Beth Kaplin is an American conservation scientist, professor and researcher. She is professor of conservation science in the College of Science and Technology at the

University of Rwanda University of Rwanda (, ) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate, multi campus university based in Kigali, Rwanda. Formed in 2013 through the merger of previously independent education institutions, the University of Rwanda is the largest ...

. She is also a research professor in the School for the Environment and a senior fellow at the Centre for Governance and Sustainability, both at the

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public US-based research university. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Ma ...

Education

She received a Ph.D. Dept of Zoology,

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, 1998; an M.Sc., department of

Zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

;

, 1994; and B.Sc

Wildlife biology A wildlife biologist studies animals and their behavior along with the role each animal plays in its natural habitat. The duties of a wildlife biologist can include: developing and conducting experiments/studies on animals in their natural habitat ...

, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 1986. As an undergraduate, she studied Biological Sciences at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, 1981-83 with a focus on

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

and conservation science.

Career

From 2006 to 2015, Kaplin raised over US$1 million from the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...

to develop BSc and MSc programs in biodiversity conservation at the

National University of Rwanda The National University of Rwanda (NUR; , , UNR) was the largest university in Rwanda. It was located at in the city of Butare and was established in 1963 by the government in cooperation with the Congregation of the Dominicans from the Provin ...

. From 1998 to 2018, Kaplin served as a faculty member in the Environmental Studies Department at

Antioch University New England Antioch University New England is a private graduate school located in Keene, New Hampshire, United States. It is part of the Antioch University system, a private, non-profit, 501(c)(3) institution that includes campuses in Seattle, Washington; ...

in the U.S. During her tenure, she held the position of program director for the Ph.D. program. Kaplin serves as the director of the Centre of Excellence in

Biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

and Natural Resource Management (CoEB) at the University of Rwanda. The CoEB focuses on advancing research and knowledge exchange and sustainable practices in biodiversity conservation and

natural resource management Natural resource management (NRM) is the management of natural resources such as Land (economics), land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generati ...

. Under Kaplin's leadership, the centre has become a prominent hub of conservation and sciences in the region.

Research

Much of Kaplin's

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

focuses on tropical ecology and conservation the main area of the study is Biodiversity information system, protected areas conservation,

seed dispersal In spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors, ...

and many more. Kaplin recently studied the

golden monkey The golden monkey (''Cercopithecus mitis kandti'') is a subspecies of the blue monkey. It is an Old World monkey found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, including four national parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcan ...

, a subspecies of the

blue monkey The blue monkey or diademed monkey (''Cercopithecus mitis'') is a species of Old World monkey native to Central and East Africa, ranging from the upper Congo River basin east to the East African Rift and south to northern Angola and Zambia. It ...

, residing in the Virunga volcanic mountains of the central Africa. Found in

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s such as

Volcanoes A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

, Virunga, and

Kahuzi Mount Kahuzi is an extinct volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is within the Kahuzi-Biéga National Park, a World Heritage Site. Location Mount Kahuzi was last active at the end of the Pleistocene. At it is the highest peak in th ...

. The

lives in social groups of up to 30 individuals and feeds on bamboo leaves fruits and probably insects. Kaplin in her publication concluded that "unfortunately due to

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and recent conflicts in their limited range, the

is classified as endangered species on the

IUCN Red list The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplin, Beth Colorado State University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Massachusetts Boston faculty Academic staff of the University of Rwanda Academic staff of the National University of Rwanda Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Rwandan conservationists