Armando Sunny

Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM) · Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas Aplicadas (CICBA)

Context Conversion of forest ecosystems to human-modified landscapes threatens the persistence of forest-specialist species. However, the local and landscape drivers of population abundance and genetic diversity of these species are largely unknown, especially for elusive and critically endangered species, such as the salamander Pseudoeurycea rober...

Anthropogenic changes, such as land use and climate change, are the greatest threats to biodiversity, especially for amphibians, which are the most endangered vertebrate class worldwide. Species distribution modelling was applied to assess how expected future climate and land cover change scenarios might influence the geographic distribution and ha...

en Habitat loss and fragmentation are among the greatest threats to biodiversity since unsuitable habitat can be a significant barrier to gene flow, disrupting the connectivity of populations. In this scenario, landscape genetic approaches have been applied as invaluable tools to demonstrate how contemporary habitat alterations affect gene flow. In...

In 2013, the protection status of the Nevado de Toluca Volcano was changed from National Park to a less restrictive category. Much controversy has arisen surrounding this decision as the new category allows forest harvesting practices in most of the natural protected area. We assessed the forest cover loss in the Nevado de Toluca protected area and...

Habitat loss is one of the most important threats to biodiversity; it alters the habitat connectivity of species and is among the main causes of the global amphibian extinction crisis. Identifying the potential areas of distribution and connectivity of species is of the utmost importance so that informed decisions can be made for the conservation o...

Anthropogenic changes, such as land use and climate change, are the greatest threats to biodiversity, especially for reptiles, the second most endangered vertebrate class worldwide. Species distribution modelling was applied to assess how expected scenarios of future climate and land cover change might influence the geographic distribution and habi...

Anthropogenic changes, such as land use and climate change, are the greatest threats to biodiversity, especially for reptiles, the second most endangered vertebrate class worldwide. Species distribution modelling was applied to assess how expected scenarios of future climate and land cover change might influence the geographic distribution and habi...

The phylogenetic relationships among black-tailed rattlesnakes remain poorly understood and some authors indicated that the diversity of this group has been underestimated and additional analyses are required to clarify the biogeographic patterns throughout its distribution in Mexico. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate the phylogenet...

Guerrero is one of the most diverse states of Mexico, containing a large number of endemic and endangered amphibian species. However, it is one of the less protected and studied states of the country. Here, we determined the potential distribution of all amphibian species in a risk category present in Guerrero and defined priority areas for amphibi...

Habitat loss is one of the most important threats to biodiversity; it alters the habitat connectivity of species, and is among the main causes of the global amphibian extinction crisis. Identifying the potential areas of distribution and connectivity of species is of the utmost importance so that informed decisions can be made for the conservation...

Los ajolotes de arroyos de alta montaña (Ambystoma), forman parte de especies vulnerables debido a la naturaleza de su distribución, la cual se restringe a pequeños arroyos permanentes en las montañas de la Faja Volcánica Transmexicana; estas especies, además, se conforman por poblaciones pequeñas y aisladas, lo cual incrementa su vulnerabilidad. E...

Roberts' False Brook Salamander (Pseudoeurycea robertsi) is a critically endangered plethodontid salamander, endemic to the Ne-vado de Toluca Volcano (NTV), Mexico. Little is known about the biology and ecology of this species, including its microhabitats. Thus, this study aimed to collect basic information about P. robertsi. We sampled fourteen fo...

The most important factor leading to amphibian population declines and extinctions is habitat degradation and destruction. To help prevent further extinctions, studies are needed to make appropriate conservation decisions in small and fragmented populations. The goal of this study was to provide data from the population genetics of two micro-endemi...

Mexico is one of the most diverse countries that is losing a large amount of forest due to land use change, these data put Mexico in fourth place for global deforestation rate, therefore, Mexico occupies the first place in number of endangered species in the world with 665 endangered species. It is important to study amphibians because they are amo...

