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INCAR²Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología, Conocimiento e Innovación · ANID — Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo

RL6

Dra. Doris Soto Benavides

Principal Investigator

Biography

Dr. Doris Soto Benavides holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Chile (1978) and a Ph.D. in Ecology from UC Davis in the United States (1988).

In 1990, she joined the Austral University of Chile in Puerto Montt, where she developed the Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, specializing in the study of the environmental implications of aquaculture and the interactions between aquaculture and fisheries. There, Dr. Soto trained a large number of undergraduate and graduate students and led numerous scientific projects in active collaboration with the public and private sectors.

In 2005, Dr. Soto joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, Italy, as a Senior Officer in charge of programs and activities related to aquaculture and the environment, including climate change, at the global level. In this role, she led various projects and initiatives across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

The researcher has published more than 80 scientific papers in high-impact journals and numerous FAO publications, including global guidelines and policy recommendations.

In mid-2016, Dr. Soto returned to Chile to join the Interdisciplinary Center for Aquaculture Research (INCAR), under the University of Concepción, working from Puerto Montt, where she leads the climate change and aquaculture resilience area, as well as the development and implementation of the ecosystem approach to aquaculture.

According to the Research ranking 2025/2026, in the category of Top Scientists in Environmental Sciences, Dr. Doris Soto ranks 10th and is the highest-ranked woman nationally, and 7,173rd worldwide, with 80 publications and 13,617 citations, giving her a D-index of 38.

Degrees and Academic Qualifications

  • 1988. Ph.D. in Ecology, Joint Program University of California, Davis – San Diego State University, USA.
  • 1979. Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chile.

Selected Projects

  • Dr. Soto led the development of climate risk maps for Chilean aquaculture (mussel farming and salmon farming) at the Center for Climate and Resilience Science and the Center for Global Change (UC), for the Ministry of the Environment and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). https://arclim.mma.gob.cl/atlas/sector_index/acuicultura/
  • She led the project “Proposal for assessing the environmental performance of Chilean salmon farming at the ecosystem scale in the inland sea of southern Chile” through a cooperation agreement with WWF Chile. https://centroincar.cl/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Propuesta-de-evaluacion-del-desempeno-ambiental-de-la-salmonicultura-Chilena-a-escala-de-ecosistemas.pdf
  • To date, she has led an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional initiative to develop and implement a “traffic light” system to regulate the maximum production of salmon by ecosystem/water body or neighborhoods, based on environmental (including climate change) and production risks. https://centroincar.cl/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/PolicyBrieff11Incar.pdf
  • She led the development of a global tool for climate change adaptation in aquaculture through a cooperation agreement with FAO Rome, using two case studies in Chilean mariculture. https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/e9e5a801-b71f-47b3-a98b-146c9edf37dc/content
  • Dr. Soto has participated in the development of the Third Global Ocean State Report (WOA, United Nations) within the working groups on industrial aquaculture and small-scale aquaculture assessment. https://www.un.org/regularprocess/sites/www.un.org.regularprocess/files/list_of_wts_2.pdf