
Héctor Tejero-Cicuéndez
Héctor Tejero-Cicuéndez
BSc Biology; MSc Biodiversity; PhD
About
45
Publications
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156
Citations
Introduction
Education
October 2015 - July 2016
January 2015 - August 2015
September 2011 - September 2015
Publications
Publications (45)
Advances in genomics have greatly enhanced our understanding of mountain biodiversity, providing new insights into the complex and dynamic mechanisms that drive the formation of mountain biotas. These span from broad biogeographic patterns to population dynamics and adaptations to these environments. However, significant challenges remain in integr...
The Montseny brook newt (Calotriton arnoldi), considered the most endangered amphibian in Europe, is a relict salamandrid species endemic to a small massif located in northeastern Spain. Although conservation efforts should always be guided by genomic studies, those are yet scarce among urodeles, hampered by the extreme sizes of their genomes. Here...
The desert vipers of the genus Cerastes are a small clade of medically important venomous snakes within the family Viperidae. According to published morphological and molecular studies, the group is comprised by four species: two morphologically similar and phylogenetically sister taxa, the African horned viper (Cerastes cerastes) and the Arabian h...
Biodiversity is distributed unevenly among lineages and regions, and understanding the processes generating these global patterns is a central goal in evolutionary research, particularly in light of the current biodiversity crisis. Here, we integrate phylogenetic relatedness with species diversity patterns in four major clades of living tetrapods (...
The desert vipers of the genus Cerastes are a small clade of medically important venomous snakes within the family Viperidae. According to published morphological and molecular studies, the group is comprised by four species: two morphologically similar and phylogenetically sister taxa, the African horned viper (Cerastes cerastes) and the Arabian h...
Species living in distinct habitats often experience unique ecological selective pressures, which can drive phenotypic divergence. However, how ecophenotypic patterns are affected by allometric trends and trait integration levels is less well understood. Here we evaluate the role of allometry in shaping body size and body form diversity in Pristuru...
In endangered species, low-genetic variation and inbreeding result from recent population declines. Genetic screenings in endangered populations help to assess their vulnerability to extinction and to create informed management actions toward their conservation efforts. The leopard, Panthera pardus, is a highly generalist predator with currently ei...
With the advent of molecular phylogenetics and the implementation of Multispecies Coalescent-based (MSC) species delimitation methods (SDM), the number of taxonomic studies unveiling and describing cryptic sibling species has greatly increased. However, speciation between early divergent lineages is often defined without evaluating population struc...
Advances in genomics have greatly enhanced our understanding of mountain biodiversity, providing new insights into the complex and dynamic mechanisms that drive the formation of mountain biotas. These include from broad biogeographic patterns, to population dynamics and adaptations to these environments. However, significant challenges remain in in...
With the advent of molecular phylogenetics, the number of taxonomic studies unveiling and describing cryptic diversity has greatly increased. However, speciation between cryptic lineages is often defined without evaluating population structure or gene flow, which can lead to false claims of species status and, subsequently, taxonomic inflation. In...
Species living in distinct habitats often experience unique ecological selective pressures, which can drive phenotypic divergence. However, how ecophenotypic patterns are affected by allometric trends and trait integration levels is less well understood. Here we evaluate the role of allometry in shaping body size and shape diversity in Pristurus ge...
Low genetic variation and high levels of inbreeding are usually a consequence of recent population declines in endangered species. From a conservation point of view, it is essential to genetically screen endangered populations to help assess their vulnerability to extinction and to properly create informed management actions towards their conservat...
Check out our poster about the horned vipers of the genus Cerastes, where we found a new evolutionary history using genome-wide data!
Aim
Biodiversity is not uniformly distributed across the Earth’s surface, even among physiographically comparable biomes in different biogeographic regions. For lizards, the world’s large desert regions are characterized by extreme heterogeneity in species richness, spanning some of the most species‐rich (arid Australia) and species‐poor (central A...
Island colonists are often assumed to experience higher levels of phenotypic diversification than continental taxa. However, empirical evidence has uncovered exceptions to this ‘island effect’. Here, we tested this pattern using the geckos of the genus Pristurus from continental Arabia and Africa and the Socotra Archipelago. Using a recently publis...
Island colonists are often assumed to experience higher levels of phenotypic diversification than their continental sister taxa. However, empirical evidence shows that exceptions to the familiar "island rule" do exist. In this study, we tested this rule using a nearly complete sampled mainland-island system, the genus Pristurus, a group of sphaerod...
The geographic distribution of biodiversity is central to understanding evolutionary biology. Paleogeographic and paleoclimatic histories often help to explain how biogeographic patterns unfold through time. However, such patterns are also influenced by a variety of other factors, such as lineage diversification, that may affect the probability of...
Aim
Deserts are generally perceived as areas of low diversity, and hence receive little attention from researchers and conservationists. Squamates are the dominant group of vertebrates in arid regions, and as such represent an ideal model to study biodiversity patterns in these areas. We examine spatial patterns of diversity, evolutionary history a...
Aim
Biodiversity is not uniformly distributed across the Earth’s surface, even among physiographically comparable biomes in different biogeographic regions. For lizards, the world’s large desert regions are characterized by extreme heterogeneity in species richness, spanning some of the most species-rich (arid Australia) and species-poor (central A...
The geographic distribution of biodiversity is central to understanding evolutionary biology. Paleogeographic and paleoclimatic histories often help to explain how biogeographic patterns unfold through time. However, such patterns are also influenced by a variety of other factors, such as lineage diversification, that may affect the probability of...
