PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DE CHILE

School of Agriculture & Forestry Engineering

Department of Ecosystems & The Environment

Director: Cristián Bonacic DVM. MSc. DPhil. Associate professor. Wildlife management, sustainable use, conservation medicine, South American Camelids

Fieldstation Director (Kod Kod): Jerry Laker. Education & Conservation, Sustainability, Eco-tourism, Wildlife Conservation

Researchers:

Alejandra Muñoz (BSc Agr, MSc). Assistant professor (adjunct). Ungulates conservation, sustainable Agriculture, ecology

Nicolás Gálvez (BSc, Agr, MSc).  Assistant professor. Carnivores, conflict resolution, conservation biology

Tomás Ibarra (BSc. Agr, MSc Conservation, MSc Ethnobiology). PhD candidate. Conservation Biology, Ornithology, Ethnobiology

Juliana Vianna (Bsc, MSc, PhD). Assistant professor. Molecular ecology, Conservation Biology

Honorary Director: Professor David Macdonald, WildCRU-Oxford

Fauna Australis Wildlife Laboratory is a leading research group for applied conservation sciences led by Dr. Cristian Bonacic under the Natural Resources Programme of the Catholic University of Chile (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile – PUC); one of the most recommended universities throughout Chile. Fauna Australis was founded in 2001 by Dr. Bonacic and aims to conduct applied research on the conservation of wild endangered fauna in the southern cone of South America. A multidisciplinary research team, including agronomists, biologists, forestry engineers, geographers and veterinarians are addressing research on the current challenges of biodiversity conservation faced with global change. Former and current works contribute to the following main areas: ecology and vulnerability of endangered fauna, sustainable use of wild camelids, distribution and impacts of invasive fauna, productivity and ecology of agroecosystems, resolution of conservation conflicts, and ethnobiology in Aymaras and Mapuche communities.

About the Director

Dr. Cristian Bonacic, DVM. M.Sc. DPhil.Associate Professor, Wildlife scientist and lecturer in wildlife conservation at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry Science of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Director of Fauna Australis.

Head of the Environmental Science Diploma and of the MSc in Conservation and Wildlife Management. Member of the Wildlife Trust Alliance and associate researcher of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU, Oxford) & Macaulay Land Use Research (Darwin Initiative project). Adjunct researcher of CERC, Columbia University. In 2007 received a Whitley commnendation for his work in innovation for conservation science from HRH Princess Royal at the Royal Geographical Society of London.

“For the last 10 years, I have conducted workshops, fieldwork, captures and activities with local communities teaching sustainable use of vicunas. My goals are to provide individuals sources of income without affecting vicuna´s population viability, social organisation and injuries and stress to the animals. Most of my projects are based in the altiplano, but I also commit myself to report to decision makers in the local government (Wildlife offices in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile) and internationally (CITES, US Fish and Wildlife Service, IUCN).
My academic career combines teaching and research in applied conservation issues. I am also coordinating the Environmental science diploma in our University. In 2005, we launched the first MSc programme in Conservation and Wildlife Management. This is a 2 year graduate course that aims to prepare a multidisciplinary research team that works in flora, fauna, conservation and protected areas management. My duties as head of the programme include lecturing, field expeditions, supervision of thesis and fundraising for the projects and students”.