Meet the Scientist

Name: William S. (Bil) Alverson
Position/Title: Conservation Ecologist / Adjunct Curator
Department: Environmental and Conservation Programs / Botany

1. What do you study related to biodiversity (what are your research questions, what organisms do you work on)?

In ECP, I'm a member of the rapid biological inventories (RBI) team that evaluates the quality of potential national parks and wildlife refuges in Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru, and elsewhere (see www.fmnh.org/rbi).

In Botany, I carry out systematic and phylogenetic research on Neotropical trees related to baobabs, balsa wood, hibiscus, and cotton. These were traditionally placed in the plant families Bombacaceae and Malvaceae, but are now all placed in an expanded family Malvaceae (in the Linnaean system of nomenclature). In the new, phylogenetic system of nomenclature, these are all placed in the evolutionary group (clade) called Malvatheca. I specialize on the genera Matisia, Pachira, Phragmotheca, and Quararibea.

2. How do you study biodiversity (for example, what technological tools and methodologies do you use in your research)?

The methods we use for our rapid biological inventories can be found at www.fmnh.org/rbi/whatdo.html.

My research on the Malvatheca clade is a combination of fieldwork, studies using herbarium specimens, and analysis of DNA. A brief summary of the molecular work can be found at www.botany.wisc.edu/baum/Malvales.htm, and I continue to collaborate closely with David Baum and his students at the University of Wisconsin—Madison.

3. Where do you study biodiversity?

Central and South America

4. How might your research have implications for biological conservation?

The goal of rapid biological inventories is to catalyze effective action for conservation in threatened regions of high biological diversity and uniqueness (see www.fmnh.org/rbi/whatrbi.html).

We've helped catalyze the creation of several large parks and wildlife reserves in Latin America, including the Parque Nacional Cordillera Azul, in Peru (www.fieldmuseum.org/scienceinaction).

In contrast, my work with the Malvatheca clade is a research effort, but it also provides useful information for conservation. I publish information on new species, provide keys that help identify poorly known species, and provide information on geographical distribution, ecology, and rarity, all of which helps conservationists evaluate the status of these species.

5. How did you become interested in science? What made you want to be a scientist, and how did you get to The Field Museum?

I spent a lot of time poking around in the woods and marshes of central Wisconsin when I was a kid. Two teachers at the University of Wisconsin had a profound effect on me in the early 1970s: Harriet Irwin opened my eyes to the wonder of plants, and Hugh H. Iltis introduced me to tropical forests. In 1977, a friend and I drove to Panama, sold his pickup truck for parts, flew to Colombia, and collected herbarium specimens for six months, at which point I knew that working in tropical forests would be my life's work. I came to the Museum in 1999, from Harvard, because I can work both in research (which is fascinating) and in conservation (which is crucial and rewarding).

6. Describe important collaborations for your scientific endeavors (describe your work with other researchers, organizations, or scientific groups, local or indigenous peoples, etc.)

All of our rapid biological inventories are carried out with teams of biologists and conservationists from the host countries (see www.fmnh.org/rbi/). My research routinely involves Latin American colleagues and their students.

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