Parrot Symposium 2009

Biographies


	Dr. Carlo Manderscheid - Luxembourg Dr. Carlo Manderscheid began to study veterinary medicine in Liège, Belgium in 1991 and finished as DVM in 1997. Since he was 6 years old, he has kept birds, from canaries to macaws. As he encountered a lot of health problems in his birds, he decided to become an avian vet, so he could help his own birds first. During all these years, he practiced in different parks (including Loro Parque, Walsrode) and specialised in special avian surgery and internal medicine techniques (Florida, California). In 1999 he started specialising in avian medicine at the University of Paris where he finished in 2002 with his thesis: Respiratory Diseases in Parrots. During the last few years, he has spoken at various conferences in Belgium, Spain and Germany as well as for breeders and vets. Together with an avian behaviour consultant, he has organised workshops for bird keepers and breeders in Germany several times every year. Dr. Manderscheid keeps the only bird practice in Luxembourg. He still has many of his own birds including moluccans, greys, amazons, pileatas, senegals, macaws and a few parakeets.

	Cristina Yumi Miyaki – Brazil Brazilian, born in São Paulo in 1968. Biologist (1986-1989) – Universidade de São Paulo. Master’s Degree in Biology/Genetics (1990-1993) - Universidade de São Paulo. PhD in Biology/Genetics (1993-1996) - Universidade de São Paulo. Post-doc (1996-1998) - Universidade de São Paulo. Assistant Professor (1998-current) at the Departmento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo. Research interests: biogeography, phylogeny, phylogeography, population genetics, molecular evolution and conservation genetics of birds. Peer reviewed publications: 36. Book chapters: 12 (4 for High School level). Master’s Thesis supervised: 7. PhD Dissertations supervised: 5 (1 as co-supervisor). Post-docs supervised: 2. Number of students under supervision: PhD: 4; Master’s: 2; Post-docs: 2. General Secretary of the 25th International Ornithological Congress, Brazil, 2010. Member of the International Ornithological Committee representing Brazil since 2002. Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithological Union since 2005. Member of the Committees for the Conservation of Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus and of Anodorhynchus leari and of the Working Group for the Conservation of Cyanopsitta spixii. All committees coordinated by IBAMA.

	EB Cravens - Hawaii EB CRAVENS has been raising, training, keeping and rehabilitating psittacines since the early 1980s, both as manager of a respected exotic bird shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and at his small hobby breeding facility on the Big Island, Hawaii. Through various writings and lectures in the U.S. and abroad, EB puts forth the ideas of “Natural Parrotkeeping”--the looking to nature as a guide for success in captive aviculture and petkeeping. His research has for more than two decades been focused upon the critical need for allowing flight to weaning parrot chicks, and the many related behaviors which are associated with correct and natural fledging. More recently, EB has begun to document the problems stemming from removal of parrot chicks from their secure parental nestbox environment before eyes are significantly open and feathers are grown. A science writer by training, he was for years a regular contributor for AFA’s Watchbird Magazine and the Companion Parrot Quarterly. EB currently writes a monthly column entitled “The Complete Psittacine” in PARROTS Magazine out of England; and another, “The Hookbill Hobbyist” down under in the well-regarded Australian Birdkeeper. His monthly series of articles “Birdkeeping Naturally,” is sent out to bird clubs and individuals around the U.S., and is now finishing up its tenth year of publication. “If we truly believe our captive-raised hookbills are important to world parrot conservation, we must work ceaselessly to ensure that these same psittacines retain as much of their wild instinctual behavior as is possible,” says EB. “As devastating pressures continue upon avian species in the wilds, it is critical that those keeping birds in their homes do so with responsibility and foresight.” Wherever he lectures, he is noted both for the visual splendor of his photographs and for making himself very available to the public for questions on both pet parrot problems and breeder situations. He particularly enjoys consultations with novice birdkeepers and first- time pet parrot owners. This hobby aviculturist works ceaselessly for the birds--and loves it!

