Alejandro Pietrek

Alejandro Pietrek uses age-dependent birth and death rates of birds and mammals to understand the population structure and dynamics of species of conservation concern in high elevation terrestrial and wetland environments.

Pietrek is investigating questions that are important to the conservation of the world’s natural areas. His early work in applied ecology focused on controlling the effects of introduced and invasive North American beavers that have wreaked havoc on native fish populations, riparian forests and water flow in Patagonia’s river and stream ecosystems. He used state-of-the-art population modeling and life history theory to understand what allows beaver populations to multiply and what methods might be employed to slow this growth. A population biologist in the broad sense, Alejandro has also studied ants, fruit flies and lizards.

His current research continues to focus on the native and potentially invasive species of the high Andean plateau of southern South America, a region with an impressive assemblage of endemic wetland bird species that exhibit dramatic population fluctuations. Although this is one of the planet’s pristine wilderness areas, its fauna is being affected by climate change, the effects of mining on the hydrology of unique high-elevation wetlands, and the ecological problems created by invasive species. Using his skill as an accomplished field naturalist with the expertise to build statistical approaches, Pietrek is addressing critical questions about the population dynamics of near-threatened birds and mammals in a poorly known region of the South American continent.