Toby Gardner

Toby Gardner with recently collected Scarabaeinae from Monte Dourado, Brazilian Amazon.

I have always maintained a broad interest in many aspects of the science and practice conservation biology. This approach has given me the privilege of working on a diverse array of research projects; including amphibian population monitoring, Caribbean coral reef decline, the conservation of East African National Parks, and most recently a study of the biodiversity value of primary, secondary and plantation forests in the Brazilian Amazon. As part of a much larger project, I am focusing much of my efforts on understanding patterns of diversity, abundance and assemblage structure of Scarabaeinae beetles in our study area - a vast exploited landscape on the Jari River, northeastern Brazil. In particular, I am interested in understanding how these patterns can be explained by differences in habitat quality and distribution of other taxa, and landscape structure. I am also interested in the importance of sampling design and effort in the study of patterns of diversity.