Fernando Colchero Ph D. Candidate, University Program in Ecology Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University LSRC Building, room A252 Durham, NC, 27708, USA phone: (919)613 80 68 fax: (919)684 47 81 email: colchero(at sign)duke.edu

I am a Ph D. candidate in Ecology with Dr James S. Clark. I am developing demographic models that explore the effects of natural and human induced changes on animal population dynamics. I am also interested in applying inferential methods to model habitat use and movement behavior for wildlife populations.

I obtained my B.A. in Biology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The objective of my dissertation was to estimate habitat availability for pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) in Mexico to establish conservation priorities for the species. In the same line of work, I developed a similar project for desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis mexicana), which has become the basis for the National Recovery Plan for the species in Mexico. I am currently collaborating with other researchers and organizations to develop probabilistic habitat models for jaguars (Panthera onca) in the Mayan Forests of Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala.

During my bachelor degree I also studied the dynamics of a population of desert bighorn sheep introduced in 1975 to Tiburon Island, Gulf of California. The aim of the project was to evaluate the degree of intraspecific competition and the impact of extractive management and environmental variability on the population’s growth.

Currently, I am developing Bayesian hierarchical models to evaluate vital rates from capture recapture data for a colony of sooty terns (Sterna fuscata) at the Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida. The aim of the project is to determine the influence of environmental stochasticity, in the form of hurricanes and changes in food availability, on the population’s survivorship and fecundity.

For further details click on projects.