Dr. Richard Bodmer
Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology;
The Wildlife Conservation Society
“The biodiversity crisis must be met in ways that balance the needs of the environment as well as those of local human communities and regional national economies.”
Dr. Bodmer was born in England in 1960 and spent his youth in Chicago where he worked with the Brookfield Zoo, first in the Children’s Zoo and later as a research assistant to Dr. George Rabb working on the Okapi project. He completed his B.Sc. in Ecology, Ethology and Evolution at the University of Illinois and his M.Sc. in Biology at the same university. He then went on to complete his Ph.D. with Dr. Tim Clutton-Brock in Zoology at the University of Cambridge, England. Dr. Bodmer has an Honorary Doctor of Science from the National University of the Peruvian Amazon and has received two Presidential Awards from the Chicago Zoological Society. He has worked in the Ituri forests of the Congo, the rainforests of central Borneo, and in many Neotropical regions. His long-term research has been on the ecology, population dynamics and conservation of Amazonian wildlife in Peru and Brazil. He has been working in the Lago Preto Conservation Concession and the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve for more than 16 years in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the National University of the Peruvian Amazon (UNAP), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) and the University of Florida.
Note from the PI, April 2008
Team 1 went to the Samiria River in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve to evaluate wildlife populations and determine the status of conservation efforts. The water is particularly high during this time of year, which allowed the team to access the heart of the reserve, in a region known as Pithecia. This area is, to date, the furthest up river that an Earthwatch team has explored.
Censuses on terrestrial transects were very interesting and team members recorded high numbers of the woolly monkey, which was by far the most abundant primate. This is an excellent sign for the conservation efforts of the reserve, since woolly monkeys are very vulnerable to humans, especially bush meat hunting. Ten years ago there were very few woolly monkeys in this area and their populations have recovered significantly.
Many other species were also observed, and one team member heard a jaguar call about 50 meters from the transect. The dolphins are generally less abundant in this upper section of the river than close to the mouth, but none-the-less there were around 12 dolphins sighted on average each day during the dolphin transects. The macaws demonstrated considerable variance in their abundance. Caimans and fish during this time of year are spread throughout the immense flooded forests and sighting and captures are generally lower than during the dry season.
The park administration was very happy with the results of the expedition, and the local people in the villages of the mouth showed their appreciation of the project and the work that the volunteers are doing.
Team 1 completed a very important monitoring expedition and the research team and myself truly thank the tremendous efforts of each and all of this united and hard working team.
With very best regards,
Richard
Tula Fang
Ms. Fang was born in Iquitos, Peru in 1959 and spent her youth in the Amazon where she learned about the forests and its wonders. She completed her B.Sc. in Biology at the National University of the Peruvian Amazon and her M.Sc. at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent, England. She began her research career working with primates in the Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo Community Reserve, which forms part of the proposed Greater Yavari Protected Area. More recently, she has been involved with the Peccary Pelt Certification Programme in Peru, which is a joint program involving the Peruvian Government, CITES and numerous non-governmental organizations.