And will birds sing? A biography of Julie Savidge
Patricia L. Kennedy
A Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, Oregon State University, Union, OR 97883, USA. Email: pat.kennedy@oregonstate.edu
Abstract
Julie Savidge was among the first small but significant tranche of women field biologists. Her PhD research on the Pacific Island of Guam, published in 1987, stands as a textbook example of ecological problem solving and the first example of the devastating impact of an introduced reptile on an island fauna, the consequences of which continue today. Yet, her findings initially were strongly and publicly challenged. This paper is a brief biography of Julie, as one of the more successful of those pioneer women conservation biologists to work in the Pacific region. It tracks her early life, her influences and career path, and her struggles to balance work and family, particularly in the stressful world of academia.
Keywords: conservation biology, field biologist, invasive species, indigenous knowledge, island management, reptiles, Pacific islands, wildlife research.
References
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