José Tomás Ibarra

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile | UC · Centro de Desarrollo Local (CEDEL)

La etnoecología reconoce la complejidad humana y procura la colaboración articulada entre actores en los territorios para enfrentar las crisis entrelazadas que amenazan a la diversidad biocultural y la soberanía alimentaria. Las redes bioculturales son complejas y simpoiéticas (i.e. "hacen-generan en conjunto"). A partir de las relaciones entre act...

A major barrier to advancing ornithology is the systemic exclusion of professionals from the Global South. A recent special feature, Advances in Neotropical Ornithology, and a shortfalls analysis therein, unintentionally followed a long-standing pattern of highlighting individuals, knowledge, and views from the Global North, while largely omitting...

A nuclear leakage or tactical nuclear weapon use in a limited war could cause immense and long-lasting ecological consequences beyond the direct site of exposure. We call upon all scientists to communicate the importance of the environmental impacts of such an event to all life forms on Earth, including humankind. Changes to ecosystem structure and...

Family farming plays a fundamental role in food production. However, it faces rapid processes of social-environmental change, such as the application of hegemonic agrarian modernization policies and restrictions on the circulation of traditional seeds. Institutional changes are also altering practices and social relations, while climate changeClima...

Food feeds knowledge and practices through generations, sustaining biocultural memories. However, prevailing economic models and state policies have driven processes of accumulation by dispossession, defined as incremental social-ecological processes by which people lose their means of production and social reproduction. We conducted a cross-hemisp...

El presente estudio analiza los principales indicadores bibliométricos sobre la producción científica (772 documentos) durante el período 1982-2021 en el Laboratorio Natural Andes del Sur de Chile. La comunidad científica, tanto nacional como internacional, ha puesto interés en las singularidades de este territorio, lo que se observa en las redes d...

Las aves de los bosques templados y subantárticos de América del Sur han llamado históricamente la atención de ornitólogos y observadores de aves por (a) su aislamiento (> 1000 km) de otras comunidades de bosque del continente, (b) su alto endemismo (~41%, resultado de procesos evolutivos singulares) y (c) las rápidas transformaciones que han exper...

Las aves que anidan en cavidades de árboles están estructuradas en redes funcionales llamadas "redes de nidificación", las que cuentan con productores de cavidades (árboles y especies excavadoras) y "consumidoras" de cavidades (aves no excavadoras). La relación entre riqueza de especies y funciones en estas redes puede ser alterada por la pérdida d...

La corta puede afectar los atributos del hábitat después de un incendio e influir en la presencia y abundancia de especies. El análisis de rasgos funcionales determina las respuestas de las especies al ambiente y sus efectos en el funcionamiento del ecosistema. Evaluamos el impacto de la corta post-fuego con relación a los atributos del hábitat y l...

Las aves rapaces tienen el potencial de depredar aves de corral, razón por la cual campesinos y campesinas las asocian a pérdidas económicas. En el bosque templado andino del sur de Chile, la problemática de depredación de aves de corral por rapaces ha ido incrementando, así como también lo ha hecho la separación entre las comunidades humanas y las...

El Laboratorio Natural Andes del Sur de Chile comprende la zona andina de las regiones de La Araucanía, Los Ríos y Los Lagos (38º-44ºS). Aquí se emplazan numerosos asentamientos humanos y aproximadamente 250.000 habitantes, con la densidad poblacional más alta en los Andes a nivel nacional. Igualmente, se encuentran los volcanes de mayor riesgo del...

La complejidad estructural es el número de atributos estructurales presentes en el hábitat y su abundancia relativa. La simplificación de la complejidad estructural de los bosques por prácticas antropogénicas es una de las principales amenazas que enfrentan las aves especialistas del sotobosque en la actualidad. Estimamos la densidad de aves especi...

