Research

My research have addressed different aspects of avian ecology, such as breeding and foraging behavior, nesting success, survival rates, population estimates, metapopulation dynamics, habitat use, hurricane effects, and distribution in the landscape (see list of research publications in separate page). My goal is to contribute to the scientific knowledge of the biology of tropical bird species to improve their understanding and provide information that can be used by stakeholders to promote their conservation.

Current work- Even though Puerto Rico is part of the Caribbean biodiversity hotspot, which occupies the fifth place of importance on a global scale of 25, little is known about the state of many species of its fauna and flora. Information about current bird population sizes is of outmost importance since multiple species are threatened or highly vulnerable to habitat destruction and competition with invasives. In order to help fill up these information gaps, I initiated a bird monitoring project in Guajataca State Forest in January 2009 with the participation of students from the Department of Natural Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla, enrolled in the course BIOL 3108 Undergraduate Research. As part of this effort I provide the necessary background information on the scientific method, literature search, technical writing, statistical analyses, and training on bird identification and field census techniques. Updates from this project are presented every year by students at the Symposium of Undergraduate Research taking place in our campus and the Puerto Rico Junior Technical Meeting. A summary of the results of this project since the beginning are included in the attachment below.