Juan Carlos Castilla

My main lines of research center around rocky intertidal community structure and dynamics, the ecological role played by key-stone species (i.e. the gatropod muricid Concholepas concholepas) and humans (resource users), coastal conservation and the management of benthic resources. In the past 25 years I contributed to the establishment and development of the Marine Coastal Station, Pontificia Universidad Cat?lica de Chile, at Las Cruces, and its unique Preserve. Also have participated in the creation of Marine Preserve Areas (MPAs) along the country and I am working in a plan for the establishment of a network of marine preserves. Based on the solid scientific knowledge derived form the manipulative experiences in Las Cruces Coastal Station I pioneered the idea for the legal establishment in Chile of Management and Exploitation Areas (MEAs), via the implementation of co-management schemes, including the allocation of exclusive fishery rights for small artisanal fisher communities. More recently, I have focused my research efforts on the understanding of linkages between oceanography and nearshore benthic communities, aiming to set strong scientific basis behind coastal management and conservation actions in Chile, that in the future may be extrapolated to other countries.