Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Research

What is Biodiversity and Conservation Research?

Various academic disciplines use a scientific approach to describe biological diversity and to determine the ecological, evolutionary and environmental parameters associated with speciation and extinction. At the University of Mississippi these scientists span several departments, where they study the diversity of everything from fungi to sharks, using approaches that combine technologies for investigating levels of analysis that include a range from genes and physiology up to ecosystems. Scientific results are shared with the scientific community and environmental decision makers so that natural resources can be managed appropriately and effectively to meet ecological, economic and ethical expectations. The conservation of biodiversity, ecological services, and functional ecological landscapes is a shared goal of Center members and affiliates.

How Does the Center Work?

The Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology Research acts as a point of contact for non-governmental and governmental granting agencies, and as an information clearinghouse for communicating research and funding opportunities with suitable subsets of member faculty. Professional affiliates of the Center allow for collaboration between Center members and researchers at other universities and state, federal and private agencies involved in conservation research.

By connecting University of Mississippi students to the Center through the student affiliate program, we create opportunities for them to find research mentors, become familiar with issues and methodologies of biodiversity conservation, and enhance interactions among peers with common interests in conservation. Through shared teaching and student training and research efficiency enabled by coordinating activities through the CBCBR, our members become more competitive for grant funding. We also see the Center as being a catalyst that enables departments to attract new faculty, recruit additional doctoral students, offer scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students, to improve the development of STEM-focused workforce in our state, and to bring the research activities of the Center members and affiliates and the University of Mississippi at large to the attention of a wider scientific and lay audience.

Meet the Directors

Dr. Richard Buchholz, Director

An animal behaviorist by training, Dr. Buchholz has studied avian reproductive behavior for several decades, while also working with his students to investigate biodiversity and the conservation of a variety of wildlife species, including frogs, salamanders, turtles, bats, tapirs, birds and ants. Because of abundant evidence that humans are causing a ‘sixth mass extinction’ he co-founded the CBCR in May 2018 as the Center’s Associate Director, becoming Director in 2022. He co-edited the first book on behavioral approaches to conservation, chaired the Conservation Committee of the Animal Behavior Society, was Associate Editor for The Condor: Ornithological Applications, and serves on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Endangered Species Council. His research has been funded by the American Museum of Natural History, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Entergy, the Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and the National Geographic Society, among others. He has directed to completion 11 Masters and Doctoral graduate students, and 13 undergraduate honors thesis students. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and his Masters’ and Doctoral degrees from the University of Florida. He is a Professor in the Department of Biology, at the University of Mississippi.

Dr. Glenn Parsons, Founding Director (retired)

In response to the marked decline in fish diversity he has observed over the past 40 years of his research career, Dr. Parsons co-founded the CBCR in May 2018. With over 100 scientific papers, reports, books, and popular articles on sharks and other fishes, and millions of dollars of grant funds, he is an acknowledged expert in shark and fish biology. His work has been recognized and received awards by the World Wildlife Fund, the Rolex Corporation, the Walton Foundation for Marine Research, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the National Marine Fisheries Service, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, two governors of the state of Mississippi, and testified as a shark expert before the U. S. Congress. He has directed to completion 18 Master’s and Doctoral graduate students, many of whom have become shark biologists. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, Masters’ degree from the University of South Alabama, and the Doctoral degree from the University of South Florida, School of Marine Science. Dr. Parsons retired from the Department of Biology, at the University of Mississippi in December 2021.

Student Affiliates

Undergraduate Affliliates

Meredith Goza - Biology Major
Spring 2021 -

Sarah Ferguson - Biology Major, Environmental Studies Minor
Spring 2021 -

Madelyn Abbott - Biology Major
Fall 2019 - Spring 2021

Graduate Affiliates

Lucia Anaya Morales - Ph.D. Biology
Joined Spring 2023

Boluwatife Olubusoye - Ph.D. Analytical Chemistry
Joined Spring 2023

Kendall Wontor - Ph.D. Analytical Chemistry
Joined Spring 2023

Maddie Jewess - M.S. Biology
Joined Spring 2023

Tyler Brock - Ph.D. Biology
Joined Fall 2022

Jakub Zegar - Ph.D. Biology
Joined Spring 2022

Ian Mounts - Ph.D. Biology
Joined Spring 2022

Thuy M. Nguyen - Ph.D. Biology
Joined Spring 2022

Kayleigh Mazariegos - Ph.D. Biology
Joined Spring 2022

Laney Hayward Nute - Ph.D. Biology
Joined Spring 2022

Patrick Allison, Jr. - Ph.D. Biology
Joined Spring 2022

Savannah Draud - Ph.D. Biology
Joined Spring 2020

Akacia Halliday - Ph.D. Biology
Joined Spring 2020

Jordan Heiman - Ph.D. Biology
Joined Spring 2020

Jessica Stamn - Ph.D. Biology
Joined Fall 2020