Cynthia Taylor
Cynthia Taylor is the Associate Vice President of the Aquatic Conservation Program at Wildlife Trust. Ms. Taylor has more than 15 years of experience working with federal, state and private organizations dealing with marine mammal research, rescue, management and conservation. The Aquatic Conservation Program operates nationally and internationally with a focus on conflicts between humans and marine mammals in increasingly populated coastal regions. A main goal of the research program is to provide sound scientific results to managers in an effort to conserve endangered species and their habitats.
Ms. Taylor received her B.S. in Marine Science/Biology from Southampton College and her M.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina/Wilmington. Her wide range of field experience with endangered species includes working to recover North Atlantic right whales in the face of increasing injury and mortality from collisions with large vessels and entanglement in fishing gear and studying the effectiveness of research and management actions on the recovery of endangered manatee species. Using tools such as aerial surveys, photo-identification, tagging, and behavioral observations results in data that is used to determine survivability of the species, changes in behavior due to management actions or human activity, and habitat availability and adequacy.
Ms. Taylor has participated in marine mammal research, conservation, and management efforts worldwide, including Central and South America and West Africa. Her research interests include the direct and indirect effects of human activities on endangered marine mammals and their habitats in regions of increased human use, natural spring habitats throughout Florida, and working with all stakeholders during management actions to determine the most effective methods to achieve conservation goals. She has participated in numerous management teams to work through the process of implementing effective management actions for endangered species conservation. Recent research projects have focused on manatee habitat throughout Florida, qualitatively and quantitatively documenting available habitat, and investigating the possibility of modifying habitat to improve access and use by manatees. She has worked with federal and state agencies since 1995 to conduct early warning system aerial surveys along the eastern seaboard to monitor and document North Atlantic right whale movements and behavior, and to provide information to mariners in an effort to avoid interactions or collisions between whales and ships.
Ms. Taylor has participated in the IUCN Sirenia Specialist Group for many years and in 2009 was appointed the IUCN Red List Authority for the Sirenia Specialist Group. She has co-edited Sirenews, the newsletter of the Sirenia Specialist Group, since 2005. She has had membership on the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team, the USFWS Manatee Forum, the USFWS Manatee Recovery Team, and co-chaired the Southeast U.S. Implementation Team for Northern Right Whale Recovery. She is chair of the "Protect Florida Springs" specialty license plate grants committee, which funds grassroots springs protection and education efforts.
