Dr Andrinajoro (Joro) R Rakotoarivelo

Researcher
Natiora Ahy, a Malagasy non-profit organisation
Zoologist, Bioinformatic and Molecular ecology consultant

T: +261 38 73 970 98
E: andrinajoro@gmail.com

Research:

Andrinajoro R Rakotoarivelo, known as “Joro”, is a fellow researcher from the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar. He leads Natiora Ahy, a Malagasy non-profit organisation whose focus is to protect and conserve Madagascar’s unique biodiversity while improving the lives of its people. He completed his PhD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he worked on the conservation genetics of Malagasy bats.

Joro's primary area of research has focused on the ecology and conservation of Malagasy small mammals. He previously worked at the University of Venda’s Evolutionary Genomics Research Group, led by Prof Yoshan Moodley (2016–2021), where he contributed to several projects in pan-African phylogeography, including a reassessment of the levels of genetic structure across the bushbuck complex and the comparative evolution of African rhinoceros species.

He is currently a zoologist, bioinformatics and molecular ecology consultant affiliated with the University of the Free State/Afromontane Research Unit. Additionally, he is exploring the origin of the natural habitat of the Malagasy Central Highlands grasslands to provide a platform for facilitating habitat-appropriate patterns and processes that enhance the conservation of rare fauna, grasses, forest, and ericoids.