David Romero

David Romero
University of Malaga | UMA · Biología Animal

Assistant lecturer Doctor
Applying modeling biogeography to the analysis of biological invasions, zoonotic diseases and conservation.

About

85
Publications
19,038
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464
Citations
Introduction
728/5000 David Romero Pacheco holds a PhD in Biology with an International Mention from the University of Málaga (UMA). He has participated, with more than thirty contributions, in scientific congresses, national and international. He has published thirty-four articles, several of them in scientific magazines, and twelve in scientific journals included in the Science Citation Index (SCI). He is a postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory for Sustainable Development and Environmental Management of the Territory (LDSGAT) at the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IECA) of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of the Republic of Uruguay. He is especially interested in modeling the distribution of biodiversity.
Additional affiliations
March 2016 - present
Universidad de la República de Uruguay
Position
  • PostDoc Position
Description
  • Mainly work in the development of the research line of "Conservation Biogeography" from the application of the favorability function (FF) as a species ditribution modeling algorithm. Specifically, we apply the favorability function as a tool in order to: detect areas of high potential biodiversity; high risk areas of new cases of dengue in South America; or potential areas of expansion and/or new cases of biological invasions, among others.
Education
December 2009 - December 2014
University of Malaga
Field of study
  • Biogeografía de la Biodiversidad
September 2001 - July 2007
University of Malaga
Field of study
  • Biology

Publications

Publications (85)
Article
Climate change may increase the risk of dengue and yellow fever transmission by urban and sylvatic mosquito vectors. Previous research primarily focused on Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. However, dengue and yellow fever have a complex transmission cycle involving sylvatic vectors. Our aim was to analyze how the distribution of areas favorable...
Article
Full-text available
Background What factors, processes and mechanisms regulate invasive processes and their effects? This is one of the main questions addressed by the ecology of biological invasions. Ligustrum lucidum, a tree species native to East Asia, became an aggressive invader of subtropical and temperate forests around the world. We analyzed here the L. lucidu...
Article
Full-text available
Dengue and yellow fever have complex cycles, involving urban and sylvatic mosquitoes, and non‐human primate hosts. To date, efforts to assess the effect of climate change on these diseases have neglected the combination of such crucial factors. Recent studies only considered urban vectors. This is the first study to include them together with sylva...
Article
Full-text available
Background Experts use knowledge to infer the distribution of species based on fuzzy logical assumptions about the relationship between species and the environment. Thus, expert knowledge is amenable to fuzzy logic modelling, which give to propositions a continuous truth value between 0 and 1. In species distribution modelling, fuzzy logic may also...
Preprint
Full-text available
Climate change may increase the risk of dengue and yellow fever transmission by urban and sylvatic mosquito vectors. Previous research primarily focused on Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. However, these diseases involve a complex transmission cycle in which sylvatic vectors are also involved. Our aim was to analyse which mosquito species could...
Presentation
La creación de espacios protegidos es una de las herramientas más utilizadas para la conservación de la biodiversidad. Sin embargo, a menudo se desconoce la composición y estado de conservación inicial de algunos de los grupos faunísticos que albergan. En 2018 se aprobó la creación de un nuevo Parque Nacional en Andalucía, el Parque Nacional Sierra...
Article
Full-text available
The conservation of biodiversity in urban environ- ments has acquired importance in recent years. The fauna and flora in these environments are es- sential to contribute to their environmental qua- lity. In particular, birds are good bioindicators of the quality of the urban environment. This study was carried out within the framework of the Bio- g...
Article
Full-text available
Hantaviruses are the causative agents of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in the Americas. In Central and South America, 28 hantavirus lineages were associated with different Sigmodontinae rodents. Of these, Lechiguanas hantavirus was initially described as a lineage associated with HPS cases in the central region of Argentina. Initial studies o...
Preprint
Full-text available
Riparian systems are highly threatened by alterations in its hydrological regimen and biological invasions. To guide its conservation is important to understand the relationships established between biological invasions and abiotic conditions affected by the hydrological regimen. We analyze the relationship between the distribution pattern of soil...
Article
Full-text available
The sexual species of the Dilatata complex (Paspalum dasypleurum, P. flavescens, P. plurinerve, P. vacarianum, and P. urvillei) are closely related phylogenetically and show allopatric distributions, except P. urvillei. These species show microhabitat similarities and differences in germination traits. We integrated species distribution models (SDM...
Article
Full-text available
Los fenómenos meteorológicos extremos afectan a la reproducción de una población occidental aislada del sapo de espuela, Pelobates cultripes (Cuvier, 1829), en su límite de distribución más meridional Pelobates cultripes (Cuvier, 1829) se puede considerar como uno de los anfibios más afectados por el cambio climático en España. Su largo periodo lar...
