The Southwest Biodiversity Coalition’s mission is to document and preserve the biodiversity of the American Southwest and Mexico. This geographic area is a biodiversity hotspot housing many rare and endangered species, some of them restricted to single valleys or mountain tops. Through collaboration with state and federal agencies we will work to inventory the biodiversity of at-risk areas and monitor rare species in order to inform governmental policy, conservation groups, and the scientific community on what flora and fauna are living in these delictate eco-systems and the status of threatened and endangered species.

Our Director, Josh Brindley recieved a  PhD from Washington State University where he studied the evolution and diversification of the flowering plant genus Eucnide. During his studies he did extensive fieldwork throughout Baja California and Sonora, Mexico, and this is where he developed a deep connection with the region. Beyond his experience in the field,  Josh has a strong background in plant systematics/ taxonomy and molecular phylogenetics. He has a deep passion for understanding and preserving biodiversity the North American deserts.

The ultimate goal of the Southwest Biodiversity Coalition is to document and preserve the biodiversity of the American Southwest and Mexico. This geographic area is a biodiversity hotspot housing many rare and endangered species, some of them restricted to single valleys or mountain tops, but despite the abundance of rare biodiversity in this region there are still large regions that are vastly under explored. In order to understand the status of these at risk organisms we need to know where they live and how abundant they are.

Natural history collections are relatively sparse in much of the deserts of North America. Many scientific disciplins rely on the use of natural history collections as the foundation for their work, but there are still huge gaps in this foundational information.

Through extensive fieldwork and work with local natural history collections, we strive to responsibly collect and document the biodiversity of these under collected and threatened areas. All of our work will be made available to the public through online databases.

Southwest Biodiversity Coalition

920 E Leeward Ln

Tempe, Arizona, 85283

Email:

swbiodiversity@gmail.com