Ira Pastor, ideaXme life sciences ambassador and founder of Bioquark interviews Matthew Richardson, Canadian author of “Threatened and Recently-extinct Vertebrates of the World”, primatologist and conservationist.
Threatened and Recently-extinct Vertebrates of the World
“My forthcoming book, Threatened and Recently-extinct Vertebrates of the World, required me to assess and place some 15,000 species and subspecies within an updated biogeographic framework. I also had to coin common names for more than 5,000 of them; figure out an entirely new system of ecoregions based on elevation to nest within my “realms and regions.” find a way to standardize language across the globe in a way that would be mostly acceptable to everyone; and somehow make it interesting for the reader. It is twice the length of “War and Peace.” I’ve gone through three publishers, it took me ten years to write, and I’ve received zero funding in the process.” Matthew Richardson.
Ira Pastor comments:
He began his professional career as a writer of historical non-fiction, although for the past several years he has mainly worked on academic projects related to wildlife conservation. In 2001 he published “The Royal Book of Lists: An Irreverent Romp Through Royal History from Alfred the Great to Prince William.” For much of the next decade he worked as a primatologist and taxonomist for the U.S.-based NGO Conservation International, co-authoring various books and academic papers. Notable among these were Lemurs of Madagascar (book) and the massive primate volume to the Handbook of the Mammals of the World series (for which he also produced all the maps). He also lived and worked, for a time, at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands, named after British naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author, and television presenter, Gerald Durrell. In addition to his writing and editing activities, he has consulted with scientists the world over on questions of conservation and taxonomy, helped to catalog the Royal Ontario Museum’s primatology collection, gave lectures, and served as an active member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission Primate Specialist Group. He currently has a new book in press entitled “Threatened and Recently-extinct Vertebrates of the World: A Biogeographic Approach” (quote from Matthew above).
Matthew Richardson’s Journey to Authoring Threatened and Recently-extinct Vertebrates of the World
On this ideaXme episode we will hear from Matthew about: -His background and how he developed a long standing interest in conservation and taxonomy -An introduction to the topic and importance of biogeography studies within conservation -Interesting learnings and trends in his biogeographic studies -The need to reform the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species -The need to focus on wildlife conservation via protecting areas of strategic, biogeographic importance
This interview text is in American English.
Credits: Ira Pastor interview video, text, and audio. Visit ideaXme: www.radioideaxme.com
Contact the founder of ideaXme: [email protected] Follow Ira Pastor on Twitter:@IraSamuelPastor
If you enjoyed this interview please check out our interview with the Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign Ban Trophy Hunting.
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