Gui Alvarenga is a Postdoctoral Researcher at WildCRU (Biology Department, University of Oxford) and an Associate Researcher at the Mamirauá Institute, as part of the Felid Ecology and Conservation in Amazonia research group. For more than 12 years, he has studied jaguar (Panthera onca) ecology and conservation across the Amazon and Latin America. He is particularly interested in movement ecology and landscape connectivity as well as population dynamics, habitat use, and human-jaguar coexistence. His research aims to generate robust scientific evidence to support restoration planning and on-the-ground conservation actions that improve habitat connectivity and the long-term persistence of jaguar populations.

Originally from Brazil, Gui holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), where he conducted research on small mammal ecology in two of Brazil’s most threatened biomes: the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado. After graduation, he joined the Felid Ecology and Conservation group at the Mamirauá Institute, where he worked closely with Amazonian riverine communities while conducting research on jaguar ecology and conservation. He later completed a master’s degree in Ecology at the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), earned a Distinction in the Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice at WildCRU, University of Oxford, and completed his DPhil at the University of Oxford.

Alongside his academic research, Gui worked for three years as a Research Analyst at the Mamirauá Institute, supervising researchers and contributing to all stages of conservation projects, from study design and fieldwork to data analysis, scientific publication, and stakeholder engagement. He also coordinated a community-based jaguar ecotourism programme that promoted coexistence while generating income for traditional Amazonian communities.

In his current postdoctoral position, Gui leads the development of the Amazon Wildlife Conservation Course while continuing his research on landscape connectivity and restoration planning for jaguar conservation. The programme empowers early-career conservation professionals across the Amazon Basin through advanced, field-based training in wildlife conservation, leadership, and project management, while his research supports evidence-based conservation actions to improve habitat connectivity and ecological restoration.