I am a wildlife biologist with a particular interest in population ecology, spatial ecology, and applied conservation and wildlife management. 
I started working at KORA in 2022, mainly within the Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme (BLRP) and wolf monitoring in Switzerland. In March 2025, I started a PhD in collaboration with the Population Ecology Research Group of the University of Zurich.
In my free time, I enjoy spending time in forests and mountains. I am also a member of the IUCN SSC Species Monitoring Specialist Group.
Project
My doctoral research aims to explore
(1) optimal reinforcement strategies for the critically endangered Balkan lynx, by determining how many individuals to translocate, where, and how often to ensure the long-term genetic and demographic viability of the population;
(2) the estimation of wolf population size and key demographic parameters over time in Switzerland and Liechtenstein; and
(3) the effects of different management measures on wolf population dynamics and social structure.
My PhD is supervised by Prof. Arpat Ozgul (POPECOL, UZH) as thesis director, and Dr. Nina Gerber (KORA) as main supervisor, with additional supervision by Dr. Fridolin Zimmermann and Manuela von Arx (KORA), and Dr. Dominik Behr (POPECOL, UZH).
CV
- 2025–present, PhD student | KORA, Population Ecology Research Group (University of Zurich)
- 2022–present, Wildlife biologist | KORA
- 2021–2022, Student assistant in Prof. Christe’s group | University of Lausanne
- 2020–2022, Msc in Behaviour, Evolution and Conservation | University of Lausanne
- 2017–2020, Bsc in biology | University of Lausanne and University of Helsinki
Publications
Melovski D.*, Moreno I.*, Stojanov A., Pavlov A., Gonev A., Avukatov V., Halotel-Diez Y., Ivanov G., Zimmermann F. (2025). A decade of monitoring the critically endangered Balkan lynx in its core area : Insights from spatial capture recapture models. Global Ecology and Conservation, e03615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2025.e03615
Kaczensky P., Ranc N., Hatlauf J., Payne J.C., … Moreno I., … et al. (2024). Large carnivore distribution maps and population updates 2017 – 2022/23. Report to the European Commission under contract N°09.0201/2023/907799/SER/ENV.D.3 “Support for Coexistence with Large Carnivores”, “B.4 Update of the distribution maps”. IUCN/SSC Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (LCIE) and Istituto di Ecologia Applicata (IEA).
Moreno I., Gippet, J.M.W., Fumagalli L., Stephenson PJ. (2022). Factors affecting the availability of data on East African wildlife: the monitoring needs of conservationists are not being met. Biodiversity and Conservation, 32, 249–273 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-022-02479-3
Hinojo A., Christe P., Moreno I., Zimmermann F. (2022). Estimating roe deer density using motion-sensitive cameras in Switzerland. Journal of Wildlife Management, 86(7): e22213. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22307
*shared first authorship