I am a conservation scientist with a broad interest in biodiversity, ecosystems, and threatened species. Over the past several years, I have worked across South America, particularly in southern Ecuador, where I conducted my Master’s research on human–wildlife conflict and coexistence across the Binational Andean Conservation Corridor between Ecuador and Peru. My work focused on understanding the impacts of human pressures, landscape change, and feral dogs on wildlife, including both large and small carnivores. More recently, I have been working in the Galápagos Islands, where my research focuses on the conservation of the archipelago’s endemic and endangered flora and fauna. Through my work with the Galápagos Conservancy, I have become particularly interested in understanding how introduced species and centuries of human pressures have affected native ecosystems.

In my PhD, I study tropical dry forests and the ecological role and conservation of Galápagos giant tortoises, combining historical, remote-sensing, and fieldwork approaches to better understand and protect these species and the ecosystems they shape.

franciscoplps@gmail.com
Rudower Chaussee 16, 12489 Berlin
2'105