they consume, iguanas play an important role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Although my early work concentrated on social communication in desert and green iguanas, since 1993, I have been carrying out applied research on the critically endangered rock iguanas of the Caribbean. My work includes studies on the behavior and reproductive ecology of wild iguana populations, experiments to determine optimal egg incubation parameters, population surveys, translocation programs, and educational outreach efforts. Most recently, my colleagues and I have been exploring the utility of in-country "headstarting" programs, in which juvenile rock iguanas are reared in a safe environment until they are no longer vulnerable to introduced predators, as a conservation strategy for augmenting wild populations. In addition to my work in the Caribbean, I have a long-standing interest in the conservation of biodiversity in Southern California. My research group is currently involved in recovery programs for a number of threatened species, as well as outreach in local communities to increase public understanding and appreciation. One of our primary focus areas continues to be the restoration of endangered Southern California ecosystems to a more natural, healthy, and productive state. We are actively exploring a variety of restoration approaches, including reintroduction of keystone vertebrate species to their native range, seed banking for revegetation of disturbed areas, and invasive plant removal.

Daniel T. Blumstein, PhD
Department of Organismic Biology, Ecology & Evolution University of California Los Angeles marmots@ucla.edu

I am a behavioral ecologist broadly interested in the evolution of social and antipredator behavior. My research has several themes: it is broadly interdisciplinary; it combines in situ, ex situ, and comparative studies; it uses the process of research to educate students and members of the community about science; and it integrates theory with applied biology. Current work focuses on three questions: 1) developing predictive models of the persistence of antipredator behavior under relaxed-selection; 2) understanding the evolution of complex communication and sociality; 3) developing an empirically-derived evolutionary ecology of fear. Additionally, I am the principle investigator on a project that develops JWatcher--a freely distributed program to quantify and analyze behavior. My conservation behavior experience includes both theoretical reviews which highlight and identify the relevance of behavioral knowledge for conservation questions, as well as theoretical and empirical work focusing on ways to increase reintroduction success. I am a member of the IUCN Reintroduction Specialist Group. I work with marmots, kangaroos, wallabies, and birds.

Richard Buchholz, PhD
Department of Biology University of Mississippi byrb@olemiss.edu

I study the adaptive function of multiple sexual signaling structures primarily in birds. I am also exploring how variation in animal behavior impacts the conservation of isolated and fragmented populations.


Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf
Lincoln Park Zoo University of Chicago
Elizabeth is the Director of Field Conservation at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago and a faculty member of the Committee on Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago. She administers the zoo's support of and participation in field conservation projects, which include overseeing the zoo's Africa/Asia and Neotropic Field Conservation Funds. Elizabeth works at Gombe National Park, Tanzania, where she supervises a health monitoring project for the Gombe chimpanzees (funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Great Ape Conservation Fund). This project includes the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Jane Goodall Institute, University of Minnesota and Tanzania National Parks. Lonsdorf serves on the Field Conservation Committee of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) and on the Section on Great Apes of the IUCN Primate Specialist Group.

J. Cully Nordby, PhD
University of California Berkeley nordby@nature.berkeley.edu

My research focuses on the behavioral ecology and conservation biology of birds, with particular emphasis on understanding how native species respond behaviorally to exotic species invasions. Because exotic invasions can alter ecosystems very rapidly, it is crucial that we assess whether native species possess enough behavioral flexibility, or plasticity, to cope with changes in their environment. I am currently examining how changes in habitat associated with the invasion of an Atlantic cordgrass into the salt marshes of San Francisco Bay affects the reproductive, territorial and foraging behavior and interspecific competition of resident song sparrows and marsh wrens.

Debra Shier, MA
University of California Davis dmshier@ucdavis.edu

For nearly a decade I have been studying the ways in which an understanding of an animal's behavior can directly contribute to conservation decisions. My research has focused on small mammals that play an integral role in ecosystem processes. Specifically, my research addresses the social and ecological influences on the development of antipredator behavior. My studies are applied to both captive breeding-reintroduction and translocation programs. My current project uses black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) to investigate the importance of family social interactions for survival and the kinds of captive learning experiences that are required for the development of effective antipredator behavior after release into the wild.

Ronald R. Swaisgood, Ph.D.
Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species Zoological Society of San Diego rswaisgood@sandiegozoo.org

I am a broadly trained behavioral ecologist seeking avenues to apply my expertise in support of conservation efforts. I have been employed at the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES), Zoological Society of San Diego since 1995. I maintain several active projects, primarily with the giant panda and rhinoceros species. For the past few years I have spent several months each year at the panda breeding center in the Wolong Nature Reserve (China) conducting studies aimed at improving captive breeding and building base knowledge for potential use in conservation of wild populations. Research areas include chemical communication, mate choice, reproductive behavior, stress, well-being, enrichment, and maternal care. I also have conducted studies of reproductive behavior and physiology and chemical communication in the southern and northern white rhino and Indian rhino in captive settings, seeking to determine the cause of reproductive failure in the F2 generation. For the past three years I have conducted a similar study with white rhino in Umfolozi Game Reserve, South Africa. More recently, I have been involved in a research program examining the use of scent communication to reduce aggression and fight-related mortalities in translocated black rhino in Namibia and South Africa. I also maintain an active program with the pygmy loris, studying chemical communication, mate choice and reproductive behavior.

Ilonka von Lippke, MSc
University of California Los Angeles ilonka@ucla.edu

I am interested in the evolution of social behavior, particularly in bird systems. I study how behavioral, ecological and genetic factors influence the variation in an individual's breeding success, the formation and maintenance of family social dynamics, and within group conflict. I am also interested in conservation genetics. I have conducted research in neotropical ornithology, particularly in mainland Ecuador and the Galapagos Archipelago, South America.


Mark L. Wildhaber
Columbia Environmental Research Center

Mark is a quantitative ecologist and conservation behaviorist at Columbia Environmental Research Center, US Geological Survey. His research includes studies of the reproductive behavior and physiology and abiotic and biotic requirements for reproductive success of fish species that are federally-listed as threatened or endangered. One of Mark's ultimate goals is to use this information, along with information on fish behavior as it relates to thermoregulation, foraging, and bioenergetics, to develop mathematical models within an individual-based and spatially- explicit framework that describe aquatic community dynamics.

ABS Conservation Committee

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List of Conservation Committee Members: 2006 - 2007