Everglades National Park, photo D. Hodges

Stuart Pimm became a conservation biologist watching species become extinct in Hawaii in the 1970s. That experience lead to his commitment to study the scientific issues behind the global loss of biological diversity. It marked a change from the traditional ecological interests embodied in his Ph.D. from New Mexico State University (1974) and his BA in Zoology from Oxford University (1971).

Pimm has written over 150 scientific papers including three review articles in Nature and Science and three books including Food Webs and The Balance of Nature? Ecological issues in the conservation of species and communities. His research covers the reasons why species become extinct, how fast they do so, the global patterns of habitat loss and species extinction, the role of introduced species in causing extinction and, importantly, the management consequences of this research. His commitment to the interface between science and policy has lead to his testimony to both House and Senate Committees on the re-authorisation of the Endangered Species Act.

Current work includes studies of endangered species and ecosystem restoration in the Florida Everglades, setting priorities for protected areas in the Atlantic Coast forest of Brazil (one of the world's "hotspots" for threatened species), and the large-scale impacts of fishing on other marine resources.

His awards include a Pew Scholarship for Conservation and the Environment (in 1993) and an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship (in 1999). Stuart Pimm is Professor of Conservation Biology at the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation at Columbia University in New York.