Dr. Sacha Spector's research focuses on understanding the patterns of insect communities' distributions across landscapes and their relationships with plant communities in order to define large scale conservation plans that benefit insect species. He has worked extensively in Latin America since 1994, doing both field research and conducting field workshops for training local entomologists in rapid biodiversity survey techniques. Dr. Spector also serves as an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University, where he teaches conservation biology to undergraduates. He earned his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut.

Representative Publications

Spector, S., Nichols, E. 2008. The Importance of Invertebrate Conservation. Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners. Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, AMNH.

Nichols, E., T. Larsen, S. Spector, F. Escobar, M. Favila, K. Vulinec, The Scarabaeinae Research Network. 2007. Global dung beetle response to tropical forest modification and fragmentation: a quantitative literature review and meta-analysis. Biological Conservation 137:1-19.

Spector, S.  2006. Scarabaeine dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae): An invertebrate focal taxon for biodiversity research and conservation. Coleopterists’ Bulletin 60 (5): 71-83 Suppl. S Dec 2006

Güven Eken, Leon Bennun, Thomas M. Brooks, Will Darwall, Lincoln D.C. Fishpool, Matt Foster, David Knox, Penny Langhammer, Paul Matiku, Elizabeth Radford, Paul Salaman, Wes Sechrest, Michael L. Smith, Sacha Spector,  Andrew Tordoff. 2004. Key Biodiversity Areas as Site Conservation Targets. BioScience 54(12): 1110-1118

Spector, S., and S. Ayzama. 2003. Rapid Turnover and Edge Effects in Dung Beetle Assemblages (Scarabaeidae) at a Bolivian Neotropical Forest–Savanna Ecotone. Biotropica 35:394-404.

J. Hayden and S. Spector. 2003. Dung Beetles of northeastern North America: An Interactive Guide.

Turner, Woody, Sacha Spector, Ned Gardiner, Matthew Fladeland, Eleanor Sterling and Marc Steininger. 2003. Remote sensing for biodiversity science and conservation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18(6): 306-314.

Sterling, E.J., N Bynum, M. Laverty, I. Harrison, S. Spector, and E. Johnson. 2003. Why should you care about biological diversity? A SENCER Backgrounder. AACU, Washington D.C.

Spector, S.. 2002. Biogeographic crossroads: priority areas for biodiversity conservation. Conservation Biology 16 (6):1480-1487.

Spector, S. 2002. What Can We Do to Stem the Tide of the Sixth Extinction Event? In Life on Earth: An Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution. Eldridge, N., Ed. ABC-CLIO, Denver.

Sterling, E.J. and Spector, S.. 2002. Conserving the foundations of life on Earth. CERC Notes Spring 2002:11, Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, Columbia University.

Spector, S. and A. B. Forsyth, 1998.  Indicator taxa in the vanishing tropics.   In Conservation in a Changing World. A. Balmford and G. Mace, Eds.  Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Forsyth, A. and S. Spector 1998.  Dung beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) of Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado.  In A Biological Assessment of Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado, Bolivia. Timothy J. Killeen and  Thomas Shulenburg, Eds. RAP Working Papers 10, Conservation International, Washington DC.

Forsyth, A., S. Spector and B. Gill, 1997.  The dung beetle (Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) assemblages of the Cordillera del Condor, Amazonas Province, Peru.  In The Cordillera del Cóndor Region of Ecuador and Peru: A Biological Assessment. Thomas Schulenburg and Kim Awbrey, Eds. RAP Working Papers 7, Conservation International, Washington DC.