Idelisa Bonnelly

Idelisa Bonnelly de Calventi (10 September 1931 – 3 July 2022) was a Dominican marine biologist who is considered the "mother of marine conservation in the Caribbean". She was the founder of the study of biology in the Dominican Republic, as well as the founder of the Institute of Marine Biology and the Dominican Foundation for Marine Research. She was instrumental in the creation of the first Humpback Whale Sanctuary of the North Atlantic and has won numerous awards, including induction into the UNEP's Global 500 Roll of Honour, UNESCO's Marie Curie Medal and the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella. The BBC has called her one of the most important women scientists in Latin America.

Biography Idelisa Bonnelly Peralta was born on 10 September 1931 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. As she wanted to study marine biology and there were no schools teaching biology in the Dominican Republic, she pursued her university studies in New York. In 1953, she enrolled at Columbia University, graduating with a BS in marine biology in 1956. She went on to attain a master's degree from New York University in 1961. at which she taught from 1967 to 1986 and then until 1992 served as the coordinator of graduate studies. and began publishing works which became widely influential for those managing and concerned with conservation of marine resources. In 1986, she was instrumental in the creation of the first protected area for the humpback whale, originally called the Humpback Whale Sanctuary on the Silver Bank but today known as . 1= 1. Idelisa Bonnelly Peralta (born 1931) 2= 2. Miguel Rafael Bonnelly García (1898–1986) 3= 3. Victoria Peralta Mañé (1899–1995) 4= 4. Pedro Arístides Bonnelly Camaré 5= 5. Rafaela García Valdez 6= 6. Elías Peralta Gove 7= 7. Elvira Mañé Casado 8= 8. José Arístides Bonnelly Coutín 9= 9. Alejandrina Camaré Osorio 10= 11= 12= 13= 14= 15= 16= 16. Pierre Bonnelly 17= 17. Marie-Lucette Coutin 18= 18. Alejandro Camaré Coiscou 19= 19. Martha Osorio Ruiz

Awards 1986 Medal of Merit for Women in Science, Government of the Dominican Republic UNESCO 2010 Distinguished Service Award in Biology (SCB), Society for the Conservation of Biology, Victoria, Canada, 2010 2011 Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella, Government of the Dominican Republic ≠

Partial list of publications