PhD Students -- Claudia Penaloza
Lab 5, Ofc. 3B
135 Marine Lab Rd.
Beaufort, NC 28516
Phone: 252-504-7582
Fax: 919.668.0916
e-mail: cpc6@duke.edu
Research Interests:
- conservation biology, population modeling, sustainable harvest of threatened species
Bio: My research centers on Giant Amazon River Turtle (Podocnemis expansa) Conservation in Venezuela. I study both impact of current management and implementation of broader scale conservation actions on this critically endangered species. Because of its Sea Turtle-like biology and behavior (up to 90 cm CCL, 90-150 eggs/clutch, mass nesting, long reproductive migrations, etc.), I aim to apply Sea Turtle research technology to P. expansa studies. Mine is a small part however of the multi-institutional effort to save this critically endangered species in my home country.
Publications:
Penaloza, C. & A. G. Farji-Brener. 2003. The importance of treefall
gaps as foraging sites for leaf-cutting ants depends on forest age. Journal
of Tropical Ecology (2003) 19:603-605.
Hobbies: MOTHERHOOD... and cycling!