Earthwatch Award Recipient Summary

Awardee: Helen Waldemarin, Ph.D.
Affiliation: Associacão Ecológica Ecomarapendi
Project: Conserving the Pantanal, Brazil (Otters)
Award: 2005 Young Scientist Award

Project Synopsis
Since 2002, Dr. Waldemarin has collected year-round data on the distribution and ecology of two species of otters, Neotropical river otters (Lontra longicaudis) and giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis), in the Rio Negro watershed of Brazil's Pantanal. The Pantanal's scenic beauty and abundance of easily observed large vertebrates has made it a popular ecotourism destination, and Dr. Waldemarin is exploring the impact of tourism activities on otter behavior and ecology. Earthwatch teams in the Pantanal have helped Dr. Waldemarin document the home range, diet, and feeding behavior of the two otter species, as well as measure their degree of resource overlap. The project is intended to provide basic knowledge about the natural history of Pantanal otters for public policy makers to formulate scientifically founded management practices.

Award Outcomes
The Young Scientist Award allowed Dr. Waldemarin to:

· Extend her travel in the United States
· Purchase field supplies in the U.S. difficult to find in Brazil
· Upgrade the memory of her desktop computer to run GIS software
· Purchase an external hard drive for laptop computer used in field

Dr. Waldemarin used her award to purchase field equipment in the U.S. that is hard to find and more expensive in Brazil, such as books, camera, videotapes, and waterproof field notebooks. These valuable additions to her field equipment will make collecting data more efficient and complete. She also could afford to upgrade her computer resources in Brazil, enabling her to run ArcGIS software. This change will be indispensable in allowing her to map her findings and analyze their geographic relationships.


Publications and Papers
Pending

Quotes
"The award was a very important acknowledgment of my work. It was an extra sign saying to me that I'm going in the correct direction. From a personal point of view, it cheered me up to keep at my research activities. From the scientific point of view, the money will help us to better explore our collected data, allowing us to have a better idea of the ecology of otters in the Pantanal."