DANTAisms

We are delighted that Dr. Beatriz Lopez will be teaching two Wildlife Conservation and Sustainability courses for us in Costa Rica in 2026. The course dates are December 28 to January 12, 2026, and July 1-16, 2026. For more information about the course, visit www.danta.info.

Wildlife Conservation and Sustainability

This course is designed to provide students with field experience, on a range of terrestrial surveying techniques, measuring bio-indicator species: mainly key predators and their prey and butterflies. Students will also gain a a better understanding on the principles of defaunation, sustainable development, and community management and its conservation related issues. The course includes four learning experiences categories: field exercises, seminars, lectures, and applied conservation.

The field exercises and seminars offer instruction and experience on direct and indirect methods of biodiversity data collection, management, and analysis, as well as GPS navigation and research project development. Direct methods include butterfly trapping while indirect methods comprise mammal tracking, or camera trapping. Lectures cover ecology and socio-economic and anthropogenic impacts related to selected bio-indicator groups in the Neotropics, with a particularly in the Osa Peninsula. Selected lecture topics include ecology, taxonomy, and conservation of medium-large vertebrates and butterflies, as well as effects of anthropogenic impacts on population dynamics or defaunation. Topics on community-based management, participatory methods, and socio-economic effects on both conservation and the development of sustainable livelihoods for local communities are also included. Students also gain experience in community outreach and education through involvement in an activity at the Piro Ranch involving Don Miguel Sanchez, one of the remaining few landowners in the area.

About your instructor

Beatriz López Gutiérrez is a zoologist and conservationist with a PhD in Forest Resources and Conservation from the University of Florida, where she specialized in integrating geospatial technologies (LiDAR, multispectral sensors) with field-based biodiversity monitoring to assess habitat structure, species richness, and ecological connectivity. She also holds an Honours Degree in Zoology from Anglia Ruskin University (2009) and a Master’s in Research in Biosystematics from Imperial College London (2011). With over 15 years of experience in conservation, biodiversity research, and environmental education, Beatriz has worked across Latin America, Southeast Asia, Japan, and Europe, leading multidisciplinary research, restoration projects, and capacity-building initiatives. She has collaborated with universities, NGOs, and community-based organizations to develop scientific monitoring programs, citizen science projects, and sustainability initiatives. Her work has ranged from biodiversity and habitat assessments to applying remote sensing and acoustic technology for species monitoring, with a strong focus on education and training. Passionate about bridging science and conservation action, she has taught and mentored students from diverse backgrounds, fostering hands-on learning experiences in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

Selected Publications

– Lopez Gutierrez, B.L, et al. “Ecotourism: the ‘human shield’ for wildlife conservation in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.” Journal of Ecotourism 19.3 (2020): 197-216.

– Gutierrez, B.L., et al. “An island of wildlife in a human-dominated landscape: The last fragment of primary forest on the Osa Peninsula’s Golfo Dulce coastline, Costa Rica.” PloS one 14.3 (2019): e0214390.

– Gutierrez, B.L., MacLeod, N., and Edgecombe, G.D. “Detecting taxonomic signal in an under-utilised character system: geometric morphometrics of the forcipular coxae of Scutigeromorpha (Chilopoda).” ZooKeys 156 (2011): 49.