Dr Mateo Ruiz

Mateo has been researching and working with wildlife conservation for over 25 years, beginning with studies on the Common Dormouse for his undergraduate degree at Bath Spa University College. He moved to Mexico in 2003, where he spent the following fourteen years. He worked closely with community-led conservation projects on the Pacific Coast of Oaxaca, as part of Servicios Ecoturísticos La Ventanilla. There he enjoyed guiding boat trips to observe crocodiles, iguanas and a multitude of bird species. He also became deeply involved with the cooperative’s reforestation work, largely focusing on mangrove trees.

In 2011 he completed a master’s degree in marine ecology at La Universidad del Mar, followed by a Science Doctorate at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur. Both projects were focused on the birds and mangroves of the coastal lagoons of Oaxaca, involving research topics such as habitat selection, trophic guilds, and the impacts of hurricane disturbance. During his time in Mexico, Mateo trained many bird-watching guides and co-authored a photographic guide to waterbirds and raptors of the coastal lagoons of Oaxaca.

On returning to England, he quickly began work with the Barn Owl Trust in 2018, where he contributed to practical and advisory conservation of this iconic species and a wide diversity of associated farmland wildlife. He held a variety of roles within the Trust’s Conservation Team, including a period of leading the team from 2024.

Mateo is an associate editor of Huitzil – Journal of Mexican Ornithology and is a BTO bird ringer. In addition to his commitment to biodiversity conservation in Mexico, he has a huge appreciation for UK flora and fauna.  He regularly enjoys bird watching and hiking across the beautiful moorlands, temperate rain forest, and rugged coastlines of the Devon countryside.

Publications

Ruiz, M.D., Ramsden, D., Roper, S., Cresswell, B. and Skuse, J. 2021. Juvenile Barn Owl Tyto alba dispersal: a radio-tracking study of roost site selection in relation to landscape features. Bird Study, 68(2), pp.245-257.

M.D.M Ruiz and J.L. Rangel Salazar. 2021. Guild-level response to Hurricane Carlotta among birds in a Mexican wetland. Ibis, 164(2), pp.587-595.

Serrano-Rubio, J.P., M.D.M. Ruiz, and U. Vidal-Espitia. 2020. Integrating remote sensing and image processing to test for disturbance effects in a post-hurricane mangrove ecosystem. Signal, Image and Video Processing. 15(2), pp.351-359.

Ruiz, M.D.M., J.L. León-Cortés, P.L. Enríquez, C. García-Estrada, and J.L.R. Salazar. 2019. Habitat-use patterns among migrant and resident landbirds of contrasting dietary habits in a southern Mexican wetland. Ardeola: International Journal of Ornithology, 66(2), pp.291-310.

Ruiz Bruce Taylor, M.D.M, J.L. Rangel Salazar, P.L. Enríquez, J.L. León-Cortés and C. García-Estrada. 2017. Variation in hierarchical guild structure between two bird assemblages of a wetland in the Mexican Pacific. International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation, 65(4), pp.1540-1553.

Ruiz Bruce Taylor, M.D.M. and J.C. Bojorges Baños. 2014. Estimating species richness and density of a bird community in a coastal lagoon on the Mexican Pacific. Huitzil, Revista Mexicana de Ornitología, 15(2), pp.64-81.

Ruiz Bruce Taylor, M.D.M., J. L. Rangel-Salazar and B. Cortés Hernández. 2013. Resilience in a Mexican Pacific mangrove: implications for conservation restoration. Journal of Environmental Protection. 4(12), pp.1383-1391.

Bojorges Baños, J.C., M.D.M. Ruiz Bruce Taylor and G. Ramos Olivera. 2012. Registros de Protonotaria citrea en la región costera de Oaxaca, México. Cotinga, 34, pp.87-89.

Escalona, I., P. Franco, B. Cortés, M. Ruiz, J. Palumbo and D. López Carpio. 2009. La reforestación de los manglares de la costa de Oaxaca: Manual comunitario (Reforestation of mangroves on the Oaxacan Coast: A Community Manual). CONAFOR (Mexican National Forestry Commission), Jalisco, 64 p.

Germain, P. and M.D.M. Ruiz Bruce Taylor. 2016. Aves de lagunas costeras de Oaxaca: Una guía fotográfica de aves acuáticas y rapaces (Birds of the coastal lagoons of Oaxaca, Mexico: A photographic guide to water birds and raptors). CONABIO (Mexican National Commission for Biodiversity Knowledge and Use), México DF, 288 p.