Biology & Art as Tools for Amphibian and Biodiversity Conservation

Friday, October 17th, 2025  6:30-8pm

Talk Description: Amphibians stand apart from most other animals because they are disappearing faster than almost any group on Earth. Almost 40% of all species are now threatened with extinction. Brazil is home to the greatest diversity of amphibians. About one in every eight known species lives within its borders. Pedro Peloso has dedicated his career to studying and protecting this extraordinary diversity. His work blends together science, art, and storytelling to promote the conservation of these endangered species. By linking these disciplines, he aims to raise awareness and inspire action and to protect species that may soon vanish forever. This talk will guide us through a journey of over 20 years documenting biodiversity, leading to his most recent accomplishment: EXTINTOS, an international exhibition featuring Dr. Peloso’s images, and the illustrations of young artists focused on possibly extinct species.  

Speaker Bio: Pedro Peloso is a field biologist and nature photographer passionate about wildlife and wild places. He studies amphibian diversity in tropical rainforests worldwide, with a focus on rare and threatened species. He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Biology from the American Museum of Natural History and is a Research Associate at Cal Poly Humboldt. Through his work, he has discovered and described more than 30 new species, most of them Amazonian frogs.