As director of the new Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Research, Glenn Parsons, professor of biology, testified before Congress regarding an important biodiversity issue—stopping the needless slaughter of sharks worldwide—at a legislative hearing on Marine Conservation and Shark Fishery Regulations on April 17, 2018.

Recipient of a $1.7 million grant funded by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality through the RESTORE Act, the Center is committed to the preservation and restoration of biological diversity. With scientists from a variety of campus and non-campus groups—US Department of Agriculture, National Sedimentation Laboratory; US Forest Service, Southern Research Station; UM biology and chemistry departments, UM Field Station, and UM National Center for Natural Products—the Center recognizes that biodiversity is essential to healthy ecosystem function and its loss may be one of the greatest threats to humanity.

VIDEO: Watch Dr.  Parsons testify as an expert witness before Congress on the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act.