Birthplace: Iztapalapa, CDMX, Mexico.

 

Formation: Biologist

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Expertice: Macroecology, Mycology, Microbiology, Botany, Environmental Systems, Conservation Biology

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For more that ten years, I studied the vernal pools –ephemeral wetlands– of the Mediterranean North American continent, focusing on the ecology of the system, its endemic and rare flora, and their microbial communities. My work is the first formal attempt to describe the microbial communities living in soil, water column, and plant tissues [link].

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I am passionate about microorganisms. My early work started with microscopic observations of bark and soil; I was able to identify some fungal species in the Ascomycota phylum, inhabiting the dry rainforest of Chamela Jalisco, Mexico [link to thesis] With time I developed the skills to analyze environmental samples using molecular tools [PCR, Electrophoresis, sequencing] to address the distribution of unculturable fungi, for example, Coccidioides immitis, the San Joaquin fever valley agent of disease, which affects the most vulnerable habitats in the city of Ensenada, near to the bordering city of Tijuana, Mexico. During my time in Ensenada, my life took a turn, due to the existence of the vernal pools.

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Given the constant threats over the natural landscape, I decided to collaborate and develop a study involving nine rare plant species, cataloged as endangered. These plants occurred only in Baja California vernal pools [link to Baja  California vernal pools]

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The California Province, which extends across the North Pacific coast from Southwestern Oregon to Northwestern Baja California, is the region where vernal pools occur. Recognized by their unique plant communities, vernal pools are the home of endangered, rare, and endemic plant species, understanding the factors that drive its distribution in specific vernal pool complexes is still unknown and soil fertility differences might not explain its presence or absence in a given site [link to thesis].

 

The combination of specific geological and environmental conditions gives place to evolutionary processes, worthy to study with a technological scope. I believe that vernal pools hold important lessons for humanity, especially during the 'Anthropocene'.