 |
 |
Dr. Wunderle will bring his experience from decades of his ornithological research across the Caribbean in his keynote presentation. His talk will be enhanced by his decades of leadership with the conservation organization, BirdsCaribbean. BirdsCaribbean is committed to conserving Caribbean birds and their habitats in the insular Caribbean including Bermuda, the Bahamas and all islands within the Caribbean basin. While the islands of the Caribbean are home to numerous endemic species, they also provide critical habitat for many of the migrant songbirds, shorebirds and other species that winter or stopover on the many islands throughout the Caribbean. Dr. Wunderle has conducted extensive research on the wintering grounds of the Kirtland’s Warbler and has the impact of hurricanes on birds. An underlying theme of his research is disturbance ecology, an understanding of which has facilitated his efforts to identify conservation prescriptions for bird populations threatened by disturbance from hurricanes, droughts, agriculture, and selective logging. Dr. Wunderle’s work and leadership has supported BirdsCaribbean and their mission to raise awareness, promote sound science, and empower local partners to build a region where people appreciate, conserve and benefit from thriving bird populations and ecosystems. We will learn much from Dr. Wunderle about the conservation challenges for birds in the Caribbean! Dr. Wunderle joined the U.S. Forest Service’s International Institute of Tropical Forestry in 1988, from which he retired after 30 years as a Wildlife Team Leader & Research Wildlife Biologist. He still maintains his ties with the University of Puerto Rico as an adjunct professor where he advises and teaches graduate students in ecology and ornithology. He has authored or co-authored over 100 publications mostly based on his research on avian ecology and conservation biology, which he conducted throughout the Caribbean and Bahamas as well as in Central America and Brazil. In an effort to build local research and conservation capacity in the Caribbean and elsewhere, he has involved students and recent graduates from the region in his field research. Dr. Wunderle is a founding member of BirdsCaribbean organized in 1988. He is a former Vice-President and President and continues to serve on the Board and is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology. |
