Eleanor J. Sterling

RESEARCH

Eleanor J. Sterling directs the Center for Biodiversity Conservation (CBC). Dr. Sterling has 25 years of field research experience in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where she has conducted behavioral, ecological, and genetic studies of both terrestrial and aquatic species. She is considered a world authority on the aye-aye, a nocturnal lemur found in Madagascar.

Her recent work has focused on the biodiversity and history of land use in Vietnam, research that led to the publication of Vietnam: A Natural History in 2006. She is also the chair of the Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium and is helping document biodiversity on this remote atoll in the central Pacific Ocean 700 miles from Hawaii.

In 2000, Dr. Sterling spearheaded the establishment of the CBC's Network of Conservation Educators and Practitioners, which develops and implements educational resources to help teach biodiversity conservation to educators and students around the world. Since 1997, she has also served as an adjunct professor at Columbia University, where she is Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology.

Dr. Sterling received a B.A. from Yale College in 1983 and M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in anthropology and forestry and environmental studies from Yale University in 1993. She joined the Museum in 1996.

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS

Horning, N., J. Robinson, E.J. Sterling, W. Turner, and S. Spector, eds. In Prep. An Introduction to Remote Sensing for Biodiversity Conservation. Oxford University Press.

McNeely, J., E.J. Sterling, and J. Mulongoy. 2008. What each of us can do to save biodiversity. In: Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity. Edited by E. Chivian et al. pp. 37-50. Oxford Press.

Sterling, E.J., J. Lee and T. Wood. 2007. Conservation education in zoos: an emphasis on behavioral change. In: Zoos in the 21st Century: Catalysts for Conservation? Edited by Alexandra Zimmerman et al. Cambridge University Press.

Sterling, E.J. 2007. Blue Planet Blues. Natural History (November 2007) pp. 29-31.

Sterling, E.J. and M. Camhi 2007. Sold Down the River. Natural History (November 2007) pp. 40-47.

Sterling, E.J., M.M. Hurley and Le Duc Minh. 2006. The Natural History of Vietnam. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Sterling, E.J. and E.M. McCreless. 2006. Adaptations in the Aye-aye: A Review. In: Lemurs: Ecology and Adaptation. Edited by L. Gould and M.L. Sauther. pp. 159-184. Springer.

Sterling, E.J. and M.M. Hurley. 2005. Conserving biodiversity in Vietnam: applying biogeography to conservation research. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 56, Supplement I (9)90-105.

Sterling, E.J. 2005. Series editor. Nature in Fragments: The legacy of Sprawl. Edited by E. Johnson and M. Klemens. Columbia University Press.

Sterling, E.J., E.L. Bynum, M.F. Laverty, I.J. Harrison, S. Spector, and E.A. Johnson. 2003. Why Should You Care About Biological Diversity? A SENCER Backgrounder. SENCER: Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities. http://www.sencer.net/pdfs/Backgrounders/BiologicalDiversity.pdf

Sterling, E.J., M.M. Hurley, and R. Bain. 2003. Vietnam's secret life. Natural History 112(2): 50-59.

Professional Affiliations

• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society
• Society for Conservation Biology
• North American Association for Environmental Educators

Adjunct Appointments

• Adjunct Professor, Columbia University
• Adjunct Professor, Bard College

Other Professional Honors

• Consortium for Environmental Research and Conservation Executive Committee
• Consortium for Environmental Research and Conservation Governing Board
• Society for Conservation Biology Board of Governors
• Society for Conservation Biology Education Committee
• IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas