Field Programs

San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research works in more than 35 countries around the word. Programs address the biological requirements of the target species, conservation and restoration of critical habitats, and training opportunities for range country scientists and resource managers.

Asia Regional Program. In China, a comprehensive research program has been implemented to understand the biology several species of highly endangered Asian leaf-eating monkeys in urgent need of conservation attention, including proboscis monkeys, Sichuan snub-nosed or golden monkeys, Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys, and grey-shanked douc langurs.  Additional studies in India are focusing on ways to address severe declines in populations of native river turtles.

Central Africa Regional Program. Central Africa has rich in its diversity of great apes. This is especially true in Cameroon, where multiple subspecies of gorillas and chimpanzees are present. Efforts in Cameroon revolve around defining the habitat needs of these endangered primates and educating local people about how the bushmeat trade severely impacts endangered populations of great apes and other forest-dwelling animals.

Caribbean Regional Program. Caribbean tropical dry-forests are among the most endangered ecosystems on earth. Most natural lowland habitats have already been devastated, and what little remains is under enormous pressure from human development. Studies in the Caribbean region are focused on understanding the biology of the critically endangered rock iguanas and their habitats. As important seed dispersers, rock iguanas play an important role in the sustainability and health of native plant communities.

Conservation Research Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. The Conservation Research Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is the most in-depth opportunity of its kind in the world. Young scientists are sponsored as they pursue extensive fieldwork on endangered species and their habitats as part of this unique five-year fellowship program. These long-term studies are linked whenever possible to on-site laboratory and collection-based conservation programs at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park. 

Each of the field fellowships is guided by an overarching strategy that includes determining the biological requirements necessary for species and habitat survival, defining critical knowledge gaps, and designing new research approaches to address them.  The research fellows seek active conservation partnerships with the ultimate goal of mentoring local stakeholders for effective management of programs in perpetuity, and disseminate their results regionally and globally as model programs for conservation action.

Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.
The Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program is a unique conservation partnership composed of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the State of Hawaii, and private landowners, working together on the recovery of Hawaii’s most threatened forest birds. The program manages the state-of-the-art Keauhou and Maui Bird Conservation centers, with a focus on species for which captive propagation is critical to their survival and recovery.

The ultimate goal of the breeding program is to produce birds to augment wild populations while effective management measures are being researched and developed.

Field Programs Staff

• Alan Lieberman, Director of Field Programs
• Jeffrey Opdycke, Conservation Program Manager
• Glenn Gerber, Ph.D., Scientist, Head of Caribbean Regional Program
• Bethan Mogan, Ph.D, Scientist, Head of Central Africa Regional Program
• Chia Tan, Ph.D., Scientist, Head of Asia Regional Program
• Sarah Burgess-Herbert, Ph.D., Conservation Research Postdoctoral Fellow
• Michael Chase, Ph.D., Conservation Research Postdoctoral Fellow
• William Ellis, Ph.D., Conservation Research Postdoctoral Fellow
• Brian Horne, Ph.D., Conservation Research Postdoctoral Fellow
• Chuck Knapp, Ph.D., Conservation Research Postdoctoral Fellow
• James Sheppard, Ph.D., Conservation Research Postdoctoral Fellow
• Richard Switzer, Conservation Program Manager, Hawaii
• Robby Kohley, Research Coordinator, Hawaii
• Amy Poopatanapong, Research Coordinator, Hawaii
• Cyndi Kuehler, Senior Research Technician, Hawaii
• Sara Bebus, Research Associate, Hawaii
• Sharon Belcher, Research Associate, Hawaii
• Marisa Boyd, Research Associate, Hawaii
• Rebecca Espinoza, Research Associate, Hawaii
• Blake Jones, Research Associate, Hawaii
• Emily Jordan, Research Associate, Hawaii
• Rachel Kingsley, Research Associate, Hawaii
• Lisa Komarczyk, Research Associate, Hawaii
• Kara Kneubuhler, Research Associate, Hawaii
• Josh Kramer, Research Associate, Hawaii
• Angela Sewell, Research Associate, Hawaii
• Charlotte Forbes Perry, Office Assistant, Hawaii