	James Gilardi Ph.D. – USA James Gilardi has been the Executive Director of the World Parrot Trust since November 2000. His work includes developing and implementing field conservation initiatives. He is a conservation biologist specializing in behavioural and physiological ecology with special interest in tropical forest birds and marine vertebrates. Following undergraduate studies at UC Santa Cruz, he earned a Ph.D. in Ecology from UC Davis studying parrot social behaviour, foraging ecology, and soil-eating in south-eastern Peru. James has also worked on parrot field conservation in Guatemala, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Mexico. In the fall of 2000, James Gilardi became the director of the World Parrot Trust, where he is inherently involved in carrying out parrot conservation and education programs around the world.

	Dr. Lorenzo Crosta - Italy Lorenzo Crosta was born in Milan, Italy, in 1961. He graduated in Veterinary Medicine in 1989, with a thesis on the electron microscopic features of the Infectious Bronchitis of Chicken. Starrting 1999 he worked as private practitioner with exotic animals, especially dealing with birds and avian collections in zoos and breeding centers. From 2000 to 2005, Dr. Crosta has been the Veterinary Director of the Loro Parque and Loro Parque Foundation. The Loro Parque is the most diverse parrot collection in the world, hosting more than 350 psittacine taxa. It is strongly linked to the Loro Parque Foundation, involved in parrot and wilderness conservation in the several tropical and subtropical areas. Dr. Crosta is an Active member of the Association of Avian Veterinarians, of which he has been twice the European Chairman (1999-2001 and 2003-2005). Further, Dr. Crosta has been in the Board of Directors of the same Association. And is currently Associate Editor of the Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery. He is also founder member of the Italian Society of Exotic Animal Veterinarians (SIVAE), of which he is currently the Senior President. Dr. Crosta has been speaking at various National and International Conferences, in Europe, Usa, Australia, Brazil, Mexico and Cuba and is author of more than 70 papers and talks. Finally, Dr. Crosta is the Official Veterinarian of the recovery programs of the Lear’s and Spix’s macaws. Currently he is co-owner of the Clinica Veterinaria Valcurone, a 1.000 sq. mt. practice working with all animal species. Dr. Crosta works almost entirely with birds and is consulting vets of various bird parks and breeding centers in Italy and Europe.

	Dr. Mark L. Stafford, DDS – USA Dr. Mark Stafford is the founding director and president of Parrots International. Parrots International is a not for profit organization dedicated to the promoting and fostering international cooperation in the conservation of endangered parrot species. Parrots International works in cooperation with other conservation organizations, donors, field research teams, responsible aviculturists and parrot clubs to assist, propose, develop and fund conservation projects throughout the world. The basic premise of Parrots International is that "Conservation happens in the Wild." Mark and his wife, Marie, have traveled extensively throughout Central and South America, and the Caribbean to view, photograph and film wild parrots. The goal of these trips has been to gain an understanding of the natural history of endangered parrot species, the environmental and human derived pressures relating to their endangered status, and to understand the possible steps that can be taken to bring these beautiful parrots back from the brink of extinction. Dr Stafford has directed Parrots International to help fund research and conservation projects for the Hyacinth Macaws in Brazil; the Great Green Macaw in Costa Rica; the Lears Macaw in Bahia, Brazil; the Yellow Shouldered Amazon in Bonaire; the Bahama Amazon in Abaco and Inagua; the Blue-fronted Amazon in the Chaco of Argentina and the Pantanal of Brazil; the Military Macaw in the Oaxaca State of Mexico; and the Puerto Rican Parrot, one of the ten rarest birds in the world. In addition Parrots International is involved in the habitat purchase, habitat restoration and the future release of the Spix’s Macaw back into the wild. In 2006 Mark and Marie received recognition at the US Capital LBJ Room by the head of the US Fish and Wildlife Service for their assistance with the Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Project. Dr. Stafford, and Parrots International, is a member of the Committee for the Management and Conservation of the Hyacinth Macaw, as well as a member of the Committee for the Management and Conservation of the Lear’s Macaw and a member of the Spix’s Macaw Working Group.

	Mark Ziembicki – Australia Mark Ziembicki has worked as a conservation biologist, predominantly in northern Australia, since graduating from the University of Adelaide in 1997. He recently completed his PhD dissertation that focused on the conservation challenges of dispersive species in Australia, using the Australian Bustard as a model species. He is presently employed as a research associate at the Australian National University were he conducts research that aims to integrate traditional Aboriginal ecological knowledge of biodiversity into contemporary conservation and natural resource management. He has had a lifelong interest in birds and parrots in particular, and has conducted conservation and research-based projects on parrots in the South Pacific, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Australia. He maintains an interest and passion for the environment and biology of northern Australia and the Pacific Islands – regions that remain poorly known to science but that are increasingly under threat.

