ROOSEVELT A. MESA GUTIERREZ
roosevelt.mesa@duke.edu – +1 919.491.3028
Career Interests: Coastal and Marine Conservation; Environmental Policy and Management;
Marine Mammals Biology and Ecology; Community Based Management; Environmental Awareness
EDUCATION
MASTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, May 2018
GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS CERTIFICATE, May 2018
Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC
Concentration: Coastal Environmental Management.
Coursework: Marine Conservation; Ocean and Coastal Law and Policy; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); Environmental and Resource Economics; Fisheries’ dynamics
Leadership: Working Group for the Environment in Latin America (WGELA) Representative; Black and Latino Club Representative.
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BIOLOGY, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia. October 2015.
Thesis: Population structure of the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) in the Caribbean.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Human Wildlife Interactions at the Sea. Bass Connections Initiative, Duke University.
As part of an interdisciplinary faculty-student team we address the negative relation between pilot whales and fisheries in the East Coast. Combining GIS analysis, ecological data and interviews with stakeholders, the initiative’s main goal is to understand and contribute to the improvement of both cetaceans’ and fisheries’ scenarios. May 2017 – Present.
Antarctic Affairs Intern. Colombian Ocean Commission. Bogota, Colombia.
Developed databases and general diagnoses of studies related to bioaccumulation and biomagnification in the marine environment, as well as to the population distribution of humpback whales, in Latin America. Supported the evaluation committee in selection of research projects to be developed during the 2017-2018 Colombian expedition to Antarctica. May – August 2017.
Marine Mammal Observation and Habitat Modelling Intern. CIIMAR - University of Porto, Portugal.
Collected demographic, behavioral and geographic data of marine mammals observed while on board of cargo ships navigating the Portuguese EEZ. Data was later added to databases used for geospatial analysis. July – September 2015.
Marine Mammal Observer Intern. Pacific Whale Foundation, Puerto Lopez, Ecuador.
Gathering of observational and acoustic data, along with the photo identification of humpback whales using local whale watching vessels as research platforms. Analysis and edition of photographic databases. July 2014.
Associated Researcher. Bogota, Colombia. Occurrence, distribution and preliminary genetic status of cetaceans in La Guajira region, Colombian Caribbean.
Project developed with the purpose of establishing a research baseline aimed to the demographic and genetic study of the marine mammals that inhabit the northern coast of Colombia. Scientific research complemented by educative sessions to create awareness among artisanal fishermen in local communities regarding the ecological importance of these organisms. 2014 – present.
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
Population structure of the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) in the Caribbean.
21st Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals. San Francisco, California. December 13 – 18, 2015.
Symposium of Aquatic Mammals in Latin America. III Colombian Congress of Mammalogy. Bogota, Colombia. December 1-5, 2015.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Software: Microsoft Office Suite; R; ArcGIS.
Languages: Spanish (native speaker); English (high proficiency); Portuguese (professional proficiency).
Training: PADI Advance Diver; Emergency First Responder; Marine Mammals Strandings.
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