Las redes bioculturales son complejas y simpoiéticas. A partir de las relaciones entre actores, como nodos de una red, se moviliza la agrobiodiversidad y se genera la memoria biocultural como propiedad emergente del sistema agrícola local. Esta memoria actúa a través de escalas espaciales y temporales y es transportada por repositorios de memoria q...

La agricultura familiar cumple un rol fundamental en la producción de alimentos. Sin embargo, su desarrollo enfrenta acelerados procesos de cambios socioambientales, tales como la aplicación de políticas hegemónicas de modernización agraria que buscan intensificar los sistemas agroalimentarios y restricciones en la circulación de semillas tradicion...

Traditional agricultural systems reflect the close relationship between human communities and local ecosystems. The inheritance of knowledge, practices and beliefs, in which this relationship is materialised, or biocultural memory, is key for these systems’ conservation and adaptation to social-environmental changes. Heritage construction processes...

El patrimonio biocultural se expresa en los múltiples sistemas de conocimientos, prácticas y creencias vinculadas a la diversidad biológica y cultural presente en diferentes territorios. En estos, las mujeres han adquirido importantes roles socialmente construidos asociados a labores productivas y de cuidado familiar. A partir de un enfoque de méto...

La pandemia generada por el COVID-19 ha impactado a diversos sectores de la sociedad. La Agricultura Familiar Campesina (AFC) no ha sido inmune, lo que ha permitido develar que las crisis que enfrenta la AFC solo se han agudizado por el contexto sanitario. Además, las políticas, programas y planes vinculadas a este segmento no contribuyen a la resi...

Raíces y cambios: principios agroecológicos en la agricultura familiar de montaña del sur de los Andes Resumen La crisis socioambiental global requiere identificar y promover sistemas agroalimentarios resilientes. La agroecología aborda estos desafíos al promover altos niveles de diversidad, resiliencia climática y seguridad alimentaria. La aplicac...

Biodiversity conservation in a world under climate change is a significant challenge for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which holds 60% of global terrestrial life. Six of the ten most biodiverse countries (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela) are in LAC, and biodiversity hotspots are well-represented along the region’s co...

A Natural Laboratory (NL) is defined as a territory with unique natural characteristics that provide comparative advantages to develop high-level science and technology of planetary relevance. Natural Laboratories seeks to design strategies that effectively link interdisciplinary scientific work with local actors and communities, triggering new gov...

2022. International Ornithological Congress. During times of health or social crisis, ethno-ornithological fieldwork with local communities and their biocultural heritage may be challenging. Scientists and local bird experts need to collaborate to create innovative solutions to solve logistics and research issues, including data quality, research-a...

Coexistence means existing together at the same time or space, and it is often used to promote tolerance of humans to wild animals. Here, we propose that coexistence may be needed to promote the sustainable management of riparian ecosystems. For instance, while riparian ecosystems can sustain biodiversity and help secure forest and water resources...

El cambio climático se ha posicionado en la agenda de investigación de las ciencias sociales. El escaso éxito de las respuestas hegemónicas y el avance de los impactos han fortalecido la irrupción de actores no estatales. Sin embargo, su rol continúa siendo poco explorado, especialmente en América Latina. En este artículo indagamos en tres ámbitos...

Current social-environmental changes such as climate change and biodiversity loss are interconnected and affecting people's livelihoods worldwide. Peasants are some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of these changes, but their knowledge and needs are rarely considered in public policy. The aim of this study was to document the (i) observed soci...

Presentamos una iniciativa y proponemos una metodología transdis-ciplinaria para cultivar la memoria biocultural, basada en los proce-sos de participación y materialización en comunidades de práctica (educativas). Presentamos el proyecto «Escuchando a los abuelos», que buscó facilitar diálogos intergeneracionales en tres escuelas mapuche (~ 90 niño...

Biocultural networks are complex and simpoietic. From the relationships between actors, as nodes of a network, agrobiodiversity is mobilized and biocultural memory is generated as an emergent property of the local agricultural system. This memory is acting through spatial and temporal scales and is carried by memory repositories that range from see...

