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Background: |
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Saving the
threatened birds of
Latin America is
truly daunting, as
human impact on the
environment is
causing an
extinction crisis
worldwide in which
species are being
lost at a rate 100
times faster than
usual in the
geologic past. The
problems are
especially grave in
Latin America,
which, with only 16
percent of the
world’s landmass,
possesses the
richest bird fauna
on earth. Of the 11
percent of the
world’s birds at
risk, 30 percent are
in Latin America.
This is the
challenge Professor
Smith will be
dealing with in his
presentation.
Dr. Smith is a
Hartford native with
a B.S. from Tufts
University and
graduate degrees
from the University
of Arkansas and Utah
State University.
His interests range
from aspects of
conservation biology
and ecology to
research on
neotropical
warblers, periodical
cicadas, gypsy
moths, and black
bears. He is the
recipient of
numerous research
grants and the
author or editor of
books on black
bears, biodiversity
mapping for
Arkansas, as well as
electronic
publications on
unprotected
terrestrial species
in Arkansas and
setting conservation
priorities for Latin
American birds. He
currently has three
books in preparation
as author or
co-author:
Management of
Migratory Landbirds
of the Southeast
United States,
The Arkansas
Breeding Bird Atlas,
and on the subject
of his lecture,
Conservation
Priorities for Birds
at Risk in Latin
America.
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