Dr. T. Wayne Schwertner Appointed to Wildlife Conservation Advisory Group

STEPHENVILLE — Dr. T. Wayne Schwertner, Associate Professor of Wildlife Science in the Department of Wildlife and Natural Resources at Tarleton State University, was recently appointed to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Pigeon and Dove Species Specialist Group.

“The IUCN is the world’s leading authority on wildlife conservation, and its scientific advisory bodies are made of some of the leading scientists in their respective fields,” said Dr. Schwertner. “I am incredibly proud and humbled to have been invited to join this group.”

Founded in 1948 and based in Gland, Switzerland, the IUCN is best known for compiling the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, a comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of imperiled species around the world.

Through its Species Survival Commission, the IUCN maintains over 180 Species Specialist Groups (SSG). Each SSG is composed of volunteer scientists from around the world who compile information and provide expert input and advice on the conservation status of individual species groups. The Pigeon and Dove Specialist Group is tasked with the conservation of the over 340 species of birds in the family Columbidae. Doves and pigeons are one of the most threatened groups of birds in the world, with 82 species either vulnerable, endangered or already extinct. The primary threats to these species include habitat loss from agricultural development, hunting, invasive species and climate change.

Dr. Schwertner has been a faculty member in the Tarleton State College of Agriculture and Natural Resources since 2011. Along with his colleagues, he has authored numerous scientific publications on doves and other wildlife species. He is heavily involved with international wildlife conservation, maintaining an active research program in Botswana and leading an annual study abroad to several countries in southern Africa. Prior to coming to Tarleton, he was the statewide white-winged dove program leader for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

For more information on the IUCN and its mission, go to https://iucn.org/.