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Renato Borras-Chavez

Post Doctoral Researcher/ Natural Resources Science, College of the Environment and Life Sciences · University of Rhode Island

https://researchid.co/renatobc
@uri.edu
19Scopus Publications
222Google Scholar Citations
10Google Scholar h-index
10Google Scholar i10-index

Research Interests

Machine Learning, Applied AI in Ecological Sciences

Biography

I am an integrative ecologist working in transdisciplinary sciences between foraging ecology, behavioral ecology, population ecology, and socioecology. My research explores predator-environment interactions by combining methods such as: diet estimators, geospatial analysis, computer vision, machine learning, and social sciences. With extensive field experience in Antarctica, Patagonia, and oceanic archipelagos, I aim to bridge ecological research with conservation strategies, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations with government agencies, fisheries, NGOs, and tour operators. I earned my Ph.D. at P. Universidad Católica de Chile and held postdoctoral positions in the US at Baylor University and the University of Rhode Island. I aim to establish an Integrative Ecology Lab that merges foraging behavior, physiology, species interactions, movement ecology, and human-wildlife relationships. Using advanced ecological knowledge, I hope to help build science-based monitoring programs.

Education

2020 Ph.D. (Biological Sciences), P. Catholic University of Chile, Chile Living in the fast lane: Foraging ecology of the Antarctic fur seal at the edge of their breeding distribution 2010 M.S. (Ecology), San Diego State University, USA Ecological and chemical responses of kelp under primitive harvesting methods: the pursuit of a sustainable method of harvesting in northern Chile 2007 B.S. (Marine Biology), Andrés Bello University, Chile

Recent Scopus Publications

  1. Postmortem attentive behavior in leopard seals: insights into mother–pup interactions
    Polar Biology, 2025
  2. Image-Based Seal Recognition: Approaches and Challenges in Current Automated Systems
    Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2025
  3. Reference genome of the leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), a Southern Ocean apex predator
    Frontiers in Genetics, 2025
  4. Individual Specialization in a Generalist Apex Predator: The Leopard Seal
    Ecology and Evolution, 2025
  5. CS-PHOC: weekly census counts of Southern Ocean phocids at Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island
    Scientific Data, 2024

Research Outputs

Documentary (co-producer): "Antarctica; Searching for Adaptation" (2023) co-creator Boardgame: "ILAN; Exploring the Antarctic Biodiversity" (2022)

Grants / Consultancy

Grants over 1,000 USD Awarded $897,000 National Sciences Foundation Office of Polar Programs, USA (2022-2025) $115,000 National Fisheries and Aquaculture Grant, Chile (2021)...

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