Madagascar Biodiversity and Conservation

Understanding the links between landscape ecology, behavior and population genetics in fragmented forests. 

In this project we integrate long-term behavioral, mark and recapture, landscape and genetic data of various lemur species present in Ranomafana National Park and surrounding areas. Our goal is to  better understand the effects of climate and land cover change on lemur populations to assess population health and inform conservation management. 
Wright, P. C., Otero Jiménez, B., et al. 2020. The Progressive Spread of the Vascular Wilt Like Pathogen of Calophyllum Detected in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 91. (Link)
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Zhang, L., Ameca, E.I., Otero Jiménez, B., et al. 2022. Human-induced deforestation increases extinction risk faster than climate pressures: Evidence from long-term monitoring of the globally endangered Milne-Edward's sifaka. Biological Conservation, 274, p.109716.

Exploring the history and biodiversity of the Ivohiboro Forest

The Ivohiboro-Analamary is a humid isolated forest embedded in a landscape dominated by dry forest and savannah in south-central Madagascar. In 2016 Dr. Patricia Wright and the Centre ValBio research team conducted the first biological surveys of the site since 1921. These surveys reveal a diverse and unexpected biodiversity. Our team is working to understand the land-change history of the site and the factors driving the biodiversity present in this isolated forest. 
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Into the Forbidden Forest. July 2022. Smithsonian Magazine (Link)
Otero Jimenez, B., Montaño S.K., Rothman R., Wright P.C. Biological surveys of a fragmented humid forest in the savannah of south-central Madagascar. Conservation Science and Practice (accepted January 2023)

Effect of coffee management practices on small mammal population connectivity

In this project I am integrating genetic and land cover data to understand the effects of coffee production and management on the dispersal of two common species of tropical rodents Heteromys desmarestianus and Peromyscus gymnotis in Chiapas, Mexico.

Otero-Jiménez, B., Vandermeer, J. H., & Tucker, P. K. (2018). Effect of coffee agriculture management on the population structure of a forest dwelling rodent (Heteromys desmarestianus goldmani). Conservation Genetics, 19(2), 495-499. (link)

Landscape resistance to O. pumilio dispersal in lowlands of northeastern Costa Rica

We were interested in better understanding the effects of pasture land cover on frog movement. We measured recapture rates of individuals displaced into forests and into pastures, the effects of microclimate on the movement performance of individuals, and the influence of land‐cover type and displacement distance on orientation ability of O. pumilio.

Nowakowski, A. J., Otero Jiménez, B., Allen, M., Diaz‐Escobar, M., & Donnelly, M. A. (2013). Landscape resistance to movement of the poison frog, O ophaga pumilio, in the lowlands of northeastern Costa Rica. Animal Conservation, 16(2), 188-197. (link)

Effect of land-use history on the recovery of bird and amphibian communities in Puerto Rico
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The goal of this project was to describe the recovery patterns of the fauna (amphibians and birds) in these secondary forests.  To do this we compared the species composition in both secondary forest (abandoned agricultural sites > 60 yr old- n=6) and mature forests (n=6) in the Luquillo and Carite forests in Puerto Rico. At each site, portable recorders were used to census the fauna.

​Project was part of ARBIMON

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Affiliations
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