Description: The Neotropical region holds the planet’s greatest biological diversity and hosts the richest and most diverse raptor community in the world. However, most Neotropical raptor species remain unstudied, resulting in limited knowledge of their ecology making conservation management challenging. Due to most of these species being an enigma to the scientific community and many declining or going extinct Ryan was inspired to study these species and include locals in the research and conservation efforts. To fulfil this goal of protecting species and getting locals involved in conservation he co-founded a non-profit organization in Belize in 2009. In this talk, Ryan will discuss Neotropical raptor research on species such as the Solitary Eagle (Buteogallus solitarius) Hook-billed Kite (Chondrohierax unciantus), and Stygian Owl (Asio stygius). Ryan will also share some newly obtained and unpublished migration data for his thesis, which is on how weather influences the newly discovered movement patterns of the snail-eating specialist Hook-billed Kite. By collecting ecological information on raptors, in combination with including and educating local communities in raptor conservation, better conservation management strategies and efforts can be implemented to protect raptors and the habitats they reside in.

Ryan Phillips always had a passion for the environment and biodiversity as he spent much of his childhood in nature as his family instilled in him key environmental values. Ryan was born in Santa Cruz, California and grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but currently resides with his wife, Wendy, and daughter, Farrah, in Campbell. Ryan has been studying birds and other wildlife for over 15 years and has been birding since age 12, inspired by Costa Rican species. He received his Bachelor of Science in Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology with a specialization in Ornithology from the University of California at Davis and is currently in the Environmental Studies Graduate Group at San Jose State University. After graduating from UC Davis in 2004, Ryan was hired as a Field Biologist with The Peregrine Fund on the Belize Harpy Eagle Restoration Project. After living in Belize for three years and witnessing the persecution of raptors he co-founded the Belize Raptor Research Institute (now the Belize Bird Conservancy) to give locals opportunities in research and conservation, so that species would not continue to be persecuted. After Belize, Ryan returned to California and received a teaching position at De Anza College in the Environmental Studies Department where he has taught for 11 years. He then was appointed the Program Coordinator for the Wildlife Science Technician Program in the Department. This allowed Ryan to combine the classroom and the field studies courses as a way to impassion and inspire students about conducting research. In the process, Ryan has been able to show students that science is not intimidating, but exciting—as it is truly a discovery and exploration of questions. To further inspire future environmental biologists he co-founded the Talon Ecological Research Group, a local non-profit organization, to give early-career biologists and students an opportunity to gain experience in field research. As a Talon Biologist, he is currently working with Tricolored Blackbirds and Burrowing Owls. Ryan has published numerous papers related to bird ecology and has presented at various scientific conferences. His research interests include bird ecology, specifically movement patterns, human interactions, and symbiotic interactions, as it relates to wildlife conservation.

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