Education
Ph.D. Biology, University of Virginia
B.S. Biology, Wake Forest University
Dr. Sechrest co-founded Re:wild, where he is CEO, and Board Chair. He leads Re:wild’s efforts to use nature-based solutions to address the interconnected biodiversity, climate, and human wellbeing crises.
Dr. Sechrest has a background in conservation biology, including work on threatened species, ecosystem conservation, zoology, protected areas, biodiversity patterns and processes, natural history, environmental science, and applied conservation science. He is an expert on global biodiversity conservation and is extensively involved in advancing on-the-ground conservation efforts for endangered species and ecosystems. He has coauthored numerous scientific papers in leading journals including Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Sechrest leads Re:wild’s collaborative efforts to conserve the world’s threatened wildlife and ecosystems in partnership with Indigenous and local communities, national and international non-governmental organizations, and governmental organizations. Dr. Sechrest also serves on the Global Council of the Amphibian Survival Alliance and on the Board of Trustees of the Haiti National Trust and is a Zoological Society of London Honorary Conservation Fellow. He is Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University.
Publications
Stuart, S. N., T. M. Brooks, S. H. M. Butchart, W. Elliot, M. Heath, D. Hoffmann, L. Honey, I. Kostadinova, P. Langhammer, O. Langrand, S. Leiberman, D. Marnewick, D. Raik, J. P. Rodríguez, W. Sechrest, J. Smart, S. Vergara, S. Woodley, A. Yanosky, and M. Zimsky. (2018). Clarifying the key biodiversity areas partnership and programme. Biodiversity and Conservation, 27, 791–793.
Holmes, N. D., O. Langrand, R. A. Mittermeier, A. B. Rylands, T. Brooks, D. R. Spatz, J. C. Russell, W. Sechrest, and F. Méndez-Sánchez, editors. (2018). Cemex. Mexico.
Mittermeier, R. A., A. B. Rylands, W. Sechrest, P. F. Langhammer, J. C. Mittermeier, M. J. Parr, W. R. Konstant, and R. B. Mast. (2017). Back from the Brink. C. Mittermeier, editor. Cemex, Mexico.
Dinerstein, E., D. Olson, A. Joshi, C. Vynne, N. D. Burgess, E. Wikramanayake, N. Hahn, S. Palminteri, P. Hedao, R. Noss, M. Hansen, H. Locke, E. C. Ellis, B. Jones, C. V. Barber, R. Hayes, C. Kormos, V. Martin, E. Crist, W. Sechrest, et al. (2017). An ecoregion-based approach to protecting half the terrestrial realm. BioScience, 67, 534–545.
Timmins, R. J. and W. Sechrest. (2014). A rapid reconnaissance survey to assess the conservation significance of the coastal lowlands of southwest Cambodia. Technical Report. Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX.
Noble, E., S. McKeown, and W. Sechrest. (2011). Rediscovery of the Santa Marta Toro Santamartamys rufodorsalis (Rodentia: Echimyidae), after 113 years. Conservación Colombiana, 15, 40–43.
Raichlen, D. A., A. D. Gordon, and W. Sechrest. (2011). Bioenergetic constraints on primate abundance. International Journal of Primatology, 32, 118–133.
Fiorella, K., A. Cameron, W. Sechrest, R. Winfree, and C. Kremen. (2010). Methodological considerations in reserve system selection: A case study of Malagasy lemurs. Biological Conservation, 143, 963–973.
Jones, K. E., S. P. Mickleburgh, W. Sechrest, and A. L. Walsh. (2010). Global overview of the conservation of island bats: importance, challenges and opportunities. Pages 496–530 in T. H. Fleming and P. A. Racey, editors. Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation of Island Bats. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Bergstrom, B. J., S. Vignieri, S. R. Sheffield, W. Sechrest, and A. A. Carlson. (2009). The Northern Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf is not yet recovered. BioScience, 59, 991–999.
Jones, K. E., J. Bielby, M. Cardillo, S. A. Fritz, J. O'Dell, C. D. L. Orme, K. Safi, W. Sechrest, et al. (2009). PanTHERIA: a species-level database of life history, ecology, and geography of extant and recently extinct mammals. Ecology, 90, 2648.