Almost 20% of Oman’s terrestrial reptiles are found on Masirah Island. Despite its ancient geological history and its long isolation, Masirah Island only harbours one endemic reptile species, Hemidactylus masirahensis. In this study, we use an integrative approach to explore the variation in Pristurus minimus, to revise its systematics and to asses...
In the present study we use an unprecedented database of 5,535 distributional records to infer the diversity, ecological preferences and spatial distribution of the 60 species of terrestrial reptiles of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and use the 57 native species to test the effectiveness of the protected areas’ network in conserving this unique v...
Spatial data of the terrestrial reptiles of the UAE.
Appendix including the spatial data of all the 60 species of terrestrial reptiles of the UAE in shapefile format.
(ZIP)
Main taxonomic groups observed.
Pie charts showing higher taxonomic composition of the UAE terrestrial reptile species (A) and the number of observations for each of the taxonomic groups used in this study (B). Numbers in parenthesis are the number of species (A) and observations (B).
(TIF)
List of calibration points.
List of the 13 calibration points used to calibrate the phylogenetic tree of Squamata and including all the UAE terrestrial species. Each calibration point includes the author and all the parameters used to implement the calibration point in BEAST.
(PDF)
Observations map.
Map with all the 5,535 occurrence points of UAE terrestrial reptiles used in the present study. Credits: OpenStreetMap contributors, SRTM.
(TIF)
Species richness maps of the medically important venomous species.
A) Venomous species richness by emirate inferred with the occurrence point data; B) Venomous species richness by a 10 arc-min grid inferred with the occurrence point data; C) Venomous species richness by emirate inferred with the species distribution models; D) Venomous species rich...
Time calibrated tree of Squamata obtained with BEAST.
Time calibrated tree based on the concatenated dataset of 15 genes and 146 species of Squamata including all 60 UAE terrestrial reptiles (highlighted in green) and one outgroup inferred with BEAST. The 13 calibration points are indicated as red circles and are labelled as in S2 Appendix which gi...
List of all the 146 species of reptiles included in the phylogenetic analyses.
For the UAE species the table includes species name, the country and specimen code.
(PDF)
Information on the 60 species of UAE terrestrial reptiles for the whole country and independently for each emirate.
Number and percentage of the total number of species, threatened species and medically important venomous species based on presence data.
(PDF)
Loadings, eigenvalues, and variance explained by the two first components retained from the principal component analysis (PCA) performed on the 19 bioclimatic variables used in this study.
BIO1 = Annual Mean Temperature, BIO4 = Temperature Seasonality, BIO5 = Max Temperature of Warmest Month, BIO6 = Min Temperature of Coldest Month, BIO7 = Temperat...
Topoclimatic characterization of the UAE.
A) Map of annual mean temperature in °C (BIO1); B) Map of annual mean precipitation in mm (BIO12); C) Map of land cover types (as of 2008); D) Graph of the frequency of elevations divided into 100-m bins. Credits: OpenStreetMap contributors, SRTM.
(TIF)
Maximum likelihood (ML) tree obtained with RaxML.
Phylogenetic tree based on the concatenated dataset of 15 genes and 146 species of Squamata including all 60 UAE terrestrial reptiles (highlighted in green) and one outgroup. Asterisks highlight the three introduced species.
(TIF)
Correlation between species richness and phylogenetic diversity.
Points in the graph are cells of the 10 arc-min grid. The regression line was fitted using a linear model.
(TIF)
Information on the dataset used for the phylogenetic analyses.
Gene composition, fragment lengths, partitions, models and run specifications for the different phylogenetic analyses are shown.
(PDF)
Area of occupancy (AOO) and species potential distribution (SPD) at 4 km2 of all 60 terrestrial reptiles of the UAE.
Number of occupied 4 km2 cells for each approach, area occupied by each species for each approach. Asterisks highlight the three introduced species.
(PDF)
Atlas of the terrestrial reptiles of the UAE.
An appendix showing photographs, distribution and ecological preferences of the 60 species of terrestrial reptiles of the UAE. Species distribution models (SDMs) inferred for each species are also included. Credits for maps: OpenStreetMap contributors, SRTM.
(PDF)
Political map of the UAE.
Map showing the political borders of the UAE and among the seven emirates. Credits: OpenStreetMap contributors, SRTM.
(TIF)
Checklist of the 60 species of UAE terrestrial reptiles.
Table containing all the species recorded in this study grouped by families and higher taxa. The table contains information regarding the regional IUCN conservation category (yet unpublished) for all the species and indicates if they are endemic to the UAE and if it is a medically important v...
Information from the gap analysis with distribution records with the AOO approach.
List of all 60 UAE species, showing their regional IUCN conservation category, their area of occupancy, area of occupancy inside protected areas, and the percentage of area of occupancy inside protected areas. Asterisks highlight the three introduced species. The int...
Information from the gap analysis with distribution records with the species potential distribution (SPD) approach obtained with species distribution modeling (SDM).
List of all 60 species of the UAE, showing their regional IUCN conservation category, their SPD area, the SPD area inside protected areas, and the percentage of the SPD area inside pro...
Evolutionary distinctiveness (ED) of each of the 60 species of UAE terrestrial reptiles.
The numbers show the evolutionary uniqueness of each species with respect to other UAE reptiles in millions of years. Asterisks highlight the three introduced species.
(PDF)
Information on the protected areas of each emirate.
The table contains: the name of each emirate, the area of each emirate in km2; the number of protected areas that are inside each emirate; the area in km2 that is protected inside each emirate and the percentage of protected areas by emirate.
(PDF)