Nature Letters

Background Traditional veterinary medicine (TVM) or ethnoveterinary medicine comprises knowledge, practices, and beliefs about farm animals. Its study serves to offer ecologically and culturally appropriate strategies for the management of animals and their health in a context marked by the increased use of synthetic pharmaceuticals, social–environ...

A major barrier to advancing ornithology is the systemic exclusion of professionals from the Global South. A recent special dossier, Advances in Neotropical Ornithology, and a shortfalls analysis therein, unintentionally followed a long-standing pattern of highlighting individuals, knowledge, and views from the Global North, while largely omitting...

Urban green spaces provide natural habitat for birds in urban landscapes, yet the effects of noise and surrounding urban morphology on bird community structure and distribution are not well understood in Latin America, the second most urbanized region in the world. Santiago of Chile is the single city belonging to the Mediterranean ecosystem in Sou...

Biocultural ethics centers on the vital links between habitats, habits, and co-inhabitants. Nowadays, cities are a typical habitat for most of the world’s population, and they are the everyday background of many educational processes.

Background: In an ethnoecological framework, traditional veterinary medicine comprises knowledge, practices, and beliefs about farm animals. Its study serves to offer ecologically and culturally appropriate strategies for management of the animals and their health in a context marked by the increased use of allopathic medicine, socio-environmental...

Con/vivir, arte y ecología en la educación es una publicación que registra reflexiones, experiencias y metodologías de aprendizaje de diversas personas provenientes de la ciencia, arte y humanidades, que con una mirada integral, abordan la interconexión de los ecosistemas, de los que somos parte, y la indisoluble complementariedad entre naturaleza,...

Urban green spaces provide natural habitat for birds in urban landscapes, yet the effects of noise and surrounding urban morphology on bird community structure and distribution are not well understood in Latin America, the second most urbanized region in the world. Santiago of Chile is the single city belonging to the Mediterranean ecosystem in Sou...

El cernícalo americano (Falco sparverius) nidifica en cavidades o pequeños agujeros protegidos, inclu-yendo oquedades de árboles (excavadas o producidas por descomposición), galerías en paredes rocosas o arenosas, entretechos de edificios y cajas nido. La biología reproductiva de esta especie es escasamente conocida en los ecosis-temas templados de...

Wildfire regimes are being altered in ecosystems worldwide. The density of reptiles responds to fires and changes to habitat structure. Some of the most vulnerable ecosystems to human-increased fire frequency are old-growth Araucaria araucana forests of the southern Andes. We investigated the effects of wildfires on the density and richness of a li...

Social unrest is on the rise worldwide amid deepening inequalities, environmental degradation, and job crises worsened by increasing social-environmental conflicts. In Chile, a social revolt in 2019 resulted in a national referendum in 2020. An ample majority (78.3% vs. 21.7%) voted to draft a new constitution to replace the current constitution dr...

Fire regimes of forests, i.e., time interval, frequency, extent, and severity of fire events, influence structural changes in the vegetation, and thus shape the composition of avian communities. We studied the diversity of avian guilds in sites with different fire regimes (unburned, burned 2002, burned 2015, and burned 2002 and 2015), testing both...

Los saberes etnoveterinarios (SE) se conceptualizan como el conjunto de conocimientos (corpus), prácticas (praxis) y creencias (kosmos) relacionadas con la crianza de animales domésticos productivos, los cuales, se conservan en la memoria de diferentes pueblos. En este estudio documentamos los SE sobre manejo animal y manejo sanitario que poseen ca...

Anthrozoological analysis of the cultural relations with owls and their uncanny characteristics

Because of the significant impacts on both human interests and bird conservation, it is imperative to identify patterns and anticipate drivers of human‐bird conflicts (HBCs) worldwide. Through a global systematic review, following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we analyzed the socioeconomic factors and bird ecological traits driving the degree of know...

