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| Plate-billed Mountain Toucan at Balcon Tumpiki, Ecuador [photo by Torrey Gage-Tomlinson] |
WATCH PROGRAM VIDEO on MCAS YouTube Channel
Description: Ecuador is one of Earth's most biodiverse countries—home to about 15% of the world's bird species—yet conservation remains a steep uphill battle. In this talk, Torrey will explore the issues of conservation, ecotourism, and scientific research in Ecuador, which he personally experienced while living, studying, and working as an ecologist there for nearly half a year. He will speak specifically about his research regarding the conservation and biology of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed species in remote NW Ecuador, and display some of his best photos. Lastly, Torrey will briefly talk about his trip after Ecuador to the Pantanal and Atlantic Cloud Forest in Brazil. His hope is that he can illustrate how ecotourism and scientific research can go hand-in-hand to support conservation of biodiversity.
Bio: Torrey recently graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in Biology, and spent nearly half a year studying and researching as an ecologist in Ecuador. He's been an avid birder from a young age, and has a world life list of over 2400 species. Torrey is a board member of Morro Coast Audubon Society, and formerly worked with MCAS and Jan Hamber at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History through the Hi Mountain Lookout Project. He hopes to attend graduate school soon to further his research of avian ecology and conservation.
