María is our new short-term intern at the Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish
Academy of Sciences. She is a PhD student at the Institute of Advanced Social Sciences (IESA-
CSIC) in Córdoba, Spain. With an ecological background, she has previously worked with
mammals on both fine and large scales. Additionally, working at a Social Science institute has
helped her incorporate the human dimension into her studies.
As part of her PhD, she aims to study the ecological and social aspects of the restoration of
large carnivores in peninsular Spain. More specifically, her research focuses on environmental
favorability models on a large scale for the Iberian wolf, Brown bear, and Iberian lynx,
identifying potential restoration areas. Furthermore, she will build social favorability models
based on data from two national-scale surveys conducted with both rangers and the general
public about the costs and benefits of coexistence with wildlife. This interdisciplinary approach
may help identify areas where conflict is more likely to occur in the coming years.
During her short-term stay at the institute, she will assess conflict vulnerability related to
Brown bear damage six years after risk mapping (Bautista et al. 2021). Bear damages in
Bieszczady (Poland) has become a major concern for both local people and researchers in the
last few years. Specifically, she is interested in testing potential differences in damage between the
permanent and sporadic population ranges. Additionally, by analyzing different indicators, she
will assess whether severe damages are more likely to occur in predicted high-risk areas.