The Changing Parrot Populations in Nicaragua: Causes and Concerns by David Hille

On Thursday, January 9, 2020 David Hille will present The Changing Parrot Populations in Nicaragua: Causes and Concerns Description: Nicaragua is a Central American country with a wealth of avian diversity, including 16 species of parrots (family Psittacidae). This enigmatic group of birds garners attention globally because of their beauty and intelligence. Unfortunately, because of reasons of habitat loss and capture for pet trade, this family of birds is considered one of the most at risk in the world. Nicaragua presents itself as an interesting case study to determine how habitat loss and pet trade individually and combined cause population changes in parrot populations. In this presentation, I will present populations trends of parrots in Nicaragua dating back to 1995 and discuss how deforestation and pet trade are being estimated and analyzed as they relate to the effects they have on these populations. Bio: I am an assistant professor of Biology at Northwest Nazarene University, specializing in courses for the Wildlife Biology and Ecology degree program. Over the years I've developed a passion for avian conservation and have spent a lot of time in the Neotropics working towards that goal. I have been working and doing research between Costa Rica and Nicaragua for the past 15 years, some while managing the Quetzal Education Research Center and some while completing my graduate research as a student at the University of Oklahoma.