Urban green spaces provide natural habitat for birds in city landscapes, yet the effects of noise and surrounding urban morphology on bird community structure and distribution are not well understood in Latin America, the second most urbanized region in the world. Santiago, Chile, located in the epicenter of the single portion of Mediterranean ecos...

El cambio climático, fenómeno de carácter global, afecta todos los rincones y comunidades humanas y no-humanas a escala local. Uno de los medios de vida más afectados, de manera negativa por el cambio climático, es la agricultura familiar campesina (AFC). La AFC es principalmente practicada por comunidades locales (i.e., campesinos indígenas y no-i...

Las redes socioecológicas son complejas y simpoiéticas. A partir de las relaciones entre actores, como nodos de una red, se moviliza la agrobiodiversidad y se genera la memoria biocultural como propiedad emergente del sistema agroalimentario. Esta memoria está actúa a través de escalas espaciales y temporales y se encuentra resguardada en repositor...

Los sistemas agrícolas, como sistemas socio-ecológicos, son vulnerables a los cambios globales y experimentan constantes procesos de adaptación, transformación y aprendizaje. Comprender cómo las comunidades agrícolas afrontan estos cambios y aprenden de ellos es necesario para fortalecer la resiliencia de los sistemas que las sustentan. Las redes s...

Los saberes etnoveterinarios (SE) se conceptualizan como el conjunto de conocimientos (corpus), prácticas (praxis) y creencias (kosmos) relacionadas con la crianza de animales domésticos productivos, los cuales encuentran refugio en la memoria de diferentes pueblos. Ellos ofrecen estrategias ecológica y culturalmente pertinentes para el cuidado ani...

El cambio climático, fenómeno de carácter global, afecta todos los rincones y comunidades humanas y no-humanas a escala local. Uno de los medios de vida más afectados, de manera negativa por el cambio climático, es la agricultura familiar campesina (AFC). La AFC es principalmente practicada por comunidades locales (i.e., campesinos indígenas y no-i...

Esta experiencia surge del proceso de diseño y facilitación de diálogos rurales coordinados en conjunto por el Centro Latinoamericano para el Desarrollo Rural (RIMISP) y el Campus Villarrica de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC), con productoras/es, asociaciones campesinas, organizaciones de consumidores y cooperativas con base terri...

El contexto actual de crisis socio-ecológica obliga a un debate profundo sobre los sistemas agroalimentarios. La perspectiva agroecológica permite hacer frente a desafíos mundiales al promover altos niveles de diversidad y resiliencia climática. La aplicación de los principios agroecológicos (i.e. procesos ecosistémicos traducidos en prácticas con...

Ecosystem engineers influence resource availability for other organisms, and thus they play important roles as drivers of community assembly. We investigated the relationship between nest occurrence of secondary cavity nesters (SCNs: Thorn-tailed rayadito, Chilean swallow, and Southern house wren) and their selection of cavities supplied by five ec...

While the reproductive ecology of avian species that use tree cavities for nesting has been studied, the use of nest -sites in roadside banks has received less attention. Here, we report 38 nests in 19 cavities on roadside banks belonging to nine avian species that inhabit temperate forests of southern Chile. We describe the characteristics of occu...

Homegardens are coupled social-ecological systems that act as biodiversity reservoirs while contributing to local food sovereignty. These systems are characterized by their structural complexity, while involving management practices according to gardener's cultural origin. Social-ecological processes in homegardens may act as filters of species' fu...

1. Accurate biodiversity and population monitoring is a requirement for effective conservation decision making. Survey method bias is therefore a concern, particularly when research programs face logistical and cost limitations. 2. We employed point counts (PCs) and autonomous recording units (ARUs) to survey avian biodiversity within comparable,...

Homegardens are coupled social-ecological systems that act as biodiversity reservoirs while contributing to local food sovereignty. These systems are characterized by their structural complexity, while involving management practices according to gardener’s cultural origin. Social-ecological processes in homegardens may act as filters of species’ fu...

