About the Conservation Ecology Center

Mission: To use basic and applied science to conserve species and ecosystems worldwide.

The Conservation Ecology Center works with local and international institutions to address challenges such as conserving and restoring species and habitats, mitigating biodiversity loss, maintaining ecosystem function and understanding climate change. In collaboration with more than 130 conservation leaders around the world, CEC aims to answer critical conservation questions. Projects led by CEC scientists span 38 countries, and researchers also work locally at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute headquarters and field sites across Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountain region.

Science and Conservation Reach (as of 2018)

• 101 project sites in 38 countries
• 4 species reintroductions (scimitar-horned oryx, Przewalski’s horse, swift fox, giraffe)
• 67 ForestGEO forest monitoring plots in 27 countries
• 30,000 records in the global forest carbon database (ForC)
• Data on 37 species, with more than 1 million movement data points, collected through the Movement of Life initiative
• 90,000 camera trap deployments, with more than 800,000 wildlife detections, recorded in the eMammal database
• 20-35 interns from around the world learning alongside CEC staff