Conservation Ecology in an African Biodiversity "Hotspot"

The OSU Department of Anthropology welcomes Carolyn L. Ehardt, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at San Antonio, who will present Conservation Ecology in an African Biodiversity 'Hotspot" -- Challenging Issues, Multifaceteedd Research, and a Dose of Surprise and Serendipity in 4012 Smith Lab.

The relict montane forests of the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania – the major refuge forests of the Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot – are critically important for plant and animal conservation, especially for the endemic primate fauna.  A growing team of researchers is  documenting the biodiversity in these forests and illuminating the ecology of the threatened wildlife, especially the Endangered Sanje mangabey.  The developing understanding of this unique primate is providing scientific contribution to important theoretical aspects of primate ecology and evolution, and will find application in efforts to foster conservation. But the pursuit of field-based science also is not without its 'human' side, and punctuated with serendipitous events leading to surprising discoveries and new understandings.  One such set of events is reviewed, including the important scientific contributions generated through this unexpected  and all-too-human experience.