Short Bio
My name is Darilís Sánchez Torres and I’m from San Germán, Puerto Rico. I graduated from “El Colegio”, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus with a BS in Biology and 2 curricular sequences: Conservation and Management of Natural Resources, and Sociology and Environmental Public Policy. I’m working with Dr. Paun Bayman under the Research and Mentoring for a Postbaccalaureate in Biological Sciences (RaMP-UP) postbaccalaureate program. I am working with a coffee pest, the coffee leaf miner, trying to describe the damage it causes to coffee leaves, as well as its severity and incidence. Additionally, I am collecting and identifying the survival of the larvae in different farms around Puerto Rico. I plan to compare the data obtained within conditions such as environmental variables, year of collected data, season (dry or wet), coffee variety and study site.
A fun fact or hobby: I am a nature lover, and every year I like to do at least one new different, and somewhat extreme outdoor activity. I’ve managed to go camping, snorkeling, discover new places for hiking, ride ziplines (including the longest at Toro Verde), go paragliding, skydive, ski, and soon I will swim with sharks.
Research
Mentor:
Paun Bayman, PhD
Co-mentor:
María E. Pérez Hernández, PhD
Project Title:
Damage and Survival of the Coffee Leaf Miner Leucoptera coffeela in Puerto Rico Coffee Farms
Project Description:
This study aims to measure the damage of the coffee leaf miner (CLM) in eight coffee farms in Puerto Rico and to assess the effect of weather seasons (dry and wet), coffee varieties, and altitude on the incidence and severity of the CLM.