Sound science is at the heart of PRBO's work.  PRBO's science and conservation programs work to reduce the negative impacts of rapid environmental change. 
PRBO staff use scientific methods to understand climate change, landscape ecology, habitat change, and common and endangered bird and other wildlife species.  PRBO uses its scientific findings to evaluate the health of terrestrial, wetland, and marine ecosystems and activley guide management and restoration efforts led by government agencies, non-profits and private parties.  These findings are readily available for use in conservation via scientific paper, resource management, or public outreach publications.  

Divisions
Our science is organized into the following four divisions:

Terrestrial Ecology "Bird and Habitat Science on Land"	Wetlands Ecology "Bird and Habitat Science in Salt and Freshwater Marshes, Mudflats, and Beaches"
Marine Ecology "Bird, Mammal, Fish, and Habitat Science in Oceans and Bays"	Informatics and Quantitative Ecology "Managing the Data and Sharing the Science"

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Initiatives
Our priority initiatives, or focal areas where PRBO takes active responsibilty to address and work to solve ecological problems, include:

	Climate Change We will ensure the persistence of biodiversity in the face of rapid climate change and make certain that conservation strategies and investments in California address bird and ecosystem conservation priorities in this context.
	California Central Valley We will use our expertise in science, conservation planning, informatics, and outreach to improve the persistence and ecological functioning of bird populations and ecosystems in the Central Valley.
	California Current Marine Ecosystem We will advance marine wildlife conservation and sustainable fisheries management practices in the California Current System by documenting, understanding, and predicting the effects of climate variability and long-term biophysical changes on marine birds and mammals and the marine ecosystem.
	San Francisco Bay We will maximize the capacity of the region’s ecosystems to support viable bird populations and other ecosystem services in the near- and long-term.
	Sierra Nevada We will protect and enhance the critical habitats (coniferous forest, riparian, meadow, oak woodland, shrub-steppe and open-water) of the Sierra Nevada region in order to maintain ecosystem function and bird populations in the face of current and future changes in resource extraction, climate, hydrology, fire regimes, and development pressure.