Houston Audubon Membership Meeting
Title: Houston Audubon Membership Meeting
Location: United Way Center, 50 Waugh
Link out: Click here
Description: Fieldwork in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea
Every year, new species of animals are discovered by researchers in the far-flung corners of the world. Here is a look at what it takes to conduct field work in the rainforests of SE Asia. From the highs of discovering new species, to the rough times in the camp and on the hiking trails; to living in a tent for 6 months. This fieldwork is in many regards the same arduous work conducted by researchers for 100s of years … from hiring porters to carry field gear, poisonous snakes, bad weather and even a few run-ins with some “not so friendly” locals. Fieldwork and scientific collecting has been the cornerstone of research and it will continue to be an integral part of science well into this new century. One of the great accomplishments of this work was the discovery of three NEW species of birds and two mammals; these discoveries will be highlighted during the lecture.
Lina’s Sunbird is a new species found during Jeff’s fieldwork.
Jeff BrownJeff was born in Chicago, IL and started his young science career working for the Brookfield Zoo at age 19. After graduating from the U of IL Champaign, he moved to Cincinnati, OH and started working for both the Cincinnati Zoo and the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History. During his eight years at the Museum, Jeff went on to participate in five expeditions to the Philippines and two research trips to Papua New Guinea. The fieldwork in the Philippines was part of a McArthur Foundation Grant to conduct a 5 year Biodiversity Inventory of Philippine Islands; discovering 3 new species of birds, many new island records and 100’s of specimens of rare and wonderful species. The work in Papuan Highlands was a single species project to discover more about the elusive and little understood New Guinea Harpy Eagle. Jeff’s career includes being the Curator of the Corpus Christi Museum, a birding tour guide, educator and mentor to young scientists.
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2012-02-08