ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0098-978X
Current Organisation
Universidad San Francisco de Quito
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Publisher: Magnolia Press
Date: 23-11-2016
DOI: 10.11646/ZOOTAXA.4196.3.9
Abstract: The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007 Donegan 2008, 2009 Nemésio 2009a–b Dubois 2009 Gentile & Snell 2009 Minelli 2009 Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016 Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016.
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 15-06-2016
Abstract: The ‘mountain passes are higher in the tropics’ (MPHT) hypothesis posits that reduced climate variability at low latitudes should select for narrower thermal tolerances, lower dispersal and smaller elevational ranges compared with higher latitudes. These latitudinal differences could increase species richness at low latitudes, but that increase may be largely cryptic, because physiological and dispersal traits isolating populations might not correspond to morphological differences. Yet previous tests of the MPHT hypothesis have not addressed cryptic ersity. We use integrative taxonomy, combining morphology (6136 specimens) and DNA barcoding (1832 specimens) to compare the species richness, cryptic ersity and elevational ranges of mayflies (Ephemeroptera) in the Rocky Mountains (Colorado approx. 40°N) and the Andes (Ecuador approx. 0°). We find higher species richness and smaller elevational ranges in Ecuador than Colorado, but only after quantifying and accounting for cryptic ersity. The opposite pattern is found when comparing ersity based on morphology alone, underscoring the importance of uncovering cryptic species to understand global bio ersity patterns.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-06-2017
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 20-03-2020
Abstract: Lambert et al . question our retrospective and holistic epidemiological assessment of the role of chytridiomycosis in hibian declines. Their alternative assessment is narrow and provides an incomplete evaluation of evidence. Adopting this approach limits understanding of infectious disease impacts and h ers conservation efforts. We reaffirm that our study provides unambiguous evidence that chytridiomycosis has affected at least 501 hibian species.
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 06-06-2023
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-2711241/V1
Abstract: Anthropogenic bio ersity loss is extreme in hibians. Despite ongoing conservation action, it is difficult to determine where we stand in overcoming their extinction crisis 1,2. Extinction risk is not equally distributed across hibians 3-5. Among the most threatened hibians are the 131 Neotropical harlequin toads (Atelopus), many of which dramatically declined since the late 1980s with several considered possibly extinct 5,6. Recently, more than 30 species have been rediscovered7, raising hope for a reversing trend in the hibian extinction crisis. We use harlequin toads, for which comprehensive past and present population status, threat and conservation action data are available, as a model for examining whether the hibian extinction crisis is still in a state of emergency. We show that since 2004 no species has improved its population status, suggesting that the conservation community has not yet bent the curve. Threats such as pathogen spread and habitat change persist unabated additionally, climate change is expected to be a future threat. More on-the-ground mitigation strategies need implementation, especially habitat protection and disease management, combined with captive conservation breeding. With harlequin toads serving as a model for hibians with high extinction risk, it is clear that the hibian extinction crisis is still underway.
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 05-11-2018
Abstract: Over 50 years ago, Dan Janzen proposed an integrative framework relating latitudinal differences in climate variability to elevational trends in species ersity. We show that tropical species in three independent insect clades have ( i ) narrower thermal breadths, ( ii ) decreased dispersal and higher population structure, and ( iii ) higher cryptic ersity and speciation rates. This research tests all of the key predictions of Janzen’s hypothesis in related taxa. Our work advances the understanding of how climate variability shapes global ersity patterns, moving beyond simple correlations, to mechanistic links between climate, local adaptation, dispersal, and montane species richness.
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 29-03-2019
Abstract: Rapid spread of disease is a hazard in our interconnected world. The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis was identified in hibian populations about 20 years ago and has caused death and species extinction at a global scale. Scheele et al. found that the fungus has caused declines in hibian populations everywhere except at its origin in Asia (see the Perspective by Greenberg and Palen). A majority of species and populations are still experiencing decline, but there is evidence of limited recovery in some species. The analysis also suggests some conditions that predict resilience. Science , this issue p. 1459 see also p. 1386
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 20-11-2019
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.8060
Abstract: Anthropogenic threat maps are commonly used as a surrogate for the ecological integrity of rivers in freshwater conservation, but a clearer understanding of their relationships is required to develop proper management plans at large scales. Here, we developed and validated empirical models that link the ecological integrity of rivers to threat maps in a large, heterogeneous and bio erse Andean–Amazon watershed. Through fieldwork, we recorded data on aquatic invertebrate community composition, habitat quality, and physical-chemical parameters to calculate the ecological integrity of 140 streams/rivers across the basin. Simultaneously, we generated maps that describe the location, extent, and magnitude of impact of nine anthropogenic threats to freshwater systems in the basin. Through seven-fold cross-validation procedure, we found that regression models based on anthropogenic threats alone have limited power for predicting the ecological integrity of rivers. However, the prediction accuracy improved when environmental predictors (slope and elevation) were included, and more so when the predictions were carried out at a coarser scale, such as microbasins. Moreover, anthropogenic threats that lify the incidence of other pressures (roads, human settlements and oil activities) are the most relevant predictors of ecological integrity. We concluded that threat maps can offer an overall picture of the ecological integrity pattern of the basin, becoming a useful tool for broad-scale conservation planning for freshwater ecosystems. While it is always advisable to have finer scale in situ measurements of ecological integrity, our study shows that threat maps provide fast and cost-effective results, which so often are needed for pressing management and conservation actions.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-03-2017
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.2862
No related grants have been discovered for Juan Guayasamin.