	Morten Bruun-Rasmussen – Denmark Morten lives in Odense, Denmark and has been keeping Australian native parrots and their mutations for more than 30 years. The collection includes rare native species and the newest Red Rump mutations. Morten has a wealth of knowledge to share on the behavior and breeding of many species. A subject of interest is to what extent the design of aviaries, the size of the cages, the nesting box and the nutrition influences the success of breeding – especially in a Nordic country climate, with four changing seasons. While he can claim substantial breeding successes he acknowledges that each species has their own challenges, particularly the Golden-Shouldered-Parrot, which still is held in low numbers in Danish and European aviculture. In the past 5 years he has done a lot of research and experiment to improve the breeding of this rare parrot.

	Neville Connors – Australia Neville Connors’ journey into aviculture began in his early twenties. From his first pair of birds to the present day’s substantial collection has been a fantastic, wonderful and interesting journey. He and his wife Enid or “Noddy” have blended the raising of a family and the breeding of parrots in particular, into a busy but rewarding lifestyle. In 1980 they purchased some bush land and re-located themselves and their aviaries along with about twenty pairs of parrots. They named their piece of paradise “Casuarina” and immediately set about expanding their collection. In 1990 they took the plunge to becoming full-time bird breeders and added “parrot gardens” to this name. Although perhaps known mostly from experience with the rare and endangered species of black cockatoos, they maintain in excess of 70 species of psitticines and one large planted aviary that holds soft bills, finches, doves etc. Neville and Enid’s aviary complexes are forever evolving with a number of different designs that suit the array of species they house. Set in the north of NSW the heat presents more problems than the cold. The planning of the various structures has involved a blend of factors - weather protection, privacy and user-friendliness for the good of both birds and their feeders. Together, Neville and Enid have successfully bred all of the Australian cockatoos and three exotics (Moluccan, Umbrella and Citron crests). Since 1993 Neville has been a founder and continuous organizer of the highly successful AVES bi-annual International Parrot Conventions which bring parrot breeders from around the world to Australia. He has spoken at numerous avicultural club meetings and conventions around Australia and has given presentations in New Zealand, USA, UK, Canada, Tenerife, and now Ireland. He and his wife have contributed articles to a number of avicultural magazines in a variety of countries and in 2005 published their own book A Guide to Black Cockatoos.

	Povl Jorgensen – Denmark Povl has kept parrots since his childhood and his father also bred parrots. Now in his 50s he can look back having bred all available Australian parakeet species, several kinds of African species (including greys, red-bellied etc) and many South American and Asiatic species of parrots. Povl was the editor of the parrot section of the Danish Avicultural magazine (Dansk Fuglehold) for 16 years and also the environmental advisor for the National Avicultural Society. Since the mid-90s Povl has been a member of the Advisory Board of Loro Parque Foundation, Tenerife. Povl’s main interest in parrot breeding today is the breeding of South American parrots – Amazons, Queen of Bavaria Conures and Macaws, especially the Blue-throated Macaw. Povl and a friend of his have bred more than 50 of these beautiful birds in recent years.

