Pilar A. Palacios

Ph. D. Candidate

Department of Wildlife Ecology
University of Maine
Orono, Maine, USA

 

Centro de Ecologia Aplicada (CEA), Santiago, Chile.

e-mail: pilar.palacios (at) umit.maine.edu

Curriculum Vitae (Download PDF)

Profile

Broadly, my main interest is the conservation of biodiversity. The main focus of my doctoral research is wetland conservation. Wetlands have diverse functions such as nutrient cycling, sediment retention, flood control, and providing wildlife habitat. Anthropogenic activities that threaten these functions include, for example, water use for mining activities, spillage of pollutants, and draining for agriculture. We were asked by the Chilean government to classify Chilean wetlands and prioritize their conservation. For this, we are using a geographical information system to classify wetlands into different ecotypes based on their physical features such as temperature, precipitation, soil permeability, and slope. To determine watershed-based conservation priorities for wetlands, each ecotype will be associated with functions and threats. This information will be combined with data on proximity to populated areas and water extraction to identify a hierarchy of sites to conserve based on landscape-scale characteristics of the wetland. We will also evaluate the ecotype classification model by studying a particular function in different wetlands classified as the same ecotype, and we will create management plans for each ecotype.

My advisor is Dr. Mac Hunter.

Publications and presentations

Palacios, P. A., Contreras M, Oyola N, Hunter, M L Jr., Calhoun A J K (2007) WETLANDS PROTECTION AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT: THE CHILEAN EXPERIENCE. XXI Annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Palacios, P. A., Contreras M, Oyola N & Figueroa A. (2006) GESTION PUBLICA EN CONSERVACION DE HUMEDALES,UNA PROPUESTA METODOLOGICA: PROTECCION Y MANEJO SUSTENTABLE DE HUMEDALES INTEGRADOS A LA CUENCA HIFDROGRAFICA. Internacional Seminar on Marine and Coastal protected areas. Caldera, Chile.

Palacios, P . A. & Simonetti, J. A. (2005) LITTERFALL DYNAMICS IN MAULINO FOREST FRAGMENTS, CHILE. XIX Annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology, July 14-20, Universidade de Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil.

Palacios, P. A. & Hunter M. L. Jr. (2005) CHILEAN AMPHIBIANS AND EXOTIC PINE PLANTATIONS: A BAD MIX? Graduate Research Exposition, Buchanan Alumni House, April 10-11, University of Maine , Orono , ME, USA. (Download PDF)

Palacios, P. A. & Hunter M. L. Jr. (2004) LAND-USE PRACTICES AND THE EFFECT OF MICROHABITATS ON JUVENILE AMPHIBIAN MOVEMENTS. NorthEast Biological Graduate Student Conference, February 27-29, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA .

Palacios P. A. (2003) PRODUCCIÓN Y DESCOMPOSICIÓN DE HOJARASCA EN UN BOSQUE MAULINO FRAGMENTADO. Professional degree thesis, School of Sciences, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. (Download PDF).

Palacios, P . & Simonetti, J. A. (2002) EFFECT OF FOREST FRAGMENTATION IN LITTER PRODUCTION AND DECOMPOSITION. Forestry Sciences Congress, October 23-25, Universidad de Chile , Santiago, Chile.

Other

Pictures of Botany class laboratory in which I was a Teaching assistant (University of Chile).

My pictures at flickr

I am a member of the Society for Conservation Biology