Natalia Escobedo Kenefic

I am a biologist based at San Carlos University, Guatemala. I have focused my research career on studying the ecological dynamics of pollinators in agricultural landscapes of the tropics. I am an enthusiast of science communication and citizen science. In time as a researcher, I have developed and implemented skills for experimental design in landscapes that are highly heterogeneous and difficult to characterize and categorize. I have also dabbled in the importance of local and traditional practices in the maintenance of ecological dynamics in tropical agriculture, and their relationship with the conservation of species, natural ecosystems, and other environmental variables. These skills have allowed me to test hypotheses on the importance of resources, seasonality, and local agricultural practices, among other variables, on the maintenance of ecological dynamics in complex agroecosystems.
Among the most relevant results of the research that I have led and/or have been part of are identifying seasonality and land use effects on pollinator diversity and interactions, as well as identifying key pollinators in the systems that I have studied. Also, I have participated in the IUCN wild bee specialist group and carried on wild bee conservation status assessments that have been published by the IUCN Red List.