Poster
Full-text available
El cambio climático, en sinergia con otros factores antropogénicos, está provocando el retroceso de especies de anfibios como el Pelobates cultripes en la península ibérica. Para analizar la viabilidad de una de las últimas poblaciones urbanas en Málaga, en su límite de distribución más meridional, durante marzo de 2021 y junio de 2022 se estudió s...
Chapter
Full-text available
La Lista Roja Europea de la UICN ha evaluado 7334 especies presentes en España, de las que un 43 % están distribuidas en los territorios insulares. De esas especies, un 21 % son endemismos, encontrándose el 39 % de ellos amenazados. Estas presentan una distribución restringida, siendo más susceptibles a los efectos del cambio climático. A partir de...
Article
Full-text available
Rècord d’abundància de Salamandra salamandra (Linnaeus, 1758) en les poblacions europees més meridionals: S. s. longirostris Al sud de la península Ibérica es troba la subespècie de salamandra més meridional d’Europa, Salamandra salamandra longirostris. S’ha proposat la classificació d’aquesta subespècie com a espècie atesa la diferenciació genèti...
Presentation
El conejo (Oryctolagus cuniculus) es una especie nativa de la península ibérica, ampliamente distribuida en todo el territorio. Pese a ser una especie muy prolífica, la fuerte presión cinegética y las enfermedades en las últimas décadas han mermado considerablemente sus poblaciones, alterando su distribución original. Esto ha conllevado que la UICN...
Poster
Full-text available
Abstract. La desaparición de especies debido a la actividad antrópica es una realidad que afecta a la biodiversidad de todo el planeta. La Lista Roja de Aves del Uruguay, utilizando criterios de la UICN, considera 45 especies de aves amenazadas en nuestro territorio. Para conservar las especies, es necesario conocer y preservar sus áreas de distrib...
Article
Full-text available
The Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis) is an important small game species endemic to the Iberian Peninsula for which the incidence of roadkill is unknown. We surveyed Iberian hare–vehicle accidents on road networks in southern Spain, focusing on roads that mainly run through favorable habitats for this species: Mediterranean landscapes with plots of...
Technical Report
Full-text available
En mayo de 2020, publicábamos el informe “Análisis del efecto del Cambio Climático sobre vertebrados terrestres amenazados incluidos en la Lista Roja de UICN, mediante modelos de distribución de especies”. En ese trabajo se analizaron diez especies de vertebrados amenazados y se obtuvieron conclusiones relevantes, útiles para mejorar el manejo de e...
Article
Dataset with the occurrences of dengue cases from 2013 to 2017. The following information is provided: year, continent, country, admi 1 (largest subnational administrative unit in the country), admi 2 (second largest subnational administrative unit in the country: province, district, municipality or canton), latitude, longitude, and location. The l...
Article
Full-text available
Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes. The rapid spread of dengue could lead to a global pandemic, and so the geographical extent of this spread needs to be assessed and predicted. There are also reasons to suggest that transmission of dengue from non-human primates in tropical forest cycles is being underestimated. We investigate the...
Article
Full-text available
Native to the southeastern United States, the honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) is an invasive tree in several South American countries. Since eradication of invasive species is often costly, prevention is a better strategy. The relationship between invasive species and their habitats can be analyzed using species distribution models to produce...
Preprint
Full-text available
Lepus granatensis is an Iberian Peninsula endemic species and one of the most important small game species. We surveyed Iberian hare-vehicle accidents in roads network in southern Spain, analysing the Mediterranean landscape, the main habitats of this species. We recorded roadkill of roads during 6-month, compared hare roadkill densities to hare hu...
Chapter
Full-text available
Control and eradication of invasive species are costly measures with little chance of success. The Strategic Plan for Biological Diversity (2011-2020) as part of the “Aichi goals” proposed identifying exotic species with invasive potential and establishing measures to manage their introduction routes and avoid their establishment. To achieve these...
Chapter
Full-text available
La distribución de las especies está condicionada por factores ambientales, geográficos, históricos y bióticos. Los modelos de distribución son una herramienta utilizada para establecer las relaciones entre estos factores y la distribución de las especies. La lógica difusa mediante la Función de Favorabilidad, aplicada a los modelos de distribución...
Article
Full-text available
La coloración atípica en los anfibios es un fenómeno raro que a veces ocurre en la naturaleza. Se encontró un espécimen de tono azul brillante de Phiyllomedusa ihereingii durante una sesión de encuestas en Maldonado, Uruguay. Esta coloración responde a una mutación genética que altera la producción de pigmentos amarillos y que podría estar indicand...
Technical Report
Full-text available
El Comité Español de la UICN gracias al apoyo de la Fundación Biodiversidad, del Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico, ha desarrollado el proyecto titulado “Análisis del efecto del cambio climático sobre vertebrados terrestres amenazados incluidos en la Lista Roja de UICN, mediante modelos de distribución de especies». En...
