Gui Alvarenga is a DPhil student 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. He has been involved in jaguar (Panthera onca) research and conservation for over 12 years, with interests ranging from species population dynamics and habitat use to human-carnivore conflict and coexistence. During his doctorate, he integrates these three areas of knowledge to develop the first landscape-scale ecological modelling assessment of jaguar population connectivity across the species’ entire geographical range.

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) and earned a Distinction in the Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice at WildCRU, University of Oxford.

Gui also held a position as a research analyst at the Mamirauá Institute for three years, where he supervised three researchers, contributing to all project phases—from conception to fieldwork, data analysis, and scientific writing. Additionally, he coordinated a community-based jaguar ecotourism initiative aimed at generating financial income for traditional communities and promoting human acceptance of jaguars.

His doctorate is supported by a grant to David Macdonald at WildCRU from the Robertson Foundation, as well as Panthera, the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN), the Berlin World Wild – Zoo and Tierpark Berlin, and the Wild Felid Research and Management Association (WFA).