My education career has covered various fields, which have led me to appreciate the multidisciplinary approach and have provided me with a broad and diverse understanding of different topics. As an undergraduate I studied Veterinary Biotechnology at Università degli Studi di Milano, focusing on artificial reproduction for the conservation of biodiversity. I then undertook a Master degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation at Edinburgh Napier University, where I developed technical skills essential for the career that I want to pursue, such as GIS software, biodiversity and population analysis tools and active wildlife management solutions. To finalize my education, I also completed a post-diploma course in International Cooperation and Development to gain basic skills in project planning and management.
In parallel to my academic training, I have experienced fieldwork in a variety of ecosystems and carried out research using different methods, mainly focusing on mammals. I have wanted to see with my own eyes the different problems that wildlife conservation faces in different parts of the world and in doing so I took part in multiple projects: post-release monitoring of wildlife from rescue centers (WWF, Italy), eco-tourism trail planning and development with local communities (WWF, Madagascar) and comparing different methodologies for estimating densities of primate populations (ZSL, Gabon).
My current research at the Wildlife Institute at BFU will focus on the effects of habitat fragmentation on leopard (Panthera pardus) metapopulations in China. I will use molecular approaches to answer questions related to the distribution, dispersal and genetic differentiation and their effects on population structure and metapopulation processes. My research will broaden our knowledge on leopard populations in China and will guide management strategies for the conservation of this species.
Research Interests
Conservation of fragmented populations
Population dynamics
Non-invasive genetic techniques
Wild felid ecology
Conferences Leopards in China: current status and distribution. Oral presentation at the International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB-ECCB 2015), Montpellier, France, August 2015.
Conserving China's Felids: integrating scientific research and conservation practice for felid conservation in China's protected areas. E-Poster at the World Park Congress, Sydney, Australia. November 2014.
Identifying species from scats in a community of sympatric carnivores in Xingjian Province, China. Oral Presentation at the Mammalogy Society of China, Wuhan, China, November 2013.
Co-founder and organizer of the first Wildlife & Conservation Student Conference 2012 (WCSC 2012), Beijing, China, May 26, 2012. (http://wcsc2012.weebly.com/index.html)
Assessment and analysis of gorilla (Gorilla g. gorilla) nest decay rate at Mikongo Conservation Centre, Gabon: refining population density estimates.Poster at the European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB 2012), Glasgow, UK, September 2012.
Publications Laguardia A., Kamler J., Li S., Zhang C., Zhou Z., Shi K. (2015) The current distribution and status of leopards in China. Oryx (in press)
Laguardia A., Wang J., Riordan P., Shi K. (2015) Species identification from scats refined by molecular scatology in a community of sympatric carnivores in Xingjian Province, China. Zoological Research 36: 72-78.
Wang J., Laguardia A., Damerell P.J., Riordan P., Shi K. (2014) Dietary overlap of snow leopard and other carnivores in the Pamirs of Northwestern China. Chinese science bulletin 59: 3162-3168.
Ratiarison S., Devos C., Petretto M., Laguardia A., and Creteur F. 2009. Mikongo Conservation Centre: Annual Activity Report. ZSL report.
Devos C. and Laguardia A. 2011a. Local scale assessment of gorilla population density at Mikongo Conservation Centre, Lopé National Park: Complete sweep census and nest count surveys on line transects. ZSL report.
Devos C. and Laguardia A. 2011b. Local assessment of gorilla nest decay rate at Mikongo Conservation Centre, Lopé National Park: Refining population density estimates. ZSL report.
Devos C. and Laguardia A. 2011c. Human disturbance monitoring at Mikongo Conservation Centre, Lopé National Park: Impact on ape population. ZSL report.