Biography

Ramiro D. Crego is a postdoctoral researcher at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Conservation Ecology Center, with focused research objectives across the Laikipia Plains in East Africa. He aims to advance the current knowledge on wildlife movements and land-cover/land-use change across grassland ecosystems in Kenya. He will spend a portion of time at the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya, where he will assist with workshops.

Crego has been conducting research focused on the conservation of ecosystems and has worked in the high Andes of Argentina, studying interactions of large mammals. He has also assessed current and future distribution of wet meadows under the effects of climate change in the arid and semiarid Patagonia to guide future conservation initiatives in the region.

More recently Crego focused research on the effect of invasive mammalian species at the southernmost forest of the world in Chile. Specifically, he investigated occupancy dynamics and niche shifts of the American mink using camera traps, and assessed mink impact on native bird and rodent communities and facilitative interactions with other mammalian invaders, such as American beavers and muskrats. This information is helping to better understand the dynamics of invasive species and their impacts, as well as to improve current management programs.

Crego is from Argentina and obtained his bachelor’s degree at the College of Natural Sciences and Museum Studies, National University of La Plata, Argentina. He earned his master's at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He recently completed his doctorate at the University of North Texas, working on invasive mammals on the southernmost forest ecosystem of the world — the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve in southern Chile. 

Projects

Myanmar Biodiversity

Smithsonian researchers help conserve Myanmar's biodiversity through research and capacity building, collaborating with local organizations for the long-term survival of species and ecosystems.

Studying Large Herbivores Across Laikipia Rangelands in Kenya

Conservation Ecology Center scientists are studying wildlife across a mosaic of private and communal lands in central Kenya where wild animals coexist with people and domesticated animals.

Wildebeest Conservation

Conservation Ecology Center scientists are tracking the movements of white-bearded wildebeest to understand how changes across the landscape impact the species.