Following the guidelines set out in Article 11 of Royal Decree 99/2011, of January 28, which regulates official doctoral studies and as set out in the Regulations for Official Doctoral Studies of the University of La Laguna, the supervision of theses and the monitoring of each doctoral student will be implemented taking into account the following considerations:

• Each doctoral student admitted to the program will be enrolled annually for academic tutoring.
• Each doctoral candidate will be assigned a tutor and at least one supervisor by the program's academic committee. The tutor will oversee the doctoral candidate's interaction with the program. These assignments may be modified by the committee at any time, after consulting with the doctoral candidate, if justified reasons exist. This request must be made by the electronic procedure enabled for this purpose.
• Before the end of the first year, a research plan must be developed that includes, at a minimum, the methodology to be used and the objectives to be achieved, as well as the resources and timeline for achieving them. This plan may be improved and further detailed throughout the participant's time in the program.
• Additionally, and also before the end of the first year, you must prepare a personal training plan outlining the various training activities you expect to undertake during your doctoral studies. This document may be improved and expanded throughout your time in the doctoral program. It will be regularly reviewed by your supervisor and thesis advisors.
• Annually, the program's academic committee will evaluate the development of the research plan, the personal training plan, and the record document of the various activities carried out during the course, along with the reports that tutors and directors must issue for this purpose.
• A positive evaluation is a prerequisite for continuing in the program. In the event of a negative evaluation, the academic committee will issue a report explaining the reasons for the decision and proposing appropriate corrective measures for the next evaluation. If the evaluation is negative, the doctoral candidate must be re-evaluated within six months. Should a further negative evaluation occur, the doctoral candidate will be permanently dismissed from the program, in accordance with the Regulations on Dedication and Permanence in Doctoral Studies at the University of La Laguna (ULL).

From the above, it can be assured that there is complete traceability of the activity carried out by the doctoral candidate, supervised by the thesis director and the academic committee, as well as by the EDEP, since all of this is recorded in the computer application created for this purpose, under the name of Registration of Activities and Research Plan (RAPI).

Academic committee

The doctoral program has an academic committee whose members have extensive experience in research and who meet the requirements of the Official Doctoral Studies Regulations of the University of La Laguna.

Commitment document and good practices in research

The supervisory responsibilities will be established through a written agreement, using the standardized template provided by the EDEP, signed by the doctoral student and the individuals responsible for supervision and mentoring. This agreement must be signed as soon as possible after admission and enrollment, and in any case, within a maximum of six months from the assignment of a supervisor and thesis director.

The commitment document, once signed by the parties involved, will be filed in the student's file.

The doctoral program in Biodiversity and Conservation follows the guidelines of Article 11, Supervision and Monitoring of Doctoral Students, of Royal Decree 99/2011 and of the Official Doctoral Studies Regulations of the ULL, which in its Articles 14, 15, and 16 describe the composition of the Academic Committee of the doctoral program and its functions, which include the supervision and monitoring of doctoral students during their doctoral training. The Academic Committee of the official doctoral program will be composed of a maximum of seven professors and/or researchers of the program, including the academic coordinator, who will act as its president and who meets the requirements of both the Royal Decree and the ULL Regulations.

Likewise, Article 23 of the Regulations describes the procedures established by the doctoral program for the supervision and monitoring of doctoral students during their doctoral training. In addition to the assignment of a tutor, the deadlines established for such assignment, and the procedure for modifying this assignment, according to Article 10 of the ULL Regulations, points 5, 6, and 7, the Academic Committee of the doctoral program will ensure an appropriate and proportionate distribution of doctoral students among the research lines comprising the doctoral program and their supervisors, establishing a series of limitations to avoid the accumulation of work under a single line and direction, excessive lengthening of the completion of the doctoral thesis for reasons beyond the students' control, or a lack of publications based on the results of the thesis.

Regarding the procedure used to monitor the activity log of each doctoral student and certify their data, the Tutor or the Director, or both, collect this information and send it to the program's Academic Committee through the RAPI application for reporting and certification. According to Article 15 of the ULL Regulations, this committee is responsible for annually evaluating the Research Plan and the Training Plan (Training Activities), which contain the activity document of each student in the program, within the established timeframes. This committee must also approve the doctoral students' planned stays at other national and international centers, joint supervisions, and international mentions, according to the Procedure for requesting an International Mention in a doctoral thesis at the ULL.