Latin American and Caribbean Working Group

Saludos! My name is Carlos Hinojosa, a senior at Virginia Tech studying Wildlife Conservation and Animal & Poultry Sciences. As an American-born Latino from Mexico and Guatemala, I am excited to serve as your Interim Chair. I established this working group to uplift Latin American and Caribbean conservationists, enhance communication among researchers and foster representation.

I am a member of several TWS groups, including the Student Development Working Group (2023 Trailblazer Grant recipient); Native Peoples’ Wildlife Management Working Group; Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Awareness Working Group; and the Virginia and Maryland-Delaware Chapters. At Virginia Tech, I served on our Student Chapter, gained experience in student/community engagement, university policy and have experience serving the Latin American and Indigenous communities.

Some projects I have worked on previously include Black Bear Foraging Ecology in Virginia with the WHAPA Lab, Vampire Bat and Rabies Distribution in the Colombian Andes with the Laboratory of Disease Ecology & Biogeography, and as a research technician for the USGS Eastern Ecological Center’s North American Breeding Bird Survey. I am so excited to see my idea come to life with this working group and am excited to work with you!

Hello everyone! My name is Victoria Aguilar, and I’m a wildlife biologist from Mexico. Throughout my career, I’ve worked primarily with small mammals and birds, conducting various research projects in collaboration with different non-profits and universities.

Currently, I’m working as an environmental educator at the North Cascades National Park in Washington state. I’m also an active member of The Wildlife Society, having been involved through the Mexico Chapter as an alumnus of the Leadership Institute. Now, with this exciting formation of the Latin American and Caribbean working group, I’m thrilled to start sharing ideas on how we can develop connections between our communities.

Hi all! I’m a PhD candidate at the University of Montana and specialize in Western white-tailed deer and their predators. I lived and worked for three years in Mexico at the Colegio de Postgraduados where I worked with colleagues to understand jaguar habitat preferences and land use change. With family, lands and colleagues in both countries, I couldn’t be more excited for a group that represents the intersectionality of the wildlife community.

I am currently working on a collaborative predator-prey ecology project in North Idaho with white-tailed deer as the focal species. I am interested in population dynamics, multi-species integrated population modeling, and the impact of land use and management on fluctuating populations in a 5-predator system. My previous work focused on land use change in Mexico and its impacts on jaguars and conservation efforts in protected and urban environments. I grew up in California but have spent the last 20 years moving across the country working with predators and prey until I found my way down to Mexico, living in the high desert, working in the semi-tropical lowlands with cattle ranchers and protected areas. I have now worked within both systems with very different species and conservation/management goals. I look forward to fostering a place for community, conversation and opportunity.

Hello!  I am José Gabriel Martínez-Fonseca, a postdoc at Northern Arizona University. I am originally from Nicaragua but I’ve worked with wildlife in much of Central America and the southwestern United States. Most of my study subjects are small animals like bats, rodents and herps. I am also a passionate wildlife photographer and I am happy to serve in this working group and share with you my experiences researching wildlife in Latin America.

I´ve been a member of the TWS since 2019, including the Arizona Chapter where I currently reside since 2018. I got my bachelors in the national university of Managua (Nicaragua) and my Ph.D. at Northern Arizona University in 2022.

Before that I worked in many different things but always seeking time in the field and working with animals. My wildlife photography interest always motivates me to visit new places and look for new subjects.

Over the years, this has helped build connections and work with researchers in the United States and many other countries in Latin America. I believe that collaboration is the key for novel scientific research and effective conservation while helping build capacity wherever needed.

Hi! I’m Stefani Singh, a MSc Biology student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan with a concentration in conservation science. I was born and raised in Jamaica and recently moved to British Columbia, Canada last year to conduct conservation research to obtain my master’s degree. I am extremely enthusiastic about spreading knowledge about the importance of our wonderful wildlife, and am always thinking about new, fun ways to get the public, managers and academics involved.

I am an MSc Biology student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan with a concentration in conservation science. For my MSc research, I am studying what habitat types within burned forests are used by at-risk bird species including owls, diurnal raptors, woodpeckers, and corvids, as well as how populations recover as forests regenerate over time post-fire. I am communicating with local researchers and provincial park managers to create records of management practices in post-fire forests to conserve these birds based on the findings of my research. I also currently volunteer as an editor intern for the Caribbean-based CESaRE Impacts magazine, selecting and editing articles about conservation and environmental science in the Caribbean. I am also proficient in verbally communicating about wildlife and conservation, and have presented my conservation research at multiple conferences and events, including the 2024 BC Chapter of The Wildlife Society Conference in Kamloops, Solution Scholars Summit in Vancouver and North American Congress of Conservation Biology Conference in Vancouver. I also have experience writing several grant proposals, including a successful two-year Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) application and renewal.

I received my BSc in Ecology Biodiversity from the University of Malaya, Malaysia, in which I studied topics including zoology, botany, ethology, soil science, parasitology, integrated pest management and biostatistics. During my undergraduate degree, I volunteered with the university’s Museum of Zoology to lead a three-day field workshop on insect sampling for the Invertebrate Biology course, as well as provide a tour of the museum’s display to high school students.

My background allows me to work with and communicate effectively with many different people and groups as would be required as a member of the Working Group committee. I have the technical knowledge required to plan and conduct research and communicate with academics, as well as the ability to tailor wildlife research to management plans for policy, or interesting articles for the public. I am extremely enthusiastic about spreading knowledge about the importance of our wonderful wildlife, and am always thinking about new, fun ways to get the public, managers and academics involved.

Olá! I’m Ana Meiga, a Brazilian biologist and PhD Candidate in Interdisciplinary Ecology at the University of Florida. My research focuses on animal movement, behavior and wildlife conservation. I aim to enhance the visibility of Brazilian researchers within the TWS community and increase awareness of TWS among Brazilian researchers. I am committed to leveraging this opportunity to share conservation news and foster communication between universities, organizations and TWS.

I am a Brazilian biologist and PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Ecology at the University of Florida. My research focuses on animal movement, behavior and wildlife conservation. I have a master’s degree in Biodiversity and Conservation from São Carlos Federal University (Brazil). During my master’s, I evaluated the potential impact of mammalian defaunation on the regeneration of a palm tree in the Atlantic Forest. I also participated in projects in the Amazon and Pantanal biomes. As a professional, I participated in projects as a scientist and team field leader with an emphasis on environmental assessment and impact mitigation projects, focused mainly on medium and large mammals and railway/road ecology. My quest for knowledge and global perspective led me to Seattle (USA), where I joined the NGO EarthCorps as a trainee. This six-month tenure was instrumental in enhancing my leadership abilities, and intercultural communication, all while contributing to community service and volunteer projects. These skills will enhance my communication with researchers, universities and organizations in Brazil, as well as with the TWS community. For additional information, please visit my website at the following link: https://www.anameiga.com/.