Overview

I am a conservation biologist working at the Peruvian non-governmental organization ProDelphinus and as a Darwin Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. My research interests centre around understanding the interactions of Peruvian fisheries with threatened and endangered marine fauna, including sea turtles, seabirds, small cetaceans and sharks. This includes multi-disciplinary work to understand the spatial and temporal distributions of species and their population status; fisheries monitoring and management; and bycatch mitigation research and experimentation. This work requires the use of a wide range of techniques including onboard observer monitoring, satellite tracking, bycatch mitigation technology trials and Rapid Assessment surveying. My work always includes strong educational and awareness raising components and emphasizes working with local stakeholders to promote long term sustainability. I also maintain active studies of the marine otter. Additional interests include conservation and management of Hawaiian monk seals and hawksbill sea turtles.

I have extensive international research experience including in the United States, Peru, Costa Rica, Suriname, Chile, and Palau. My work to date has resulted in numerous published as well as other reports, book chapters and conference presentations.

Broad research specialisms:

Ecology and conservation of threatened and endangered marine fauna, including sea turtles, seabirds and marine mammals and interactions with fisheries, primarily small-scale fisheries. My work is very much applied research focused on understanding the overlaps between human and natural systems and identifying and implementing solutions that allow for the long-term sustainability of these animal populations and fisheries.

Qualifications

• PhD Biological Science, University of Exeter, 2012
• MEM Coastal Environmental Management, Duke University, 2003
• MSc Environmental Science, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1997
• BA Political Science & Sociology, Bucknell University, 1994

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Research

Research interests

I am a conservation biologist working at the Peruvian non-governmental organization ProDelphinus and as a Darwin Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. My research interests center around understanding the interactions of Peruvian fisheries with threatened and endangered marine fauna, including sea turtles, seabirds, small cetaceans and sharks. This includes multi-disciplinary work to understand the spatial and temporal distributions of species and their population status; fisheries monitoring and management; and bycatch mitigation research and experimentation. This work requires the use of a wide range of techniques including onboard observer monitoring, satellite tracking, bycatch mitigation technology trials and Rapid Assessment surveying. My work always includes strong educational and awareness raising components and emphasizes working with local stakeholders to promote long term sustainability. I also maintain active studies of the marine otter. Additional interests include conservation and management of Hawaiian monk seals and hawksbill sea turtles.

Research projects

My primary works falls under the Darwin Sustainable Artisanal Fisheries Initiative (Peru) led by Dr. Brendan Godley, University of Exeter. This multi-year project, as well as companion and related studies with which I am involved through my work with ProDelphinus all revolve around different aspects of monitoring the distribution, abundance and bycatch of threatened and endangered marine species – including sea turtles, seabirds, marine mammals and sharks – and trialing and implementing measures to mitigation these fishery interactions. This research includes monitoring of small-scale longline and net fisheries, work with threatened and endangered species including the waved albatross and leatherback and hawksbill sea turtles, and trialing novel bycatch mitigation technologies like acoustic alarms (pingers) and net lighting.

Grants/Funding:

At any one time I work on multiple projects that receive funding from various sources. Current and previous project funders include: Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, American Bird Conservancy, Birdlife International-Albatross Taskforce, Cetacean Society International, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Conservation Leadership Programme, Darwin Initiative, Duke University, Fulbright Commission, IdeaWild, International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, International Fund for Animal Welfare, International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Oak Foundation, Overseas Research Students Award Scheme, Pacific Seabird Group, People’s Trust for Endangered Species, Permanent Commission for the South Pacific, Rufford Foundation, Societe D’Encouragement pour la Conservation des Animaux Sauvages, University of Exeter, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

Publications:

Mangel, J.C., J. Alfaro-Shigueto, M.J. Witt, D. Hodgson & B.J Godley. In press. Using pingers to reduce small cetacean bycatch in the small-scale driftnet fishery in Peru. Oryx.

Alfaro-Shigueto, J., J.C. Mangel, P.H. Dutton, J.A. Seminoff & B.J. Godley. In press. Trading information for conservation: a novel use of radio broadcasting to reduce sea turtle bycatch. Oryx.

Alfaro-Shigueto, J., J. Valqui & J.C. Mangel. 2011. New record of the marine otter Lontra felina (Molina, 1782) north to its current distribution. Ecologia Aplicada 10(2): 87-91.

Mangel, J.C., J. Alfaro-Shigueto, M.J. Witt, P.H. Dutton, J.A. Seminoff & B.J. Godley. 2011.  Post-capture movements of loggerhead turtles in the southeastern Pacific Ocean assessed by satellite tracking.  Marine Ecology Progress Series 433: 261-272.

Alfaro-Shigueto, J., J.C. Mangel, F. Bernedo, P.H. Dutton, J.A. Seminoff & B.J. Godley.  2011.  Small scale fisheries of Peru: a major sink for marine turtles in the Pacific.  Journal of Applied Ecology 48: 1432-1440.

Benavides, M., K.A. Feldheim, C.A. Duffy, S. Wintner, M. Braccini, J. Boomer, C. Huveneers, J.C. Mangel, J. Alfaro-Shigueto, D.P. Caramil & D.D. Chapman.  2011.  Phylogeny of the copper shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus) in the Southern Hemisphere: implications for the conservation of a coastal apex predator.  Marine and Freshwater Research 62: 861-869.

