Paul Slud, 87; Expert on Tropical Ecology Studied the Birds of Costa Rica
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Paul Slud, 87, an expert on tropical ecology who spent years studying the birds of Costa Rica, died Feb. 20 of cancer at his home in Catlett, Va.
Slud was an associate curator in the bird division at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History from 1964 until his retirement in 1983. He was the author of several scientific works, including “The Birds of Finca La Selva.”
Soon after joining the Smithsonian, Slud traveled to Costa Rica as part of a research project assisting the Army on bioecological classification for military environments. An important objective of the project was to study a variety of habitats and then classify and predict plant formations and the distribution of birds.
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