Schank, C., E. H. B. Pollard, W. Sechrest, R. Timmins, J. Holden, and J. Walston. (2009). First confirmed records of Large-toothed Ferret Badger Melogale personata in Cambodia. Small Carnivore Conservation, 40, 11–15.
Schipper, J., J. S. Chanson, F. Chiozza, N. A. Cox, M. Hoffmann, V. Katariya, J. Lamoreux, A. S. L. Rodrigues, S. N. Stuart, H. J. Temple, W. Sechrest, et al. (2008). The status of the world's land and marine mammals: diversity, threat, and knowledge. Science, 322, 225–230.
Boyd, C., T. M. Brooks, S. H. M. Butchart, G. J. Edgar, G. A. B. da Fonseca, F. Hawkins, M. Hoffmann, W. Sechrest, S. N. Stuart, and P. P. van Dijk. (2008). Spatial scale and the conservation of threatened species. Conservation Letters, 1, 37–43.
Morrison, J. C., W. Sechrest, E. Dinerstein, D. S. Wilcove, and J. F. Lamoreux. (2007). Persistence of large mammal faunas as indicators of global human impacts. Journal of Mammalogy, 88, 1363–1380.
Lindenfors, P., C. L. Nunn, K. E. Jones, A. A. Cunningham, W. Sechrest, and J. L. Gittleman. (2007). Parasite species richness in carnivores: effects of host body mass, latitude, geographic range and population density. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 16, 496–509.
Langhammer, P. F., M. I. Bakarr, L. A. Bennun, T. M. Brooks, R. P. Clay, W. Darwall, N. De Silva, G. J. Edgar, G. Eken, L. D. C. Fishpool, G. A. B. da Fonseca, M. N. Foster, D. H. Knox, P. Matiku, E. A. Radford, A. S. L. Rodrigues, P. Salaman, W. Sechrest, and A. W. Tordoff. (2007). Identification and Gap Analysis of Key Biodiversity Areas: Targets for Comprehensive Protected Area Systems. IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series No. 15. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
McKnight, M. W., P. S. White, R. I. McDonald, J. F. Lamoreux, W. Sechrest, R. S. Ridgely, and S. N. Stuart. (2007). Putting beta-diversity on the map: Broad-scale congruence and coincidence in the extremes. PLoS Biology, 5, 2424–2432.
Nunn, C. L., S. Altizer, W. Sechrest, and A. Cunningham. (2005). Latitudinal gradients of disease risk in primates. Diversity and Distributions, 11, 249–256.
Mace, G. M., J. Baillie, H. Masundire, T. H. Ricketts, T. M. Brooks, M. Hoffmann, S. Stuart, A. Balmford, A. Purvis, B. Reyers, W. Sechrest, et al. (2005). Biodiversity. In Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: Current State and Trends, vol. 1. Island Press, Washington, DC.
Ricketts, T., E. Dinerstein, T. Boucher, T. M. Brooks, S. H. M. Butchart, M. Hoffmann, J. Lamoreux, J. Morrison, M. Parr, J. D. Pilgrim, A. S. L. Rodrigues, W. Sechrest, et al. (2005). Pinpointing and preventing imminent extinctions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102, 18497–18501.
Jones, K. E., W. Sechrest, and J. L. Gittleman. (2005). Age and area revisited: identifying global patterns and implications for conservation. Pages 141–165 in A. Purvis, J. L. Gittleman, and T. M. Brooks, editors. Phylogeny and Conservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Fonseca, G. A. B., W. Sechrest, and J. Ogelthorpe. (2005). Managing the matrix. Pages 346–358 in T. E. Lovejoy and L. Hannah, editors. Climate Change and Biodiversity. Yale University Press, New Haven.
Cardillo, M., G. M. Mace, K. E. Jones, J. Bielby, O. R. P. Bininda-Emonds, W. Sechrest, C. D. L. Orme, and A. Purvis. (2005). Multiple causes of high extinction risk in large mammal species. Science, 309, 1239–1241.
Rodrigues, A. S. L., S. J. Andelman, M. I. Bakarr, L. Boitani, T. M. Brooks, R. M. Cowling, L. D. C. Fishpool, G. A. B. da Fonseca, K. J. Gaston, M. Hoffmann, J. Long, P. A. Marquet, J. D. Pilgrim, R. L. Pressey, J. Schipper, W. Sechrest, S. N. Stuart, L. G. Underhill, R. W. Waller, M. E. J. Watts, and Y. Xie. (2004). Effectiveness of the global protected area network in representing species diversity. Nature, 428, 640–643.
