Free lecture to feature ‘Godfather of Biodiversity’

The researcher known as the “Godfather of Biodiversity” will give a free presentation at Paepcke Auditorium today at 6:30 p.m.

Conservation biologist Thomas Lovejoy will present “The Land of Cinnamon and Gold: 500 Years of Amazon Exploration and Science.” The presentation is part of the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies Jessica Cato Dialogue Series.

Lovejoy will share an overview of exploration and science in the Amazon basin, where he has worked at the interface of research and environmental policy since 1965. He was a key figure in introducing the scientific community to the field of conservation biology, helping to coin the term “biological diversity” in the 1980s. His seminal research over the past five decades, including one of the largest and longest-running experiments in the central Amazon rainforest, focuses on the effects of deforestation and the impacts of forest fragmentation on Amazon ecosystems and global climate.

The lecture will be broadcast on Aspen Public Radio thanks to a donation by the John Denver Aspenglow Fund.