Bette holds a joint appointment as the Director of the Tropical Conservation and Development (TCD) Program in the Center for Latin American Studies and Professor in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. She came to UF in 2011 following an 18 month detail as Director of the Division of Environmental Biology at the National Science Foundation. Her research focuses on understanding the importance of biodiversity in tropical systems, especially the ecological role of animals as seed dispersers, and the ecology and long-term dynamics of bird populations. She is also investigating the evolutionary ecology of lek-mating systems in birds and how the spatial ecology of females influences mate choice decisions and male reproductive strategies. These latter studies on manakins is related to a recently completed NSF-funded Research Coordination Network (RCN) on the genomic underpinnings of sexual selection using manakins as a model group – Manakin Genomics RCN.  Loiselle is also helping to lead a Cross-scales Biodiversity RCN (PI: Dr. Ana Carnaval, CUNY). In recent years, much of her field research has been conducted in the Ecuadorian Amazon, although other research sites include Atlantic forests of Brazil, Andes of Colombia, and tropical wet forests of Australia. Her research has been primarily supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society, while program grants have come from a number of sources including USAID, Christensen Fund, NSF, Compton Foundation, Conservation Food and Health, among others. Bette is also involved in a number of capacity-building and research efforts as Director of the TCD program.  Currently, with funding from the 100K Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund, TCD is partnering with the Universidad Amazónica de Pando on the project “Transdisciplinary Participatory Research Exchange Program in the Bolivian Amazon” to build transdisciplinary research skills through an innovative mentor and research training effort.  Recently, TCD partnered with the Andes-Amazon Initiative of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to build a Pan-Amazon Community of Practice and Learning as part of the Governance and Infrastructure in the Amazon (GIA) project; TCD also was engaged with a RCN investigating how social-ecological systems are transformed by hydroelectric dams in the Amazon (Amazon Dams Network). See Bette’s CV here.  See this video to hear Bette discussing some of her seed dispersal work during an OTS interview.

Robinson Botero Arias
Robinson Botero AriasPhD Student
Robin is interested in conservation and natural resource management of black caiman in the Amazon. For many years he has worked in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, central Brazilian Amazonia, where he has conducted projects in collaboration with local communities. He came to University of Florida for his PhD on a prestigious fellowship from the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Rick Stanley
Rick StanleyPhD Student
Rick Stanley joined the lab in the fall of 2020 as a student in the Interdisciplinary Ecology PhD program. Rick is interested in the ecology and conservation of tropical birds, and his past work has focused on bird conservation in Latin America and Southeast Asia. He has investigated the habitat preferences and population status of the endangered Bahama Oriole on Andros Island, and surveyed threatened bird communities in montane rainforests of Java, Indonesia. Rick’s dissertation research will explore cooperative breeding and sociality in Palmchats (Dulus dominicus)in the Dominican Republic. Rick holds a BA in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University and an MRes in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation from Imperial College. When he isn’t birding, Rick enjoys snorkeling, hiking, wildlife photography and painting.
Marlyn Zuluaga Egas
Marlyn Zuluaga EgasPhD Student
Marlyn joined the lab in the Fall of 2021 at the Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department, sponsored by the Fulbright Scholarship. Her interests are focused on the conservation, ecology, and movement of wetland bird species in tropical ecosystems. Over the past four years, she has been involved in research and conservation projects with local environmental agencies in her home country, Colombia. Some projects she has worked on include invasive species management in wetlands, ecology of migratory birds, protected areas declaration, and community outreach to promote conservation awareness through education. She completed her bachelor’s degree at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Cali, Colombia. In parallel with her academic interest, she has been curious about illustration and photography as a complement to these scientific endeavors throughout her career. When not busy with the abovementioned activities, she enjoys outdoor activities such as birdwatching, snorkeling, and scuba diving.
Vanessa Luna
Vanessa LunaPhD Student
Vanessa completed her Master’s in Latin American Studies at the University of Florida in May 2019. Her Master’s work evaluated the effectiveness of private and communal conservation projects working with communities near Chachapayos, Peru and in coordination with NGI Red AMA. In August 2019, she started the PhD program in Interdisciplinary Ecology in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment (SNRE). She is part of the Governance and Infrastructure of the Amazon Project, funded by a grant to the Tropical Conservation and Development (TCD) program at UF, which is designed to build a community of practice to develop more innovative tools and strategies to reduce threats from infrastucture development in the Amazon. Her dissertation research examines fire management and governance in indigenous communities of the high Andes in Peru. Vanessa has long been interested in creating efforts to expand scientific information on biodiversity and natural resource management to spaces outside the academic context. Her dissertation research is funded by a number of sources including UF International Center and Lewis and Clark Field Research Grants program. Before joining UF, she received her Bachelor of Science degree at La Molina National University in Lima. Vanessa is advised by Dr. Karen Kainer and co-advised by Bette Loiselle.
Diego Garcia Olaechea
Diego Garcia OlaecheaPhD Student
In a broad sense, Diego is interested in the ecology and conservation of endemics bird of the Dry Forest of northwestern Peru, one of the largest communities of restricted species range in the world. His work investigates how land use and climate change affect the abundance, distribution and demographic patterns on threatened dry forest bird communities along an elevational gradient. Diego started his Ph.D. in Fall 2016, and is co-advised by Scott Robinson in the Florida Museum of Natural History. He completed a Bachelor’s degree at the Universidad Nacional de Piura in Peru and is supported by a Fulbright and Peruvian government scholarships.