José Márcio Corrêa Ayres (February 21, 1954 – March 7, 2003) was a Brazilian
primatologist and
conservationist who founded the
Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve in 1996, followed by the
Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve in 1998.
The two reserves are located in the central region of the Brazilian state of
Amazonas, and are joined to adjacent
Jaú National Park
The Jaú National Park () is a national park located in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
It is one of the largest forest reserves in South America, and part of a World Heritage Site.
Location
The name "Jaú" comes from that of one of the largest ...
to form a corridor spanning over of protected rainforest.
Ayres devoted his life to the preservation of the unique biota and ecosystems of the
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
, as well as to developing a method by which rural dwellers would benefit from the conservation of natural resources. He realized that the
uakari monkeys he had been studying for his doctoral thesis would stand no chance of survival unless new community-based models of natural resource management were applied to the much exploited
Amazon river basin.
Ayres's doctorate in primatology at
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...
, in 1986 was for his thesis ''Uakaris and Amazonian flooded forest'', the field work for which was undertaken on the upper Amazon River floodplain, near
Tefé
Tefé, known in early accounts as Teffé, is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas, northern Brazil.
History
As early as 1620 the Portuguese Carmelites could already boast of converts amo ...
.
Ayres died of
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
in 2003 at the
Mount Sinai Hospital in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, United States.
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Selected publications
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References
External sources
Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayres, Jose Marcio
1954 births
2003 deaths
Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
University of São Paulo alumni
Recipients of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil)
People from Belém