Dr Luis Ortiz Catedral Conservation Biology, Ecology, Botany

Qualifications

• PhD - Massey University (2011)
• Master of Sciences - Massey University (2006)
• Bachelor of Biological Sciences - University of Guadalajara, Mexico (2001)

Research Interests

My research encompasses a range of topics in Conservation Biology including the taxonomy and conservation of New World monocotyledons; reproductive biology and management of threatened island birds; management of disease risk in small avian populations and the development of survey methods for threatened island vertebrates such as parrots and land iguanas. The largely human-driven biodiversity loss occurring at a global scale is an unprecedented phenomenon. Such loss ranges from erosion of genetic diversity of food crops and species extinctions, to disappearance of ecosystem-level processes. These changes have a severe effect in human societies as their wealth and wellbeing ultimately rely on the services and products ecosystems provide. The disappearance of species constitutes one of the most dramatic examples of biodiversity loss. Approximately 20, 000 species are threatened with extinction, due to habitat modification, introduction of invasive species and unsustainable harvest. The task of developing projects aimed at preventing species extinctions is clearly overwhelming. In collaboration with scientists and managers from around the world and from a wide range of disciplines, I develop topical projects aimed at stopping biodiversity loss on islands.

Thematics

Resource Development and Management

Area of Expertise

Field of research codes
Behavioural Ecology (060201): Biological Sciences (060000):
Ecological Applications (050100):
Ecology (060200):
Environmental Sciences (050000): Invasive Species Ecology (050103):
Population Ecology (060207): Zoology (060800)

Courses Coordinated

• 121.212 Field Techniques for Environmental Science
• 121.310 Environmental Solutions
• 232.703 Wildlife Management

Current Doctoral Supervision

Co-supervisor of:

• Enzo Rodriguez-Reyes - Doctor of Philosophy
  Spatial and behavioral ecology of two isolated populations of the Floreana Mockingbird: laying the basis for reintroduction
• Emma Feenstra - Doctor of Philosophy
  To disturb, or not disturb - A comparison of invasive and non-invasive methods for monitoring cryptic species using Rakiura tokoeka (Apteryx australis lawryi)

Media

• 24 Sep 2014 - Television
  Numbers of critically endangered parrot on Norfolk
  This news segment describes the implementation of an action plan to to increase the population size of the Critically Endangered Green Parrot on Norfolk Island. The project reported in this website wa