Rodrigues, A. S. L., H. R. Akçakaya, S. J. Andelman, M. I. Bakarr, L. Boitani, T. M. Brooks, J. S. Chanson, L. D. C. Fishpool, G. A. B. da Fonseca, K. J. Gaston, M. Hoffmann, P. A. Marquet, J. D. Pilgrim, R. L. Pressey, J. Schipper, W. Sechrest, S. N. Stuart, L. G. Underhill, R. W. Waller, M. E. J. Watts, and X. Yan. (2004). Global gap analysis: priority regions for expanding the global protected-area network. BioScience, 54, 1092–1100.
Nunn, C. L., S. Altizer, W. Sechrest, K. E. Jones, R. A. Barton, and J. L. Gittleman. (2004). Parasites and the evolutionary diversification of primate clades. The American Naturalist, 164, S90–S103.
Mittermeier, R. A. et al. (2004). Introduction: Global Priority Setting for Biodiversity Conservation. Pages 19–68 in R. A. Mittermeier, P. Robles Gil, M. Hoffmann, J. Pilgrim, T. Brooks, C. G. Mittermeier, J. Lamoreux, and G. A. B. da Fonseca, editors. Hotspots Revisited. Conservation International, Washington, DC.
Gascon, C., G. A. B. da Fonseca, W. Sechrest, K. A. Billmark, and J. Sanderson. (2004). Biodiversity conservation in deforested and fragmented tropical landscapes: An overview. Pages 23–48 in G. Schroth et al., editors. Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes. Island Press, Washington, DC.
Eken, G., L. Bennun, T. M. Brooks, W. Darwall, L. D. C. Fishpool, M. Foster, D. Knox, P. Langhammer, P. Matiku, E. Radford, P. Salaman, W. Sechrest, M. L. Smith, S. Spector, and A. Tordoff. (2004). Key Biodiversity Areas as site conservation targets. BioScience, 54, 1110–1118.
Cardillo, M., A. Purvis, W. Sechrest, J. L. Gittleman, J. Bielby, and G. M. Mace. (2004). Human population density and extinction risk in the world's carnivores. PLoS Biology, 2, 909–914.
Brooks, T. M., M. I. Bakarr, T. Boucher, G. A. B. da Fonseca, C. Hilton-Taylor, J. M. Hoekstra, T. Moritz, S. Olivieri, J. Parrish, R. L. Pressey, A. S. L. Rodrigues, W. Sechrest, A. Stattersfield, W. Strahm, and S. N. Stuart. (2004). Coverage provided by the global protected-area system: Is it enough? BioScience, 54, 1081–1091.
Rodrigues, A. S. L., S. J. Andelman, M. I. Bakarr, L. Boitani, T. M. Brooks, R. M. Cowling, L. D. C. Fishpool, G. A. B. da Fonseca, K. J. Gaston, M. Hoffmann, J. Long, P. A. Marquet, J. D. Pilgrim, R. L. Pressey, J. Schipper, W. Sechrest, S. N. Stuart, L. G. Underhill, R. W. Waller, M. E. J. Watts, and Y. Xie. (2003). Global Gap Analysis: towards a representative network of protected areas. Conservation International, Washington, DC.
Patterson, B. D., G. Ceballos, W. Sechrest, M. Tognelli, T. Brooks, P. Ortega, I. Salazar, and B. E. Young. (2003). Digital Distribution Maps of the Mammals of the Western Hemisphere, version 1.0. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
Nunn, C. L., S. Altizer, K. E. Jones, and W. Sechrest. (2003). Parasite species richness in primates. The American Naturalist, 162, 597–614.
Sechrest, W., T. M. Brooks, G. A. B. da Fonseca, W. R. Konstant, R. A. Mittermeier, A. Purvis, A. B. Rylands, and J. L. Gittleman. (2002). Hotspots and the conservation of evolutionary history. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99, 2067–2071.
Sechrest, W. and T. M. Brooks. (2001). Biodiversity – Threats. In Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. Nature Publishing Group, London. www.els.net
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