Seychelles success stories: a model for island bird conservation
Seychelles success stories: a model for island bird conservation
Island conservation is tough, and success stories are sadly few and far between. The sterling work done in the Seychelles archipelago is quite simply amazing, and I will be highlighting particular work done on one small private Island in the region. Specifically, the talk includes the work done to bring the Seychelles Warbler and the charismatic Seychelles Magpie Robin back from the brink of extinction, the island restoration program that has led to literally hundreds of thousands of seabirds now breeding where once there was very little. Other endemic Seychelles species will be covered, along with some of the introduced aliens that co-exist with them. Some non-birding work, on turtles and giant tortoises will be mentioned too.
Organizer
Mark has a PhD in Zoology, and most of his research and conservation work in the last 25 years has been bird focussed, although he dabbles in some other avenues of marine ecology too! Having worked in the world of academia for over a decade, Mark shifted across to the NPO world for 7.5 years, then into the conservation tourism world, where he now runs a successful experiential learning company called Discover Eden. Mark has almost 100 academic papers to his name, several book chapters, and has co-supervised almost 40 postgraduate student studies. Bringing science to the public is a passion of his, and shows in his use of social media and public talks to spread the word about conservation.