Cristóbal Briceño, DVM
Ph.D. Student in Conservation Genetics

T: +44 (0) 1223 335459
E: cb493@cam.ac.uk

Current positions
Associate Researcher for the Wildlife Conservation Society, Chile.
Adjunct International Director for United Kingdom, RedCiencia.
Social Director, Encuentros 2010.
Member of the Ecological Society of Chile.
Member of the Cambridge University United Nations Association.

Background
I am a Veterinarian from Universidad de Chile (2002). In 2001 I did my internship at the Baltimore Zoo (former Maryland Zoo, USA) and worked in small and exotics animal practice for two years. I was the Project Co-ordinator for the Darwin's Fox Research and Conservation Project (ZSL-U. Lagos) between 2003 and 2005 and a Darwin Initiative Scholar at PrIME in 2006. Since 2007, I have worked as the Research Co-ordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society-Chile, conducting research in basic and spatial ecology, epidemiology and molecular genetics in endangered mammals. In 2009, I started my Ph.D. in Conservation Genetics at PrIME.

Research interests
I am interested in understanding the relationship between low diversity in inbred, or small, populations and susceptibility to disease in South American foxes. I am currently working with two endangered species in particular, Darwin's Fox (Pseudalopex fulvipes) and Fueguinean Culpeo Fox (Pseudalopex culpaeus lycoides). Both populations are restricted to islands and are very sensitive to increasing habitat loss probably due to the major threat of introduced canids as vectors of diseases. A reduced immunologic repertoire as consequence of low genetic variability, in these small populations increases their extinction risk.

My research involves the study of the relationship between Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) variability and disease and I aim to determine MHC diversity in the small and fragmented populations of Chilean foxes. The MHC is a genetic region involved in antigen presentation. It is one of the best studied genetic systems and is known to be influenced by natural selection. There is limited knowledge about the effects of population fragmentation on MHC genetic diversity and health. We know almost nothing about how small or endangered populations respond to pathogens that threaten species' survival.

I will complement the MHC research with mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite polymorphism studies of these endangered animals. Little research on the effects of population reduction on genetic diversity and health has been undertaken in wild populations. Therefore, my results may be relevant for other threatened mammals since it is equally difficult to study these questions in other endangered populations.

My personal motivation for this research is to obtain further training in molecular genetics and to apply this powerful tool in the conservation and management of endangered species in my country.

List of publications
Novaro, A.J., C.A. Moraga, C. Briceño, M.C. Funes and A. Marino (2009). First records of culpeo (Lycalopex culpaeus) attacks and cooperative defense by guanacos (Lama guanicoe). Mammalia, 73 (2): 148-150.

González, A., C. Briceño, A. Cicchino, S.M. Funk and J. Jiménez (2007). First records of Trichodectes canis (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Trichodectidae) from Darwin's fox, Pseudalopex fulvipes (Mammalia: Carnivora: Canidae). European Journal of Wildlife Research, 53: 76-79.

The Fox Project has been funded by generous contributions from:
Bayer Chile
BecasChile, CONICYT, Chilean Government
Darwin Initiative Scholarship
Darwin Initiative, DEFRA, UK
Derek Brewer Scholarship, Emmanuel College
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Idea Wild
International Organization for Migration, Chile
Overseas Research Studentship, University of Cambridge
Panton Trust
Wildlife Conservation Society

For further information visit: http://www.karukinkanatural.cl/ and http://www.redciencia.cl/