Researchers

I am currently a PhD. candidate in Alberto Búrquez lab at the Institute of Ecology of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), where I also work as academic technician. My graduate work has focused on the study of the factors that, in a geographical context, influence the evolution of the life history traits of Organ Pipe Cactus (Stenocereus thurberi) in the Sonoran Desert. To address this issue, I studied the effect of the spatial and temporal variation of resources on the population dynamics, the reproductive success, and the genetic structure of this species. This work has ramifications to many areas on the vanguard of ecology like population differentiation in long-lived perennials, the effects of global change on life history traits like reproductive traits, as well as the sustainable use of resources (as the fruits of the organ pipe cactus are edible and widely consumed at a local and international scale). During the course of my graduate work, I also participated in a study that explored the spatial variation among populations of saguaro in ecological structure, recruitment and growth, and I have become very interested in the factors that correlate that variation with the physical and biological environment. Also, I am deeply interested in the association between long-term population and climate dynamics, the phenomena of interaction between pollinators and plants, energy offers, and the patterns of generalization-specialization in plant pollination systems.