PETER HOULIHAN specializes in planning and leading expeditions into understudied and threatened rainforests all over the world for conservation. Regularly operating in more than 20 countries across Africa, the Americas, and Asia, Peter is passionate about working with local scientists and communities, and inspiring others to learn about our natural world. He has lived and worked extensively throughout the tropics, where he has led nearly 50 large scale expeditions and managed long term conservation programs, particularly in Borneo, Madagascar, the Amazon, Central America, and the Congo Basin.

Globally, Peter's research, conservation work, and science communication have helped lead to the establishment of new protected areas and the documentation of species new to science. Houlihan’s research has spanned many facets of tropical biology and ecology, including: butterfly conservation, biodiversity monitoring, primate behavior, insect genomics, forest biogeochemistry, coral reef ecology, and pollination. As a multilingual photographer, videographer, and producer, Peter fuses conservation science with high-impact media to inform broad international audiences about our planet. On camera, Peter has appeared alongside Sir David Attenborough in a BAFTA-nominated series for the BBC, across National Geographic platforms, and in an Emmy-nominated PBS documentary. ‘Chasing Ghosts,’ recent film about his scientific research in the Florida Everglades has received many accolades as an Official Selection of numerous 2020 film festivals.

Peter Houlihan is the Technical Lead of the Rainforest XPRIZE at XPRIZE Foundation. He is an Adjunct Professor in Advanced Academic Programs at Johns Hopkins University instructing international graduate level field courses in tropical ecology and conservation. Peter is a National Geographic Explorer, Photographer with National Geographic Image Collection, and NatGeo Expeditions Expert. He is also a Senior Research Fellow with UCLA’s Center for Tropical Research, a frequent visiting scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, International Advisor to the Borneo Nature Foundation and a co-Founder and Director of BRINCC (a conservation NGO in Borneo), a Fellow of the Explorers Club, and a gear tester for Patagonia.

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On camera, Peter has appeared alongside Sir David Attenborough in a BAFTA-nominated series Conquest of the Skies 3D, in the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary Sex, Lies and Butterflies, and across National Geographic platforms. Chasing Ghosts, a recent film about his scientific research in the Florida Everglades is a 2020 Official Selection of numerous film festivals, and the Winner of two Jackson Wild Media Awards for Best Ecosystem Short Form and Best Science in Nature Short Form.