Sustainable Development & Conservation Biology (CONS) Graduate Program

An interdisciplinary and experiential approach to the problems of biological conservation in relation to economic development necessary to meet human needs.

The mission of the CONS program is to attract the world's best candidates for leadership in conservation biology and development programs, and to provide them with the multidisciplinary, conceptual and experiential learning experience necessary to address the biodiversity crisis that currently faces the planet.

Program Directors

David Inouye
301-405-6946; inouye@umd.edu
Dr. Inouye's research has focused on a variety of projects at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado but has also included field work in Australia, Austria, and Costa Rica. His long-term association with a field site has made possible studies that span 30+ years on variation in flowering phenology of wildflowers, the population biology of several species of plants, and the population biology of hummingbirds. Dr. Inouye has also worked on resource partitioning in bumblebees, ant-plant mutualisms, the cost of reproduction of glacier lilies, and the population biology of flies and the flowers they visit for pollen and nectar.

Jim Dietz
301-405-6949; jmdietz@umd.edu
Dr. Dietz is a conservation biologist and behavioral ecologist. He defines conservation biology as the emerging discipline that focuses theoretical concepts derived from studies of ecology and evolutionary biology on problems related to extinctions, biological diversity, and the maintenance of ecological processes. He is currently involved in multidisciplinary conservation projects targeting several species of endangered canids and primates in Brazil. His research interests include the effects of environmental resources on mating systems and reproductive success of primates.

Transitional Director

Karen Lips
301-405-5030; klips@umd.edu
Dr Lips' work is focused on the conservation and ecology of amphibians and reptiles. In particular she is interested in how emerging infectious diseases and global change affect multiple components including population, community and ecosystems. The majority of her research takes place at various field sites in Latin America. The four major aspects of her work include neotropical amphibian ecology, host-pathogen ecology, population & community ecology and ecosystem ecology.

Contact the CONS program:

Phone: 301-405-7409
Fax: 301-314-9358
Email: consoffice@umd.edu

Hours:

Monday 12:30 - 5:00 pm
Tuesday 11:00 - 3:00 pm
Wednesday 12:00 - 4:30 pm
Thursday 11:30 - 2:00 pm
Friday 12:00 - 4:30 pm