Article
The maned wolf, the largest canid in South America, was originally distributed in areas with open natural vegetation in the Cerrado biome, Chaco and Pampas regions. The dynamics of its distribution are, however, in flux, with populations declining at the southern limit of its distribution, and areas of apparent range expansion in Brazil. Although t...
Poster
La preocupación sobre las especies invasoras está creciendo a nivel global debido a la amenaza que suponen para la conservación de la biodiversidad, el impacto económico asociado a su gestión y, en muchos casos, el riesgo para la salud pública como reservorios de enfermedades zoonóticas. El mapache es un mesocarnívoro generalista, nativo de Norteam...
Article
Full-text available
Our limited understanding of the complexity of nature generates uncertainty in mathematical and cartographical models used to predict the effects of climate change on species’ distributions. We developed predictive models of distributional range shifts of threatened vertebrate species in mainland Spain, and in their accumulation in biodiversity hot...
Conference Paper
The maned wolf, the largest canid in South America, was originally distributed in areas with open natural vegetation in the Cerrado biome, Chaco and Pampas regions. The dynamics of its distribution are however in flux, with populations declining at the southern limit of its distribution, and areas of apparent range expansion in Brazil. Although the...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Over the last decade, reports about dengue cases have increase worldwide, which is particularly worrisome in South America due to the historic record of dengue outbreaks from the seventeenth century until the first half of the twentieth century. Dengue is a viral disease that involves insect vectors, namely Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopi...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Conferencia dictada en el Simposio: Diseccionando la Geografía de la Biodiversidad, en el Congreso Biociencias, 2019
Presentation
Over the last decade, reports about dengue cases have increase worldwide, which is particularly worrisome in South America due to the historic record of dengue outbreaks from the seventeenth century until the first half of the twentieth century. Dengue is a viral disease that involves insect vectors, namely Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, which i...
Research Proposal
especies exóticas, salud humana, prevención, pérdidas económicas
Article
Full-text available
Glyphosate is one of the most used herbicides worldwide. However there still exists a strong debate about its effects on the environment or people health. In this context, the metric analysis is a methodology increasingly used to quantify and evaluate the scope of the scientific production around a specific topic. The goal of this work was to chara...
Poster
Full-text available
Title: Potential geographic distribution of Oligoryzomys flavescens (Rodentia, Cricetidae) as hantavirus reservoir host in Uruguay Abstract: New World hantaviruses (Hantaviridae, Bunyavirales) may cause a severe respiratory illness called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) with a mortality rate in humans up to 40%. They are zoonotic viruses which...
Conference Paper
In the current South American epidemiological framework, describing the biogeographic interactions between vectors and diseases is a priority. In order to prevent and fight against outbreaks, it is necessary to understand the factors affecting both the vectors and the dengue virus. The geographic range occupied by Aedes mosquitoes (A. aegypti and A...
Conference Paper
The purple pampas grass is an endemic species of the Andes with invasive stages in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and western North America. Species Distribution Models are a common tool to predict the potential distribution of species. In the case of invasive species it is unclear if their potential distributions in new invaded areas depend...
Article
EL aguará guazú, o lobo de crin (Chrysocyon brachyurus), es el mayor cánido de América del Sur. Históricamente la especie se hallaba en seis países: Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Paraguay, Perú y Uruguay. Hoy, en cambio, está catalogada como casi amenazada por la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza, porque está sufriendo una cla...
Article
The maned wolf is the largest canid in South America, and is currently classified as a near threatened species. Though once widely distributed in open habitats throughout the continent, the species’ current distribution is significantly reduced, especially in the southern part of its range. Species distribution models are useful tools that can reve...
Article
Enlace descarga pdf completo hasta 29 marzo 2018: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1WWr81L~GwCrnH --------------------------------------------------- Exotic species have different strategies to invade a new area. Invasive species limited by establishment have a wide dispersion range and high seedling mortality rate. Riparian forests are harsh environ...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The Iberian Peninsula is inhabited by three viper species (genus Vipera) that show parapatric distributions: the Euro-Siberian V. seoanei in the North, and the two Mediterranean, V. aspis in the North-east, and V. latastei in most of Iberia. Environmental factors have strong influence in their distribution; however, interactions between species may...
Presentation
Full-text available
The Iberian Peninsula is inhabited by three viper species (genus Vipera) that show parapatric distributions: the Euro-Siberian V. seoanei in the North, and the two Mediterranean, V. aspis in the North-east, and V. latastei in most of Iberia. Environmental factors have strong influence in their distribution; however, interactions between species may...
Article
Full-text available
Eco-geographical characterization of aquatic microhabitats used by amphibians in the Mediterranean Basin-Small freshwater ecosystems, whether natural or artificial origin, are aquatic microhabitats for many species and are particularly important in the Mediterranean region. This study characterizes the aquatic microhabitats suitable for amphibian r...
