- Raised near the sea of the long, coastal country of Chile, I have had a strong connection to the ocean since birth. While studying at high school, I trained to become a diving instructor to continue my deep engagement with the sea. I undertook an undergraduate degree in Ecotourism Management in Chile, and did my thesis on the development of ecotourism marine routes and ecological diving inside the marine protected... moreRaised near the sea of the long, coastal country of Chile, I have had a strong connection to the ocean since birth. While studying at high school, I trained to become a diving instructor to continue my deep engagement with the sea. I undertook an undergraduate degree in Ecotourism Management in Chile, and did my thesis on the development of ecotourism marine routes and ecological diving inside the marine protected area of Isla Grande de Atacama, in northern Chile. While doing this project, I found my passion for marine conservation and quickly realized that this is what I want to do in my professional career. The drive for marine conservation brought me to the region of Patagonia, where I lived and worked for several years. My work in Patagonia resulted in the creation and implementation of the Melimoyu Ecosystem Research Institute (MERI) in 2011. A non-profit organization, which supports and leads scientific research to enhance marine conservation and facilitate the understanding of the current conditions of Melimoyu Nature Reserve, in order to educate and preserve northern Patagonia.edit
Research Interests:
To learn more about the occurrence and behaviour of a recently discovered population of blue whales, passive acoustic data were collected between January 2012 and April 2013 in the Chiloense ecoregion of southern Chile. Automatic... more
To learn more about the occurrence and behaviour of a recently discovered population of blue whales, passive acoustic data were collected between January 2012 and April 2013 in the Chiloense ecoregion of southern Chile. Automatic detectors and manual auditing were used to detect blue whale songs (SEP calls) and D calls, which were then analysed to gain insights into temporal calling patterns. We found that D call rates were extremely low during winter (June–August) but gradually increased in spring and summer, decreasing again later during fall. SEP calls were absent for most winter and spring months (July–November) but increased in summer and fall, peaking between March and April. Thus, our results support previous studies documenting the austral summer residency of blue whales in this region, while suggesting that some individuals stay longer, highlighting the importance of this area as a blue whale habitat. We also investigated the daily occurrence of each call type and found tha...