Alfaro-Shigueto, J., J.C. Mangel, C. Caceres, J.A. Seminoff, A. Gaos & I. Yañez.  2010.  Hawksbill turtles in Peruvian coastal fisheries.  Marine Turtle Newsletter 129: 19-21.

Pajuelo, M., K. Bjorndal, J. Alfaro-Shigueto, J. Mangel, J.A. Seminoff & A.B. Bolten. 2010.  Stable isotope dichotomy in loggerhead turtles reveals Pacific-Atlantic oceanographic differences.  Marine Ecology Progress Series 417: 277-285.

Tzika, A.C., E. D’Amico, J. Alfaro-Shigueto, J.C. Mangel, K. Van Waerebeek & M.C. Milinkovitch.  2010.  Molecular forensics analyses of small cetacean samples from Peruvian fish markets.  Conservation Genetics 11: 2207-2218.

Alfaro-Shigueto, J., J.C. Mangel, M. Pajuelo, P. Dutton, J.A. Seminoff, & B.J. Godley. 2010.  Where small scale can have a large impact: Structure and characterization of small-scale fisheries in Peru.  Fisheries Research 106: 8-17.

Vianna, J.A., P. Ayerdi, G. Medina-Vogel, J.C. Mangel, H. Zeballos, M. Apaza & S. Faugeron.  2010.  Historical and contemporary factors determining the distribution of the marine otter (Lontra felina) inferred by mtDNA.  Journal of Heredity 101(6): 676-689.

Mangel, J.C., T. Whitty, G. Medina-Vogel, J. Alfaro-Shigueto, C. Caceres & B.J. Godley. 2011.  Latitudinal variation in diet and patterns of human interaction in the marine otter.  Marine Mammal Science 27(2): E14-E25.

Mangel, J.C., J. Alfaro-Shigueto, K. Van Waerebeek, C. Caceres, S. Bearhop, M.J. Witt & B.J. Godley.  2010.  Small cetacean captures in Peruvian artisanal fisheries: high despite protective legislation.  Biological Conservation 143: 136-143.

Gilman, E., J. Gearhart, B. Price, S. Eckert, H. Milliken, J. Wang, Y. Swimmer, D. Shiode, O. Abe, S.H. Peckham, M.Chaloupka, M. Hall, J. Mangel, J. Alfaro-Shigueto, P. Dalzell & A. Ishizaki.  2010.  Mitigating sea turtle bycatch in coastal passive net fisheries.  Fish and Fisheries 11: 57-88.

Zavalaga, C., G. Engblom, J. Alfaro Shigueto & J.C. Mangel.  2010.  Immature northern giant petrels Macronectes halli visiting the coast of Peru.  Marine Ornithology 237: 37-40.

Alfaro-Shigueto, J., J. Mangel, J. Seminoff & P. Dutton.  2008. Demography of loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta in the southeastern Pacific Ocean: fisheries-based observations and implications for management. Endangered Species Research 5(2-3): 129-135.

Gilman, E., S. Clark, N. Brothers, J. Alfaro Shigueto, J. Mandelman, J. Mangel, S. Peterson, S. Piovano, N. Thomson, P. Dalzell, M. Donoso, M. Goren & T. Werner.    2008.  Shark interactions in pelagic longline fisheries.   Marine Policy 32(1): 1-18.

Alfaro Shigueto ,J., P. Dutton, M. Van Bressem & J. Mangel.  2007.  Interactions between leatherback turtles and Peruvian artisanal fisheries.  Chelonian Conservation and Biology 6(1): 129-134.

Awkerman, J., K. Huyvaert, J. Mangel, J. Alfaro Shigueto & D. Anderson. 2006.  Incidental and intentional catch threatens Galápagos waved albatross.  Biological Conservation 133: 483-489.

Alfaro-Shigueto, J., P. Dutton, J. Mangel & D. Vega.  2004.  First confirmed occurrence of loggerhead turtles in Peru.  Marine Turtle Newsletter 103: 7-11.

Book Chapters

Seminoff, J.A., J. Alfaro-Shigueto, J. Mangel, D. Amorocho, S. Kelez & D. Chacón. 2012.  Biology and conservation of sea turtles in the Eastern Pacific Ocean: A general overview.  Pp. 11-39 in: Sea turtles of the Eastern Pacific: Advances in Research and Conservation, J. Seminoff and B. Wallace (eds.). University of Arizona Press. 368 pp.

Alfaro-Shigueto, J. & J.C. Mangel. 2011.  Sea turtle conservation in Peru: limitations and efforts.  Chapter 15 in Conservation of Pacific Sea Turtles, P.Dutton and D. Squires (Eds.).  University of Hawaii Press. 496 pp.

Mangel, J., J. Alfaro-Shigueto, R. Rose & G. Borin.  2010.  Marine otters at home in Peruvian fishing ports: their behavior, prey, and interactions with human communities.  In Building a Future for Wildlife: Zoos and Aquariums Committed to Biodiversity Conservation, G. Dick and M. Gusset (Eds.). World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.  216 pp.

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External Engagement and Impact

Committee/panel activities

IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group (2010 – present)

Editorial responsibilities

Regular reviewer for many biology and conservation journals

Media Coverage

Our work in Peru has been the focus of regular media coverage.

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