José Edgardo Arevalo

Forest fragmentation causes species diversity loss, influences population dynamics, limits dispersal capabilities and affects the viability of animal populations. In addition, edges of forest fragments expose animals to new enemies such as predators, parasites and pathogens.

Deviations from perfect symmetry in a bilaterally symmetrical trait have been used as an estimate of developmental instability in some studies in tropical forest with variable degree of fragmentation.

After 7 years of conservation work, my main research interests are in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology, mostly of birds and butterflies.

For my PhD project I will investigate the effect of forest fragmentation on understory birds in Monteverde, Costa Rica. I will focus on seven forest dependent species to study patterns of Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA) associated to possible ecological stressors (for example parasite infection). Levels of FA will be estimated both in non sexual and sexual morphological traits for one species, the long-tailed manakin (Chiroxiphia linearis).

During my work with the Monteverde Conservation League I coordinated projects targeting forest fragment conservation and forest connections in a fragmented landscape near a protected area. As a preliminary for my research project, we have colour-ringed over 1,200 birds from 64 species in premontane wet forests in Monteverde.

Born in El Salvador, 15 March 1963. Married, three children.


2001 -
PhD thesis supervised by Prof. Philipp Heeb (Grant funded by the UNIL and the UNIL-EPFL fond).

1994 - 2001
Research Director of the Monteverde Conservation League/ChildrenÕs Eternal Rain Forest private reserve, Costa Rica.

1993 - 1994
Research affiliate and curator, Ornithology, Natural History department, National Museum of Costa Rica.

1994 -
Invited instructor, Ecology and Conservation Field Course, Organization for Tropical Studies, Costa Rica.

1992 - 1993
Research project on the breeding biology of treecreepers (Certhia familiaris). Oxford University, England.

1989 - 1992
MSc, Master of Sciences in Zoology Oxford University, England. Supervised by Prof. Christopher M.P. Perrins and Dr. Andrew Gosler. (Grant funded by World University Service, U.K.)

1984 - 1988
BSc, Bachellor of Science in Tropical Biology University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica.


Conservation Research Projects


1997 - 1998
Conservation Research for threatened and near-Threatened Species of Birds in Costa Rica. Funded by the British Embassy in Costa Rica.

1999 - 2000
Population Assessment of Endangered Mammals in the Arenal Conservation Area. Funded by the National Institute for Biodiversity (INBio), Costa Rica.

1999 - 2001
Habitat use by birds and butterflies in forest remnants. Funded by the Netherlands Embassy.