Tania
Suarez-Yana,
PhD
Research themes
My work is driven by the conviction that humans, animals and the environment are interconnected. In this interface, many interactions occur due to coastal development, habitat fragmentation, climate change and a lack of public management. My research seeks to understand these interactions and translate them into evidence that informs conservation policy and public health decision-making.
Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance
My research tracks how antimicrobial-resistant bacteria move across the human-wildlife-environment interface in the Southeast Pacific. Across three seabird species in Chile, my doctoral research found a 39% prevalence of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli, confirmed through phylogenetic and bioinformatic analysis, with the same bacteria detected in dogs and water at the same sites; carbapenem-resistant E. coli was also identified — a serious signal given how few treatment options remain against that resistance profile. Building on this, a Rufford Foundation-funded study using the Peruvian pelican as a sentinel species along a full anthropogenic gradient found a 24% ESBL-E. coli prevalence, extending the surveillance model to a single sentinel species across a defined gradient of human impact. I am currently applying this same approach to evaluate ESBL-resistant Enterobacteriaceae prevalence along the northern coast of Peru. This body of work has resulted in 4+ peer-reviewed publications, One Health educational campaigns, 2 technical reports, and one policy brief.
Perception and values of sea turtles in coastal communities
This project investigates how health personnel and coastal fishing communities in Peru perceive and value sea turtles, as a foundation for conservation strategies grounded in local context rather than imposed from outside. The first part is focused on health personnel, gathering 37 online surveys. The fishing-community part is currently in survey validation. The project is designed to generate evidence that feeds directly into Peru's National Action Plan for Sea Turtle Conservation.
Fisheries governance
I evaluated the governance and long-term viability of artisanal mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) fishing across two fishing cooperatives in northern Peru, through more than 30 semi-structured interviews and SWOT analysis. From this, I designed a sustainability framework to assess governance and viability as a pathway toward sustainable small-scale fisheries. The findings were presented to Peru's fisheries vice-ministry and are being developed into a manuscript.
Wildlife health assessment
My work in this area establishes health baselines for species with little to no prior clinical data, combining hematology and blood biochemistry to describe what "healthy" looks like in the wild. In Sechura, northern Peru, I established the first hematological and biochemical reference values for a wild population of green sea turtles in the country — findings now incorporated into Peru's national manual for the clinical management of stranded sea turtles. I have since extended this same baseline-building approach to Humboldt penguins and river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis), contributing clinical health data for species where such reference points are still scarce. In parallel, we are developing a baseline health assessment for sea turtles in Ñuro.