Article
Full-text available
Remote sensing and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) can be combined to advance conservation of remote tropical regions, e.g. Amazonia, where intensive in situ surveys are often not possible. Integrating TEK into monitoring and management of these areas allows for community participation, as well as for offering novel insights into sustainable...
Poster
Full-text available
Los topónimos han sido utilizados para describir un territorio usando infinidad de nombres descriptivos, entre ellos de animales. Aquellos que se localizaban, frecuentaban una región o interaccionaban con el hombre, se usaban de forma asidua como topónimos. Numerosos trabajos han estudiado de manera descriptiva los topónimos de un territorio, y alg...
Article
Full-text available
El sur de la península ibérica es una zona de especial interés biogeográfico, debido a su proximidad con África a través del Estrecho de Gibraltar y a su particular condición de refugio para numerosas especies ectotermas durante los ciclos glaciares pleistocénicos. La distribución precisa de las especies es un elemento básico para poder realizar es...
Article
On the decline of one of the last populations of the spur toad in the city of Malaga.
Poster
Full-text available
La sociedad ha considerado la importancia de la distribución de las especies hace relativamente poco tiempo. Los atlas de distribución de flora y fauna en España datan de unas pocas décadas. Sin embargo, el estudio del uso de nombres propios para describir el origen de una región, o toponimia, se remonta a mediados del siglo XIX. Los animales que f...
Article
Distribution models should take into account the different limiting factors that simultaneously influence species ranges. Species distribution models built with different explanatory variables can be combined into more comprehensive ones, but the resulting models should maximize complementarity and avoid redundancy. Our aim was to compare the diffe...
Thesis
La gran cantidad de información ambiental actualmente disponible ha permitido que la modelación de la distribución de las especies constituya una herramienta de gran utilidad para la gestión de la biodiversidad. Los modelos son utilizados cada vez con mayor frecuencia para identificar los factores ambientales que determinan la distribución de las e...
Article
Full-text available
Se presenta una nueva cita de una especie de clérido (Cleridae) para Sevilla
Article
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Placobdella costata is a leech specific to freshwater turtle Emys orbicularis. Both genera are native to North America and have co-evolved and undergone dispersion through the Palearctic. The leech is present throughout the Mediterranean area, always associated with E. orbicularis. Their only known presence in the Iberian Peninsula is in the north...
Article
Full-text available
We assessed the vulnerability of the native Mediterranean pond turtle to encroachment by the invasive red-eared slider in southern Spain. We first obtained an ecogeographical favourability model for the Mediterranean pond turtle. We then modelled the presence/absence of the red-eared slider in the Mediterranean pond turtle range and obtained an enc...
Article
AimTo analyse a source of uncertainty when forecasting the possible effects of climate change on species distributions, which may appear when the species studied have doubtful taxonomy or are subdivided into subspecies with different environmental requirements. LocationMainland Spain. Methods Iberian newts (Triturus pygmaeus and Triturus marmoratus...
Article
Full-text available
Predictive models are frequently used to define the most suitable areas for species protection or reintroduction. Land-cover variables can be used in different ways for distribution modelling. The surface area of a set of land-cover classes is often used, each land-cover presence/absence or the distance to them from any point of the study area can...
Article
Full-text available
Climate is one of the main drivers of species distribution. However, as different environmental factors tend to co-vary, the effect of climate cannot be taken at face value, as it may be either inflated or obscured by other correlated factors. We used the favourability models of four species (Alytes dickhilleni, Vipera latasti, Aquila fasciata and...
Data
Factors and variables. Explanatory factors and variables used to model the species distributions of Márquez et al 2011 [19]. (DOC)
Data
Precipitations and temperatures. Annual precipitations and mean annual maximum temperatures for each period and combination of circulation model and scenario used. (TIF)
Article
Full-text available
Las ranas y sapos han suscitado un gran in-terés cientíco y han sido protagonistas de grandes polémicas a lo largo de la historia. Sirva de ejemplo el famoso caso del sapo falsicado de Paul Kammerer (1). Este asunto constituyó un fraudulento y polémico episodio en la discu-sión entre los partidarios de la herencia de los caracteres adquiridos (teor...
Article
Full-text available
Informe Efecto de las carreteras sobre los vertebrados Muchas especies de vertebrados están experimentando un declive global y el efecto barrera y de fragmentación de hábitat cau-sado por las carreteras y atropellos puede ser uno de sus factores desencadenantes (Shepard et al., 2008). Por ese motivo, en los últimos años se ha incrementado el interé...
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this study was to explore the possible link between variations in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and sea surface temperature (SST) and the abundance of loggerhead turtles around the Strait of Gibraltar, using stranding data for the Andalusian coastal area as a proxy for abundance. The annual average SST (from November to October) i...