What's Happening with Pitta?
December 2021
Hookpod work in Taiwan continues, slowly but surely. After myriad COVID-related disruptions, it was great to finally engage face-to-face with fishers that were willing to hear and talk about the amazing device that is 'Hookpod'. This hook-shielding tech is incredibly elegant but simple, and has been shown to be massively effective in reducing albatross and other seabird bycatch in longline fisheries in New Zealand and the Western Pacific, where it is currently accepted as a stand-alone measure. Getting the Taiwanese fishers interested in trailing it, is an ongoing negotiation, that moves slowly but surely
June 2021
Keith has been involved with a wind-energy project in Mongolia, and the reports are finally out. Read both by following the links to the right:
April 2021
Ken Behrens and his family are spearheading a reforestation project on Amber Mountain, near where they live in far northern Madagascar. The goal is to turn about six acres of cattle pasture back into rainforest. Over the course of a couple days, they planted well over 1000 trees, taking advantage of the tail end of the local rainy season.
March 2021
New article co-authored by Keith Barnes: Phylogeography and morphometric variation of the Spike-heeled Lark Chersomanes albofasciata complex. Read the whole article by following the link to the right: