Jaime Collazo Recognized With American Ornithological Society Award

Prof. Jaime Collazo has been awarded the 2020 Ralph W. Schreiber Conservation Award from the American Ornithological Society. This award honors his “immense contributions to almost every aspect of avian conservation in Puerto Rico for over 40 years.” Jaime is also the Assistant Unit Leader for NC Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.  

Every year, the American Ornithological Society honors members for their research and volunteer work. The work of the 2020 awardees spans a diversity of ornithological disciplines across a range of habitats around the world, as well as invaluable service to AOS and ornithology. The 2020 Ralph W. Schreiber Conservation Award, honoring extraordinary conservation-related scientific contributions by an individual or small team, will be presented to Prof. Jaime Collazo.

“The award has a couple of special meanings to me,” says Collazo. “First, I knew Ralph Schreiber. I was a seabird biology student at the time (my roots in avian ecology) and spent a couple of days out in the field on offshore islands with him. I appreciated his willingness to share knowledge and insights.”

“The second has everything to do with NCSU, the Department of Applied Ecology, and the NC Cooperative Research Unit. I have been a member of the department since 1989, and from the get go, I have had unconditional support to pursue my research interests in tropical ecosystems, mostly in Puerto Rico. Others in the department have joined me in making NCSU a household institution in Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.”  

“Above all, the award is a recognition of all the good, hard work that so many of my graduate students, present and past, conducted to augment knowledge and advance tropical conservation. I am proud to say that their research has been relevant, informing many local conservation initiatives throughout the years.”

Congratulations, Jaime!