Jack Dumbacher leads the Academy’s Papua New Guinea expeditions, making annual trips to the island and its surrounding areas to document bird biodiversity. Past collaborators include the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery and students at the Joe deRisi Lab at the University of California San Francisco.
Dumbacher attributes much of his research success on the island to his local guides, whom he says he is “totally dependent on.” The guides give Dumbacher valuable local wisdom, including which roads to travel on, what organisms are harmful, and where the most birds are located.