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I am an ecologist, conservation biologist, ornithologist, and nature photographer doing his postdoctoral research at Stanford University Center for Conservation Biology. My doctoral research focused on the causes and consequences of bird extinctions around the world. I conducted ornithological fieldwork in Costa Rica and Uganda to investigate the ecological factors behind the extinction-proneness of certain groups, such as tropical understory insectivores. I also compiled and analyzed a database of all the world's bird species to assess the consequences of avian extinctions on bird-mediated ecosystem processes and services, such as pollination, seed dispersal and control of insect outbreaks. In addition to continuing this research, I am currently investigating ways to increase the contribution of ecotourism, especially birdwatching, to community-based conservation in the developing world and to improve the role of the private sector in the conservation of biodiversity to prevent extinctions and consequent collapses of critical ecosystem processes.
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