The mother of marine conservation in the Caribbean
Photographer unkown
Professor Idelisa Bonnelly might be one of the most important women in Humpback whale research. Between getting her own marine biology degrees in the United States, because her home country of the Dominican Republic had none, and fixing that problem by helping to establish the first biology program in her country, Professor Bonnelly spent her time studying the Humpback whales who migrated to the shallow waters around the Dominican. In 1986 that work lead her to she co-create the one of the first marine sanctuaries for Humpback whales. Known today as the Marine Mammals Sanctuary Bancos de La Plata and Navidad, the roughly 35, 469.20 km2 sanctuary provides a habitat for an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 humpback whales who migrate along the Western North Atlantic coast / Eastern US coast line. The area serves as a breeding and calving ground for this group of Humpback whales as well as a sanctuary for many other marine mammals including Sperm Whales, Manatees, Orcas, and a number of dolphin species.
Born in 1931 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, surrounded by vibrant blue waters full of life, Professor Bonnelly, like so many nascent marine biologists, wanted to know more. In her case, there were no marine biology programs in her home country so she had to go abroad to pursue her dreams. Landing in the United States, she studied at both Columbia University and New York University receiving her BS and MS in Marine Biology respectively. Professor Bonnelly went on to work at the New York Aquarium, monitoring the health of of number of marine mammals including penguins and walruses.
When she returned to the Dominican in 1962 she brought her knowledge of marine biology with her as a teacher at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo. Her work with UASD lead to the creation of the Dominican Republic’s first biology degree program. She taught in the department into the 1980’s and then served as the division’s the coordinator of graduate studies.
Professor Bonnelly was the recipient of the Marie Curie Medal in 2009, and was named by the BBC as one of the 10 women leading science in Latin America of 2013.
Some of Professor Idelisa Bonnelly de Calventi papers, archived on ResearchGate