Santiago Cárdenas

Garden BirdWatch Survey Organiser

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Santiago is responsible for delivering a suite of citizen science surveys centred around garden ecology, through the operational management of BTO’s Garden Birdwatch (GBW), Garden Bird Feeding Survey (GBFS) and Garden Wildlife Health (GWH) projects.

A central aspect of the role is to attract new participants and contribute to BTO's strategic scientific goals, through close collaborations with the Supporter Team, Survey Team, and Ambassadors Network.

Interests & Responsibilities

Santiago is passionate about urban ecology. He strongly believes that the future of urban biodiversity relies on connecting people to nature, and that gardens are the perfect first step towards environmental stewardship. He uses his experience in biodiversity surveys and his data skills in many of his daily responsibilities to make sure that BTO’s citizen science translates into impactful findings.

Santiago has a diverse background working with birds and data through research and consultancy. Before joining BTO, Santiago worked as a consultant statistician collaborating with research groups from different academic institutions around the world, helping researchers make sense of their data and properly communicate their results.

Santiago’s research career focused on bird-plant interactions, particularly on hummingbird pollination (and occasionally mammal pollination as well!), to understand how disturbances impact ecosystem functionality at a detailed ecological level. In addition, he actively participated in research on fruit-eating birds, mixed-species flock structure, and avian morphology.

Beyond research, Santiago’s work as a consultant ornithologist in renewable energy projects in Ecuador has seen him lead teams during fieldwork, engage with local communities and provide critical data to inform bird conservation decisions.

A keen ringer, Santiago spent many years working in the Bird Monitoring Programme of Cajas National Park, a designated Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) in Ecuador. Here, he did extensive ringing (passerines and non-passerines) and led a team of technicians and volunteers during field sessions. 

Outside of work, Santiago is an avid birder and a data nerd, and he also dedicates some time to playing different string instruments.

Qualifications

  • BSc Biology, Ecology and Management, Universidad del Azuay
  • MSc Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, Imperial College London

Other Publications

Cárdenas S., Nivelo-Villavicencio C., Cárdenas J.D., Landázuri P.O. & Tinoco B.A​. 2017. First record of flower visitation by a rodent in Neotropical Proteaceae, Oreocallis grandiflora. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 33: 174–177 View on journal website >

Cárdenas-Calle, S., Cardenas, J. D., Landázuri, B. O., Mogrovejo, G., Crespo, A. M., Breitbach, N., Schleuning, M., & Tinoco, B. A. 2020. Pollinator effectiveness in the mixed-pollination system of a Neotropical Proteaceae, Oreocallis grandiflora. Journal of Pollination Ecology 26: 38–46 View on journal website >

Hazlehurst, J., Cardenas, S., Tinoco, B., & Karubian, J. 2016. Pollination ecology of Oreocallis grandiflora (Proteaceae) at the northern and southern ends of its geographic range. Journal of Pollination Ecology 19: 71–80 View on journal website >

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