About
33
Publications
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Introduction
After completing my bachelor in biology (2002), I worked at Asociación Armonía, here I developed a true passion for conservation. In 2005 I left Bolivia to continue my academic carrier in Germany, where I earned a PhD degree. In 2011 I returned to Bolivia to work as Armonia’s project supervisor. I’m committed to prevent extinctions of threatened species and restore their habitats, while also fostering local stakeholders sustainable development. In 2017 I became Armonía’s CEO.
Additional affiliations
September 2016 - present
Asociación Armonía
Position
- Managing Director
January 2012 - present
Asociación Armonia
Position
- Conservation programs supervisor
January 2012 - present
Independent Researcher
Position
- Managing Director
Education
April 2006 - September 2009
July 1996 - December 2002
Publications
Publications (33)
The ‘Critically Endangered’ Red-fronted Macaw is endemic to seasonally dry, rain-shadowed valleys in the south-central Andes of Bolivia. The remoteness and inaccessibility of most of this region have hampered the rigorous collection of reliable range-wide data on the species’ global, local and breeding population sizes. Such data are imperative, ho...
Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are sites that contribute significantly to the protection of the planet’s biodiversity. In this study, we evaluated the annual burned areas and the intensity of the fires that affected Bolivia and its 58 KBAs (23.3 million ha) over the last 20 years (2001–2020). In particular, we analyzed the impact of wildfires on the...
The Blue-throated Macaw (Ara glaucogularis) is a Critically Endangered species endemic to the Llanos de Moxos ecosystem of Beni, Bolivia. To aid conservation of the northwestern population that utilizes the Barba Azul Nature Reserve during the non-breeding season, we set out to learn the sites where these birds breed using satellite telemetry. We d...
Reliable population size estimates are imperative for effective conservation and management of globally threatened birds like the ‘Critically Endangered’ Blue-throated Macaw Ara glaucogularis. Endemic to one of South America’s largest grassland floodplains, the Llanos de Moxos in northern Bolivia, the species’ global population size is uncertain. T...
Este plan de monitoreo fue desarrollado en coordinación con el SERNAP
El plan de de conservación y restauración de los bosques de Polylepis que se encuentran en el departamento de La Paz, Bolivia. Un documento elaborado en coordinación con el SERNAP y actores locales
High-resolution information on climatic conditions is essential to many applications in environmental and ecological sciences. Here we present the CHELSA (Climatologies at high resolution for the earth's land surface areas) data of downscaled model output temperature and precipitation estimates of the ERA-Interim climatic reanalysis to a high resol...
The analysis of distribution and diversity patterns depends in most parts on climatic variables, such as precipitation and temperature. Today, commonly used climatic predictors at high resolution result from interpolations between climatic stations which record the local climate. However, climatic stations are especially rare in mountainous regions...
High resolution information of climatic conditions is essential to many application in environmental sciences. Here we present the CHELSA algorithm to downscale temperature and precipitation estimates from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) climatic reanalysis interim (ERA-Interim) to a high resolution of 30 arc sec. The...
Climate models are an important tool for species distribution analyses and biodiversity research. High resolution data on temperature and precipitation is so far mainly based on an interpolation of recorded data from climate stations. Tragically, climatic stations are especially scarce in areas harboring high biodiversity such as tropical rainfores...
Andean Condors (Vultur gryphus) are a Near Threatened species that was formerly distributed along the entire length of the Andes from western Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego. Populations have been severely reduced north of Peru, but several thousand Andean Condors still exist in the southern portion of their range in Argentina and Chile. Little is kn...
Insect macroecology and conservation biogeography studies are disproportionately scarce, especially in the Neotropics. Dung beetles are an ideal focal taxon for biodiversity research and conservation. Using distribution and body size data on the ecologically important Phanaeini, the best-known Neotropical dung beetle tribe, we determined elevationa...
Elevational range and mean body size of phanaeine dung beetles in Bolivia.
(DOC)
Number of phanaeine dung beetle species (N = 89) and surface area of South American countries.
(DOC)
Number of 0.08333 arc degree cells and area of 16 elevational zones in Bolivia.
(DOC)
z-values from Rahbek’s [3]fig. 2 for South American land birds scaled down to the narrower bandwidth of the present study using spline-interpolated fitted curves.
(DOC)
The quality of climate models has largely been overlooked as a possible source of uncertainty that may affect the outcomes of species distribution models, especially in the tropics, where comparatively few climatic stations are available. We compared the geographical discrepancies and potential conservation implications of using two different clima...
The quality of climate models has largely been overlooked as a possible source of uncertainty that may affect the outcomes of species distribution models, especially in the tropics, where comparatively few climatic stations are available. We compared the geographical discrepancies and potential conservation implications of using two different clima...
The quality of climate models has largely been overlooked as a possible source of uncertainty that may affect the outcomes of species distribution models, especially in the tropics, where comparatively few climatic stations are available. We compared the geographical discrepancies and potential conservation implications of using two different clima...
The distribution of tropical plant and animal diversity is still poorly documented, especially at spatial resolutions of practical use for conservation. In the present study, we evaluated the level to which geographical incomplete data availability of species occurrence affects the perception of biodiversity patterns (species richness and endemism)...
The analysis of extensive databases has become an important tool evaluating the knowledge and
conservation status of the biodiversity. We evaluated the species richness and the occurrence of
threatened species (TS) of Pteridophyta at two levels: 1) ecoregional and 2) protected areas (PA’s).
In order to achieve this goal we analyzed the database of...
Ecoregions are increasingly accepted as useful geographical units for conservation planning, but to date ecoregional priorities have not been formally evaluated for Bolivia and other highly diverse tropical countries. We propose a new, simple quantitative method in order to assign conservation priority scores to ecoregions using birds as a model ta...
Las ecorregiones son cada vez más aceptadas como unidades geográficas útiles para la planificación de conservación, pero hasta hoy las prioridades ecorregionales no han sido formalmente evaluadas para Bolivia y otros países tropicales altamente diversos. Proponemos un nuevo y simple método cuantitativo para valorizar las prioridades de conservación...
We analyzed seasonal variation in avian species richness and relative abundance at the com-munity and guild level during a 13-month period in central Bolivia in an 11-ha patch of Polylepis (Rosaceae) forest, a high-Andean ecosystem that has suffered from extreme anthropogenic fragmentation. Birds were sur-veyed audio-visually (supplemented with mis...
Questions
Questions (2)
The Blue-throated Macaw, a critically endangered species that is endemic to Bolivia has two wild subpopulations. A questionable NGO is aiming to reintroduce individuals of this species under the argument that this species contains less than 150 individuals in the wild (no study has been conducted by this NGO therefore this estimation is not supported by any population study). Recent studies suggest the global population of this species is larger than currently accepted by the IUCN and BirdLife International. Please I will be gratefull to hear opinions and also receive scientific publications that highlight pros, cons and lessons learned from such initiatives.
I am looking for papers or book chapters with information about the determinants of aquatic bird's community structure in inland water bodies (e.g. lakes and rivers). I have special interest in literature produced for the Neotropic.
