November 4, 2022
Making an impact in conservation by creating alternate career paths; A case study from a career in amphibian and reptile conservation.
Dr. JJ Apodaca
Executive Director for the Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy (ARC) and a conservation geneticist and founder of Tangled Bank Conservation
Abstract
The current crisis in biodiversity loss is an unprecedented challenge that will require us as a conservation community to develop new resources and rapidly expand capacity. Along with the traditional organizations that have provided conservation capacity (e.g. academic institutions and agencies), meeting the expanding gauntlet of biodiversity conservation will require new types of organizations or institutes specifically built to accomplish species and habitat recovery. In this talk, I’ll discuss how you can help to contribute to and build these systems using examples from my career in amphibian and reptile conservation, including starting a conservation based services company and helping to shape and guide the operations of a nationwide conservation non-profit.
Biosketch
Dr. JJ Apodaca is a conservationist and geneticist. He received his B.S. in Biology at the University of South Florida in 2004 and his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Alabama in 2010. His dissertation work focused on prioritizing areas important to the conservation of amphibians in the southeast at both the macro and micro scales. He has worked on numerous conservation projects across the country, primarily focused on endangered amphibians and reptiles. Many of his projects concentrate on some of the most imperiled species in the country, including the Red Hills salamander, bog turtles, green salamanders, hellbenders, flattened musk turtles, and several other species of conservation concern. His research combines multiple fields and methods (i.e. conservation genetics, habitat-modeling, life history studies, etc.) in order to develop and inform optimal conservation and management decisions. He has also been at the forefront of developing genetic databases that serve to get confiscated turtles back into the wild. JJ has served as a leader in amphibian and reptile conservation for over a decade, working with various partners to push forward amphibian and reptile conservation. He is currently the Executive Director for the Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy (ARC) and a conservation geneticist and founder of Tangled Bank Conservation, which focuses on the genetics of rare species worldwide.