1. Accurate biodiversity and population monitoring is a requirement for effective conservation decision-making. Survey method bias is therefore a concern, particularly when research programs face logistical and cost limitations. 2. We employed point counts (PCs) and autonomous recording units (ARUs) to survey avian biodiversity across elevational g...

Outreach material delivered as a retribution and educational initiative for the local communities that participated in my Master's project (Generating predictive risk models to mitigate human-raptor conflicts in fores socio-ecosystems)

In the Northern Hemisphere, several avian cavity excavators (e.g., woodpeckers) orient their cavities increasingly toward the equator as latitude increases (i.e. farther north), and it is proposed that they do so to take advantage of incident solar radiation at their nests. If latitude is a key driver of cavity orientations globally, this pattern s...

In the Northern Hemisphere, several avian cavity excavators (e.g., woodpeckers) orient their cavities increasingly toward the equator as latitude increases (i.e. farther north), and it is proposed that they do so to take advantage of incident solar radiation at their nests. If latitude is a key driver of cavity orientations globally, this pattern s...

Belief systems of human societies are deeply related with animals, which are symbolised in traditional narratives. Here we review reported cases from around the world and our own ethnographic observations from southern Chile, to analyse beliefs associated with owls. In particular, we explore the role that owls play in traditional narratives and the...

While the reproductive ecology of avian species that use tree cavities for nesting has been studied, the use of nest-sites in roadside banks has received less attention. Here, we report 38 nests in 19 cavities on roadside banks belonging to nine avian species that inhabit temperate forests of southern Chile. We describe the characteristics of occup...

Mountains produce distinct environmental gradients that may constrain or facilitate both the presence of avian species and/or specific combinations of functional traits. We addressed species richness and functional diversity to understand the relative importance of habitat structure and elevation in shaping avian diversity patterns in the south tem...

Human persecution is a worldwide threat to raptors, contributing to the decline of many species. Perceived or real predation of domestic animals is the main driver of persecution and a barrier to the success of conservation initiatives. Predictive risk models are used to identify hazards in order to target effective prevention actions, and they hav...

Las huertas de montaña son sistemas socio-ecológicos clave para la producción agrícola destinada al consumo familiar. El cuidado y gestión de ellas recae principalmente en manos de mujeres que desarrollan diversas prácticas agrícolas que han aprendido y cultivado gracias a la transmisión de los saberes locales. Con un enfoque metodológico mixto, qu...

Mountains produce distinct environmental gradients that may constrain or facilitate both the presence of avian species and/or specific combinations of functional traits. We addressed species richness and functional diversity to understand the relative importance of habitat structure and elevation in shaping avian diversity patterns in the south tem...

Tree cavities are a keystone resource for many wildlife species worldwide. In Andean temperate forests of South America, many species of birds, mammals and reptiles use cavities to achieve their life history requirements. However, information on cavity supply and drivers of cavity production in these forests remains largely undocumented. We examine...

In the Anthropocene, humans have become the dominant force behind the transformation of the planet and its cultural landscapes. In recent decades, there has been a paradigm shift in the sciences, changing the focus from the study of separate components to the study of wholes. In light of this, several fields of study have attempted to address the d...

The Austral Opossum is one of the most unique vertebrates in Patagonian forests. It is not only endemic to this habitat; it also plays a key role acting as a seed disperser, nest predator, and is prey to species of conservation concern. However, specific information about its nesting behaviour is scattered and rudimentary at best. Here, we: (i) use...

The Austral Opossum is one of the most unique vertebrates in Patagonian forests. It is not only endemic to this habitat; it also plays a key role acting as a seed disperser, nest predator, and is prey to species of conservation concern. However, specific information about its nesting behaviour is scattered and rudimentary at best. Here we: i, use p...

Forests are complex adaptive systems in which properties at higher levels emerge from localized networks of many entities interacting at lower levels, allowing the development of multiple ecological pathways and processes. Cavity-nesters exist within networks known as "nest webs" that link trees, excavators, e.g. woodpeckers, and nonexcavators (man...