2016_07_01_CIE_doctorado_mbpg

In the 2015-16 academic year four alumni of the Master's Degree in Biodiversity, Landscapes and Sustainable management of the University of Navarra -IvánVedia, Sheila Izquieta, Ibón Tobes and Laura de Jesús- have become PhDs thanks to their research work on the signal crab, the use of mosses as bioindicators of pollution, the study of the river basins of the Pyrenees and the Tropical Andes and the proposal of management tourism and conservation of protected natural areas.

The four new PhDs opted for a researchdegree program at the end of the Master's Degree. In the case of Ibón Tobes, the completion of his thesis has run parallel to his dedication as a professor at a university in Quito (Ecuador). His work has focused on developing a sampling methodology for fill in the ecological programs of study in fluvial ecosystems, especially vulnerable and in status of fragility, both in Europe and in the Tropics. In fact, one of its conclusions points to the need to evaluate the role of biosphere reserves in view of the neglect of management and the lack of real action plans to ensure their protective role in these particularly biodiverse ecosystems.

Sheila Izquieta, on the other hand, has completed her international doctorate - which requires the essay of the thesis in English, the realization of stays abroad and the reading of the conclusions in said language- on the monitoring of atmospheric pollution by nitrogen, using mosses as natural bioindicators.

Signal crab: fishing or control?

Iván Vedia set out to analyze the main ecological relationships between the signal crab and abiotic and biotic factors in Navarre's river systems. To do so, he started by reviewing the current programs of study on this species and the legislation on its management. In this sense, he warned that the disparity of management of the different administrations, together with the fact that this species is considered invasive but at the same time is appreciated for fishing, makes it very difficult to have a comprehensive and unified plan to manage it, despite the negative impact it is producing by competing with endemic species in danger of extinction, such as the lamprey.

Finally, Laura de Jesús Calero, from Ecuador, focused her work on the analysis of tourism and landscape in a protected natural area through the example of Machalilla National Park, one of the most visited environments in Ecuador and which, as a conclusion of her study, has a high tourism potential still to be exploited, creating and improving its transport infrastructures, accommodation and the offer of activities and services.