	Rick Jordan – USA A World Renowned author and lecturer, Rick has spent the past 22 years working in some of the most prestigious avian collections, both, in the United States, and abroad. He has shared the knowledge he has gained through his experiences in four books, Parrot Incubation Procedures, and Parrots: Hand-feeding and Nursery Management (co-authored with Howard Voren), both published by Silvio Mattachione and Co. His third book, titled African Parrots, co- authored with Jean Pattison was released back in 1999, and a fourth book, A Guide to Macaws as Pets and Aviary Birds was released in July of 2003, published by ABK Publications. Additionally, Rick has authored over 150 articles that have appeared in such magazines as The AFA Watchbird, BirdWorld, Parrot World, the Association of Avian Veterinarians Journal, Parrots Magazine, Australian Birdkeeper Magazine, and others. More recently, Rick is beginning to turn his attention to wild bird conservation. He continues to consult with the Brazilian Wildlife Management Authority (IBAMA), and is has assisted in the plans to establish a captive breeding center for the rare Lear’s and Spix’s Macaws. IBAMA has asked Rick to become a permanent member of the Lear’s Macaw Conservation Committee and the Spix’s Macaw Conservation Committee, which is quite an honor for a private sector breeder, especially one from outside of Brazil. A sought after lecturer on the subject of parrots, Rick somehow finds time to do volunteer work as well. As a former First Vice President of the American Federation of Aviculture Inc. (AFA), he knows the importance of staying involved with the National and International workings of aviculture. Currently he is the AFA CITES Committee Chairman where he monitors and provides input to the Convention pertaining to the keeping and trading of birds on a worldwide basis. As well, he volunteered to write and donate AFA’s first new on-line education course in aviculture, Fundamentals of Aviculture Part I. The course is available now at AFA’s on- line campus at www.afaeducation.com. Currently Rick is owner/partner of Hill Country Aviaries, L.L.C., in Dripping Springs, Texas with his long time friend, Mark Moore. This collection boasts over 1000 pairs of parrots of over 75 species, and additional pairs of non-parrot type birds. His facility participates in several Species Survival Plans and Studbooks, and has been awarded three U.S. First Breeding Awards through the American Federation of Aviculture, Inc. Rick also received the Prestigious AFA Presidential Award twice, once for his ideas and work on the CITES Committee, and once for his hands-on work for parrot rescue after hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf coast of the United States. Rick enjoys the challenge of “aviculture” and hopes that his work will someday have a direct and positive impact on the conservation of parrots in the wild. He is a firm believer in the benefits of captive breeding, and the supply and trade in captive-bred birds to reduce the pressures on wild flocks of the same species.

	Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D. – USA Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D., is a psychology professor at Utah State University. Over the last decade, she has helped pioneer efforts to apply to animals the scientifically sound teaching technology and ethical standard of Applied Behavior Analysis, which has been so effective with human learners. Susan has conducted workshops and conference presentations on animal learning and behavior to a wide variety of audiences including the Association of Avian Veterinarians, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, the American Federation of Aviculturists, Moorpark College’s Exotic Animal Training and Management program, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. She has presented workshops in Canada, France and Israel and Holland and this year will add Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland to the list. Susan teaches two on-line courses, one for veterinarians and other animal professionals, and another for pet owners from 22 different countries. Her articles have been translated into nine languages, including Russian, Bulgarian, Dutch and Japanese. Susan is also a core member of the US Fish and Wild Service’s Condor Recovery Team and has been nominated twice for the “Effective Presentation of Behavior Analysis in the Mass Media “ award, given by the International Association of Behavior Analysis, for her efforts to disseminate to pet owners, veterinarians, animal trainers and zookeepers some of the tools they need to empower and enrich the lives of all learners.

	Dr. Petra Wolf - Germany Dr. Wolf began her studies at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover in 1983, and in 1990 finished her PhD at the University’s Institute of Animal Nutrition. From 1990-93 she worked as a scientist at the Institute of Animal Nutrition at the Free University in Berlin and then returned to Hannover’s Institute of Animal Nutrition where she has worked as a scientist since 1993. Her main topic is nutrition of small animals (pet birds, rodents, reptiles). Since 1996 she has been a member of the ESVCN (European Society of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition) and since 1998 she has been a specialist in Animal Nutrition and Dietetics. In 2005 Dr. Wolf was honoured with the First Award of the European Society of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition, and has been involved in the organisation of many conferences including the First International Symposium of Pet Bird Nutrition in 1997, the Symposium on Nutrition in Small Pet Animals (Rodents, Ferrets, Reptiles) in 1999, and the Second International Symposium of Pet Bird Nutrition in 2007.

