Kathryn Ayres

Alumni

Kathryn Ayres is originally from northern England. She gained valuable fieldwork experience whilst working on marine conservation projects with NGOs in Fiji, New Zealand and the Galapagos. She completed her Masters’ degree in Marine Environmental Management at the University of York, England in 2017, where she analyzed acoustic telemetry data from white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) at Guadalupe Island, Mexico with Dr. Mauricio Hoyos. Katy completed an internship with Pelagios Kakunjá in the summer of 2017 and returned to La Paz the following year to develop her PhD project at Pelagios Kakunjá and CICIMAR with Dr. James Ketchum and Dr. Rogelio González as her advisors. She finished her research in 2022 with the dissertation “Seasonal Aggregations and Movements of Blacktip Sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) in Cabo Pulmo National Park and the Gulf of California, Mexico”.

Published papers:

Seasonal aggregations of blacktip sharks Carcharhinus limbatus at a marine protected area in the Gulf of California, assessed by unoccupied aerial vehicle surveys

The use of an unoccupied aerial vehicle to survey shark species over sand and rocky-reef habitats in a marine protected area

Aerial photogrammetry of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in the Bay of La Paz, using an unoccupied aerial vehicle