Mexico is one of the most diverse countries that is losing a large amount of forest due to land use change, these data put Mexico in fourth place for global deforestation rate, therefore, Mexico occupies the first place in number of endangered species in the world with 665 endangered species. It is important to study amphibians because they are amo...

The dusky rattlesnake, Crotalus triseriatus, used to be very abundant in many parts of the highlands of central Mexico, but with the increasing human population and associated activities, the rattlesnake habitats and populations have suffered drastic reductions and fragmentation. At the moment, the most important habitat features, associated with t...

Land use changes are threatening the maintenance of biodiversity. Genetic diversity is one of the main indicators of biological diversity and is highly important as it shapes the capability of populations to respond to environmental changes. We studied eleven populations of Pseudoeurycea robertsi, a micro-endemic and critically endangered species f...

The isolated and fragmented populations are highly susceptible to stochastic events, increasing the extinction risk because of the decline in putative adaptive potential and individual fitness. The population has high heterozygosity values and a moderate allelic diversity, the heterozygosity values are higher than in most other Crotalus species and...

Geographic coordinates of the Thamnophis species studied

Land use and climate change are affecting the abundance and distribution of species. The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) is a very diverse region due to geological history, geographic position, and climate. It is also one of the most disturbed regions in Mexico. Reptiles are particularly sensitive to environmental changes due to their low disper...

Land-use and climate change are affecting the abundance and distribution of species. The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) is a very diverse region due to geological history, geographic position and climate, however, is one of the most disturbed regions in Mexico. Reptiles are particularly sensitive to environmental changes due to their low disper...

Amphibians are globally threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation; species within the order Ambystoma are not the exception, as there are 18 species of mole salamanders in México, of which 16 are endemic and all species are under some national or international status of protection. The mole salamander, Ambystoma altamirani is a microendemic spec...

Barisia imbricata imbricata is an endemic anguid lizard living in the highlands of central Mexico, mainly in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, but its current distribution is not well defined. For this reason, it is critical to make a systematic study in order to determine the potential distribution of this subspecies. We considered 13 environmental...

Human activities are affecting the distribution of species worldwide by causing fragmentation and isolation of populations. Isolation and fragmentation lead to populations with lower genetic variability and an increased chance of inbreeding and genetic drift, which results in a loss of biological fitness over time. Studies of the genetic structure...

Genealogical records of animals (studbook) are created to avoid reproduction between closely related individuals, which could cause inbreeding, particularly for such endangered species as the Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758). Jaguar is the largest felid in the Americas and is considered an important ecological key species. In Mexico, wild jaguar popu...

It is necessary to determine genetic diversity of fragmented populations in highly modified landscapes to understand how populations respond to land-use change. This information will help guide future conservation and management strategies. We conducted a population genetic study on an endemic Mexican Dusky Rattlesnake (Crotalus triseriatus) in a h...

It is necessary to determine genetic diversity of fragmented populations in highly modified landscapes to understand how populations respond to land-use change. This information will help guide future conservation and management strategies. We conducted a population genetic study on an endemic Mexican Dusky Rattlesnake (Crotalus triseriatus) in a h...

The reduced immigration and emigration rates resulting from the lack of landscape connectivity of patches and the hospitality of the intervening matrix could favor the loss of alleles through genetic drift and an increased chance of inbreeding. In order for isolated populations to maintain sufficient levels of genetic diversity and adapt to environ...

Small or isolated populations are highly susceptible to stochastic events. They are prone and vulnerable to random demographic or environmental fluctuations that could lead to extinction due to the loss of alleles through genetic drift and increased inbreeding. We studied Ambystoma leorae an endemic and critically threatened species. We analyzed th...

Se evaluó la estructura y diversidad genética de Oryzomys couesi cozumelae para determinar si existían cambios en sus niveles de variabilidad genética y diferenciación entre poblaciones, resultado de la disminución de las poblaciones consecuencia de los huracanes Emily y Wilma del 2005 en isla Cozumel, Quintana Roo. Su calidad de especie isleña fav...