	Steve Martin - USA Steve Martin has lived with parrots from the time he was five years old. By the time he was 16 he was already training parrots and his interest expanded to falconry. He has now been a Master Falconer for over 40 years. He began his professional animal training career when he set up the first of its kind, free-flight bird show at the San Diego Wild Animal Park in 1976. Since then he has produced educational animal programs, or consulted at, over 50 zoological facilities around the world. Steve has produced three videos on parrot behavior and training, and he lectures frequently about parrot behavior. He has also written several articles on animal behavior and conducts four training workshops each year at his facility in Winter Haven, Florida. Over two-thirds of his year is spent on the road consulting with zoos and aquariums on animal behavior issues or teaching people the art and science of animal behavior. Steve is President of both Natural Encounters, Inc., a company of over 20 professional animal trainers, and Natural Encounters Conservation Fund, Inc., a company dedicated to raising money for conservation projects. In the past 12 years, Natural Encounters Conservation Fund has donated over $400,000 to in-situ conservation programs. Steve is a Trustee with the World Parrot Trust, a Core Team Member of the California Condor Recovery Team, and founding member of IAATE, an international bird trainers’ organization.

	Jan van der Gulik - Portugal Jan van der Gulik was born in Holland where he began breeding waterfowl thirty years ago. He now runs his own bird farm in Alter do Chão, Portugal, and has been specializing in parrots for 25 years - first as a hobby, later expanding into a full-time occupation. He has successfully bred a variety of amazons, macaws and African greys, and has occasionally worked with some mutations. Many of the birds on Jan’s establishment are hand-reared. Jan will be speaking on aviculture as a hobby, the preservation of various species in captivity, and the commercial issues involved in the avian world.

	Mark D. Hagan M.Ag. – Canada Mark Hagan is the Research Director at The Hagen Avicultural Research Institute (HARI). He has a Master of Agriculture from the University of Guelph and specialized in Psittacine Aviculture. In his Bachelor of Science, Mark concentrated on nutrition and zoology and attended a semester at the University of California, Davis taking courses in cage bird medicine, nutrition and avian science. It has been more than ten years that he has been studying companion birds; writing his first paper on parrot breeding in 1983 and establishing HARI in 1985. Following five years of experience housing birds indoors in a converted warehouse, Mark designed the new HARI facility in Rigaud, Quebec in 1989. Presently his research includes nutrition, and the influence of temperature, humidity and light cycles on breeding. Mark also speaks French and German and is making connections with European aviculturalists in order to trade captive bred birds for a wider gene pool. Conservation is one of his most important concerns. He gives talks to schoolchildren on the importance of rainforests and has bought over 100 acres of rainforest through the World Wildlife Fund of Canada. Mark is a firm believer in sharing his experiences and knowledge. He has published dozens of papers relating to the work at HARI i.e. egg incubation, oil and nutrition, formulated diets, husbandry and sanitation disease control, cage design, ventilation, paediatric care... Several of these have been presented at many of the avicultural conferences held every year throughout the USA and Canada.

	Dr. biol. anim. Matthias Reinschmidt – Germany Matthias Reinschmidt, biologist, was born on 28^th of May 1964 in Bühl, Germany. He studied biology at the University in Tübingen and wrote his diploma thesis about “Breeding biology of the Alder Amazon” in the Zoo of Karlsruhe, Germany. From 1993 to 2001 he was the editor of the magazine “PAPAGEIEN” in Germany. Since 2001 Matthias Reinschmidt has been the curator of Loro Parque and Loro Parque Fundación in Tenerife and responsible for the largest parrot collection worldwide. In 2007 he received his Doctorate from the University of Giessen. Since he was eight years old, he has been keeping and breeding parakeets and parrots. For 16 years he has organised the exhibition “Große Vogelschau der Vogelfreunde Achern” and extended it to become the largest German parrot exhibition. Today he is honorary member of the bird club “Vogelfreunde Achern”. He regularly writes professional articles about parrots which are published in ornithological magazines. His first book “Artificial Incubation and Hand- rearing of Parrots and Parakeets” was published by “Arndt Verlag” in 2000. To the present day he belongs to the editorial staff of the magazines “PAPAGEIEN” and “WP-Magazin”. In July 2006 his newest book, “Parrots of the World”, was launched together with Karl-Heinz Lambert and published by “Ulmer-Verlag”. Meanwhile two further books about Amazons and Major Mitchell Cockatoos are published and at the moment he is preparing two further parrot books. In the last three years he has appeared in more than 100 Televison-programs in Germany, presenting the animals of Loro Parque, mainly through stories of parrots and other birds. He has given presentations at parrot conventions in Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Singapore, Australia, Canada, USA and Brazil, and now Ireland.

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