What we do

The CBC’s activities integrate scientific research, education, and outreach so that people—themselves an important cause of the rapid loss of biodiversity—will become participants in its conservation. Through collaboration with partner institutions, we focus our efforts on Integrated Research, Professional Development, and Public Involvement.

INTEGRATED RESEARCH

The CBC is at the forefront of initiatives to apply to conservation issues the wealth of information available in museums on species identification and distribution. One of the CBC's strengths is its study of the crucial role that non-vertebrate animals (insects, soil fauna, mollusks, and others) play in maintaining healthy, functioning ecosystems. The CBC also strives to study and protect other lesser-known organisms such as small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and organisms found in freshwater and forest canopy environments.

cbc bahamas The Bahamas
In 2000, building on its pioneering efforts in establishing Land and Sea Parks, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas initiated one of the world’s first networks of marine reserves This designation provided CBC researchers and collaborators with an unprecedented opportunity to analyze the physical, biological, economic, and cultural processes affecting reef ecosystems across seascapes, and to integrate all of these aspects into recommendations for conservation strategies.

Biodiversity Curator Research
The Curator Research Grants Program provides seed money to American Museum of Natural History curators for projects that enhance the use of rigorous scientific data to mitigate critical threats to global biodiversity.

Bolivia
Bolivia is a leader among Latin American countries in setting aside areas for conservation, with a protected area system that covers an impressive ten percent of the country and encompasses a tremendous diversity of ecosystems. In 1998, the CBC initiated the Conservación de la Biodiversidad para un Manejo Integrado (COBIMI), or Biodiversity Conservation through Integrated Management to map biological diversity and its distribution, zone for resource use, monitor impacts from agriculture and resource extraction, and develop outreach programs to encourage broad participation in conservation.

Cetacean Research
Begun in 1996 as a survey of humpback whales in Antongil Bay, Madagascar, this program has grown into a multinational marine mammal conservation effort. In partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), program researchers have garnered significant new information about whale populations, their behavior, and migration patterns.

New York Metropolitan Area
The aim of the Metropolitan Biodiversity Program is to enhance understanding of local and regional biodiversity and apply this knowledge to conservation. Since its inception, the Metro Program has also promoted local research and education projects to highlight the importance of invertebrates in conservation.

Vietnam
Vietnam is at a critical juncture in its efforts to study and conserve its rich diversity of plants and animals, as many species are threatened or endangered by some of the world’s fastest rates of both human population growth and deforestation. In 1998, the CBC initiated a research program in Vietnam that has informed the government’s decisions concerning the location and expansion of protected forest areas.

Invertebrate Conservation
Invertebrates (animals without backbones) constitute the vast bulk of biodiversity on Earth and dominate virtually every global ecosystem in terms of species richness, biomass, and ecological function. The CBC Invertebrate Conservation Program seeks to promote the incorporation of invertebrates into all levels of the conservation process.

Conservation Genetics
The Conservation Genetics Program applies molecular genetic technology to biodiversity conservation. Collaborative projects with the Wildlife Conservation Society include: training, developing new techniques, and housing genetic material from threatened and endangered species.

Southwestern Research Station
The Southwestern Research Station is a year-round field station owned and operated by the American Museum of Natural History under the auspices of the Museum’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation. Since 1955, it has served biologists, geologists, and anthropologists interested in studying the diverse environments and biotas of the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The CBC forms strategic partnerships with local organizations to design projects that target professionals and policymakers, stakeholders, and the general public. We work to build the capacity of local leaders, such as managers and educators, who then teach others, in order to maximize training efforts and provide a foundation for ongoing conservation activities.

Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners
A far-reaching initiative to design, create and foster the implementation of a comprehensive set of teaching and learning materials in support of biodiversity conservation for multiple user groups in a number of countries around the world.

International Graduate Student Fellows
A multidisciplinary course of study for Master’s and doctoral students, emphasizing practical training in conservation biology to address environmental problems in fellows’ home countries.

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

Raising biodiversity awareness and promoting conservation action are CBC imperatives. As part of an institution that attracts millions of visitors each year, the CBC is well positioned to reach diverse audiences through workshops, symposia, and publications that present science in ways that are accessible and inspiring.

Symposia and Public Programming
The CBC holds an annual spring symposium and hosts evening and weekend lectures to foster interdisciplinary discussion of cutting-edge issues in biodiversity research and conservation.

Hall of Biodiversity
A permanent exhibition that opened at the Museum in May 1998, the Hall of Biodiversity is designed to expand public understanding of Earth’s diverse and often endangered forms of life. Learn about new scientific discoveries as they unfold and explore ways that you can make a difference. Multimedia BioBulletins are updated regularly in the Hall of Biodiversity and online.