Love is in the Air: Research and Conservation of African Lovebirds in the Wild
Love is in the Air: Research and Conservation of African Lovebirds in the Wild
Formerly a popular present to our loved ones for Valentine’s Day, these little African parrots are worth much more than decorating our living rooms. Many people globally love their lovebird pets and while observing their charming personalities close by, would do anything to make them happy. This is great as it shows compassion for these birds, but does keeping them as pets really make them happy in the long run and is all the effort worthwhile? Their struggle to survive in their natural habitat is not all due to the love we have developed for them as pets, but in some cases has led to the point of their extinction. This talk is about the wild cousins of our popular companion birds, shows knowledge gaps, research opportunities, and the efforts to study and protect them where they are truly home. Sascha will present ongoing lovebird research projects and highlight his work on African lovebirds in collaboration with the World Parrot Trust (WPT).
Organizer
Sascha Dueker is a conservation biologist with a fascination for parrots ever since his childhood. He says “they are among birds what the primates are among mammals: highly intelligent and charismatic”. He began to focus on African parrot conservation 5 years ago with an African Grey Parrot Psittacus erithacus conservation project in SW Cameroon during his M.Sc. Right after finishing the project, he worked for the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) in the capacity as their Seychelles Black Parrot Coracopsis barklyi Conservation Officer. The foci of his work there were population estimates, breeding monitoring, and invasive species control. Originally from Germany, Sascha completed both his Bachelor of Science, Biology, and his Master of Science, Biodiversity and Conservation, at the Georg-August University in Göttingen with part of his studies at Université de La Réunion, France. He is based in Pretoria-Tshwane, South Africa, working for the World Parrot Trust as their lovebird conservation coordinator allowing him to navigate through conservation field work for lovebirds in sub-Sahara Africa.