About MeMy name is Luis Carlos Beltrán and I am a tropical biologist and wildlife photographer from Bogotá, Colombia. My fascination with the tropics is rooted on its overwhelming biodiversity and the desire to protect them from anthropogenic harm. As such, my research is focused on tropical forest restoration.
I recently defended my PhD Dissertation (Titled: Planting Composition Effects on Tropical Forest Restoration) at the University of Illinois, Chicago. My research focuses on restoration plantings --a strategy that can ameliorate forest fragmentation in highly-fragmented landscapes-- and how their initial composition influences recruited biodiversity, forest structure, and ecological functioning (see "Current Research" section for details and publications). The restoration plantings I evaluated were established in 2006 by Cristina Martinez-Garza and Henry F. Howe in Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico. Our objective is to determine how selecting animal-dispersed over wind-dispersed species influences ecological succession. Previous research has shown that trees with edible fruits can act as nuclei of regeneration, but whether planting these trees specifically yields a more successful restoration has yet to be demonstrated. Follow our research team and learn along with us! Thank you! Please enjoy a sample of my wildlife photos below. |