Reading Time: 5 minutes As a result of the “feather craze” that decimated Florida’s bird populations, the Florida Audubon Society found that the roseate spoonbill had been the mostly heavily hit. Plume hunters and poachers sought out the roseate spoonbill for its beautiful, bright pink and orange plumage. The Audubon Society “understood that in order to save endangered birds from extinction, [it] would have to bring more resources to bear than wardens and sanctuaries.” Because the population of spoonbills had been so devastated, their “critical situation called for careful study of the living birds in the wild” and Robert Porter Allen was the perfect person for the job… (Continue Reading)
Tag: Everglades
Digital Environmental Interfaces at Florida Universities
Reading Time: 4 minutes Post written by Lesley Brooks, Carla Fotherby, and LeEtta Schmidt
USF Libraries Digital Collections seek to curate unique and impactful collections that provide researchers and scholars with access to new and historical information on environmental studies and natural history. The Florida Environmental Interface has been created to enhance access to environmental resources including digital collections that we have described in a recent four part series, “USF Digital Collections for Environmental and Natural Sciences Research”… (Continue Reading)
The Fashion Craze that Galvanized Conservationists
Reading Time: 5 minutes Imagine it’s the year 1880… Men are dressed in top hats and long, formal coats while elegant women wear bustled skirts, their waists pinched in by corsets, and their heads adorned by large hats scattered with bright, colorful feathers. It’s the fashion of the day and the current craze is focused on those colorful feathers. But, what had to die to fulfill this fashion craze? BIRDS… (Continue Reading)