PhD Geography, UNC-CH 2021
World Wildlife Fund E. Train Fellow
Francisco received his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021. His research delved into the interconnections between agriculture, wildlife, and conservation in the Galapagos Islands.
His dissertation work positioned farmers as essential components for the conservation of the Galapagos Islands. Utilizing a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, he assessed the complex interactions between land use, invasive plants, and protected wildlife. One of his significant achievements was spearheading the creation of the first high-resolution land cover map of agricultural areas in the Galapagos. This exhaustive mapping project, spanning two years, involved a participatory and iterative process with local farmer populations, incorporating land uses previously absent from ecological literature.
In addition to publications in peer-reviewed journals such as Remote Sensing and Drones, and presentations at academic conferences including the American Association of Geographers, the American Anthropological Association, and the Galapagos Research and Conservation Symposium, Francisco ensured his research reached wider audiences. He engaged with farmers, students, and institutions in the Galapagos, effectively communicating the practical implications of his findings.
Francisco’s research endeavors were generously supported by the World Wildlife Fund, the Graduate School, and the Department of Geography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Research Projects
- Agriculture, Wildlife, and Conservation in the Galapagos Islands
- Agriculture, Wildlife, and Land Use in the Galapagos
- High Resolution, Commercial Satellite Imagery for Island Studies
- Synthesis of Drivers, Patterns, and Trajectories of LCLUC in Island Ecosystems, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Publications
- Walsh, S.J., Laso, F.., & Giefer, M. (2024). Animals and land cover/land use change: A remote sensing—Galapagos Islands assessment. In: ScienceDirect (Ed.), Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-13220-9.00004-4
- Laso, F.J., & Arce-Nazario, J. (2023). Mapping narratives of agricultural land-use practices in the Galapagos. In S. J. Walsh (Ed.), Island ecosystems: Challenges to sustainability (pp. 225–243). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28089-4_16
- Pike, K.N., Blake, S., Gordon, I.J., Cabrera, F., Rivas-Torres, G., Laso, F.J., & Schwarzkopf, L. (2022). Navigating agricultural landscapes: Responses of critically endangered giant tortoises to farmland vegetation and infrastructure. Landscape Ecology, 38, 501-516. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-022-01566-x
- Laso, F. J. (2021). Agriculture, wildlife, and conservation in the Galapagos Islands. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- Colloredo-Mansfeld, M., Laso, F.J., & Arce-Nazario, J. (2020). Drone-based participatory mapping: Examining local agricultural knowledge in the Galapagos. Drones, 4(62), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones4040062
- Walsh, S., Brewington, L., Laso, F., Shao, Y., Bilsborrow, R.E., Arce-Nazario, J., … Pizzitutti, F. (2020). Social-ecological drivers of land cover/land use change on islands: A synthesis of the patterns and processes of change. In S.J. Walsh, D. Riveros-Iregui, J. Arce-Nazario, & P.H. Page (Eds.), Land cover and land use change on islands: Social & ecological threats to sustainability (pp. 63–88). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43973-6_3
- Shao, Y., Wan, H., Rosenman, A., Laso, F.J., & Kennedy, L.M. (2020). Evaluating land cover change on the island of Santa Cruz, Galapagos Archipelago of Ecuador through cloud-gap filling and multi-sensor analysis. In S.J. Walsh, D. Riveros-Iregui, J. Arce-Nazario, & P.H. Page (Eds.), Land cover and land use change on islands: Social & ecological threats to sustainability (pp. 167–182). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43973-6_7
- Laso, F. (2020). Galapagos is a garden. In S.J. Walsh, D. Riveros-Iregui, J. Arce-Nazario, & P.H. Page (Eds.), Land Cover and Land Use Change on Islands: Social & ecological threats to sustainability (pp. 137–166). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43973-6_6
- Laso, F.J., Benítez, F.L., Rivas-Torres, G., Sampedro, C., & Arce-Nazario, J. (2020). Land cover classification of complex agroecosystems in the non-protected highlands of the Galapagos Islands. Remote Sensing, 12(65), 1–39. https://doi.org/10.3390/RS12010065
- Laso, F.J., Benítez, F.L., Rivas-Torres, G., Sampedro, C., & Arce-Nazario, J. (2020). Land cover classification of complex agroecosystems in the non-protected highlands of the Galapagos Islands. Remote Sensing, 12, 1–39. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12010065
- Bostwick, M., & Laso, F. J. (2018). Survival of the fittest: Variable selection on agricultural data from the Galápagos Islands. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.