Gino Rivera BulnesEducationB.Sc., 2020, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Biology
Current ResearchI am interested in understanding human-wildlife coexistence from a social-ecological perspective. My research focuses on the human-wildlife interactions in the Ica valley, Peru, an agricultural landscape in tropical drylands. I will use mixed methods to build spatially explicit risk models to map conflict hotspots with species of the order Carnivora, including pumas and medium-sized carnivores. Moreover, I will explore the differences between the two agricultural systems in the area, industrial and smallholder farming, regarding their risk and tolerance to carnivore interactions. With these outcomes, I hope to inform sustainable practices at the intersection of rural development and conservation planning in tropical drylands.
Previous ResearchDuring my undergraduate studies in Peru, I carried out research activities studying bats and vascular plants. I also participated as a field assistant for Mg. Julio Chavez Achong in the assessment of the social-ecological resilience of organic and fair-trade coffee farming in montane rainforests. As a research intern in Dr. Thomas Lacher’s lab at Texas A&M University, I assisted in the sorting of camera trap images for medium- and large-sized mammals in Costa Rica and Argentina. Additionally, I contributed to the IUCN Red List assessments of neotropical small mammals.
Given the narratives that began to emerge about bats during the Covid-19 pandemic, I also worked on a thematic and framing analysis of the news coverage of bats in Peruvian outlets. My goal in that independent research was to address the pandemic’s influence on the portrayal of bats and their conservation. Before coming to Yale School of the Environment, I worked for WWF Peru, implementing conservation projects for dolphins in the Amazon basin. I participated in projects to promote fisher-dolphin coexistence by exploring drivers of conflict and testing mitigation strategies, as well as population monitoring. |
ContactTwitter: @ginorive
Email: gino.riverabulnes [at] yale.edu Mailing Address: Yale University School of the Environment 370 Prospect Street New Haven, CT 06511 USA 
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