Ireri Suazo-Ortuño

• Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo

The geological origin of Mexico involves the formation of large and complex mountain systems located practically throughout its territory. Some of the major systems are the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMOC), Oriental (SMOR), Southern (SMS), and Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (FVT). Across these biogeographic areas, we explored patterns of species richnes...

The dietary habits in two species of sympatric toads were investigated during the first summer rains in the Western Neotropics of Mexico. We identified seventeen different prey types in the stomachs of Rhinella horribilis and Incilius marmoreus. The diet of R. horribilis was slightly more diverse than the diet of I. marmoreus (14 vs. 9 prey types)....

As the most threatened vertebrate class on earth, amphibians are at the forefront of the biodiversity crisis, with the recognition of global amphibian declines and extinctions dating back several decades now. The current Amphibian Conservation Action Plan is adopting two strategies to address the goal of the amelioration of the amphibian crisis: th...

Habitat loss is the primary driver of amphibian declines. The protection and management of habitats are thus the most critical conservation actions needed for at least 60% of amphibians, with habitat loss accounting for population declines and extinctions at local and regional levels. Habitat loss is directly related to pollution, but it also exace...

Resumen La evaluación del perfil de leucocitos como biomarcador hematológico en las poblaciones de anfibios es cada vez más común en estudios ecológicos en especies amenazadas o en declive. En este estudio evaluamos y comparamos el perfil de leucocitos y el índice neutrófilos/linfocitos (N/L) en frotis de sangre periférica de Ambystoma ordinarium e...

Los anfibios, como las ranas y los ajolotes, no sólo son ingredientes comunes en platillos y remedios tradicionales en México, sino que también desempeñan funciones vitales en diversos ecosistemas. Estos animales tienen un ciclo de vida que abarca dos entornos distintos: el agua, donde se manifiestan como renacuajos, y la tierra, donde los identifi...

Flagship species are those chosen to raise support for broader conservation marketing campaigns and can be used as symbols of the ecosystem services and evolutionary history of particular areas. Thus, flagship species can be employed for the protection of endangered species and threatened ecosystems. Northeastern Michoacán, Mexico, is an important...

La quitridiomicosis causada por Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) y la trematodiasis originada por Ribeiroia ondatrae son factores del declive de anfibios. Con la intención de verificar si Bd y R. ondatrae coexisten en México, realizamos dos visitas a 20 arroyos en la porción de la Faja Volcánica Transmexicana del estado de Michoacán, obteniendo...

Ambystoma dumerilii, known as “achoque”, is a microendemic salamander from Lake Pátzcuaro, considered as a critically endangered species according to the IUCN (2020). The main threats are high levels of water contamination, high levels of eutrophication in addition to the fact that invasive species can be found within the “achoque” habitat. For the...

This study provides a descriptive panorama of the lizard communities on 3 islands and the mainland on the Pacific coast of Mexico, estimating the effect of insularity (ecological changes between lizards on the islands and on the mainland) on lizard populations. The panorama included the number of species, encounter frequency and age classes. The in...

Background Land-use change frequently affects faunistic populations and communities. To achieve successful conservation strategies, we need suitable information about species distribution and the causes of extinction risk. Many amphibian species depend on riparian vegetation to complete their life cycles. About 41% of amphibian species are globally...

The recent emergence of the pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) is associated with rapid population declines of salamanders in Europe and its arrival to new areas could cause dramatic negative effects on other amphibian populations and species. Amphibian species, present in areas with high amphibian diversity such as Mexico, could be...

Black-eared Rice Rat, Handleyomys melanotis (Thomas, 1893), is a small, abundant rodent thought endemic to Mexico. We present a new record of this rat on Cocinas Island off the Chamela coast of Jalisco, Mexico. On this protected island located at 19.5°N, 105.1°W, we captured 11 specimens with the physical characteristics that confirm their identity...

Landfills have been identified as one of the main threats to wildlife, such as amphibians, since landfills as they contaminate the aquatic and terrestrial habitat and act as stressors, negatively affecting the development and morphology of amphibians. However, few studies have been realized to know the morphological variation of anurans under envir...

Context Continental islands are important conservation targets because of their ecological singularities. In the Mexican Pacific, the Chamela Bay Islands Sanctuary in the state of Jalisco is little or not studied at all in terms of biodiversity. Aims The aim of this study is to contribute to the management plan of the sanctuary by presenting a det...

The tropical dry forest (TDF) is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth, but also one of the most threatened. Therefore, it is critical to understand the processes that control community assembly and generate diversity during succession. We surveyed 15 herpetofaunal communities from a chronosequence of succession plots and tested whether ph...

Landfills led to biodiversity loss and have been identified as one of the major threats to wildlife, such as amphibians. There are useful tools that reflect environmental stress and help to monitor populations health before irreversible population decline occurs. Fluctuating asymmetry and oxidative stress have been used to analyze stress in wildlif...

Identification of species boundaries within the genus Aspidoscelis is one of the most complex tasks in herpetological systematics due to the extensive morphological variation and complex evolutionary history involved. The whiptail lizard Aspidoscelis lineattissimus is a polymorphic species that inhabits tropical ecosystems over a wide region of wes...

Infografía que presenta la distribución espacial de los ambystomas de México determinada a través de modelos de distribución de especies con el algoritmo de Máxima Entropía (MaxEnt). Todas los datos de localidades fueron descargados del portal de GBIF, y las fotos de Naturalista.

Skin-associated bacteria are known to inhibit infection by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in amphibians. It has also been postulated that skin-associated bacterial community is related to Bd infection intensity. However, our understanding of host microbial dynamics and their importance in regulating Bd intensity is limited....

A pesar de que la mayoría de los humedales en el estado de Sinaloa cuenta con un estatus de protección bajo el designio de Sitios Ramsar (con excepción de los humedales de Bahía Lechuguilla en Ahome, B. Altata en Navolato y B. la Guadalupana en Culiacán), en las últimas décadas se ha observado un rápido cambio de uso de suelo en la región, parcialm...

Commercial fruit orchards are embedded in a landscape of native forest and diverse kinds of agroecosystems. The landscape structure of these systems is a major driver of biodiversity response. Generally, it is assumed that high levels of biodiversity occur in perennial systems largely due to their high structural complexity. However, little is know...

Chemical signals in animals stimulate different links and relationships. In lizards, chemical signals play an essential role in reproductive and social communication. Although lizard species inhabit tropical ecosystems in great diversity, the chemical composition of the femoral gland secretions that tropical lizards use for communication is poorly...

We assessed the effect of temperature on subclinical Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd ) infection in three species of plethodontids. Collected individuals were tested for Bd in the field during the dry and rainy season and randomly assigned to 15° and 18°C treatments for 30 days. We collected 129 salamanders, of these nine individuals tested pos...

Numerous amphibian species are at risk of extinction worldwide. Therefore, reliable estimations of the distribution and abundance of these species are necessary for their conservation. Generally, amphibians are difficult to detect in the wild, which compromises the accuracy of long-term population monitoring and management. Occupancy models are use...

Terrestrial, arboreal, and semiaquatic snake species are well known to discriminate among prey types using chemosensation. In contrast, chemosensory capacities of cryptic and fossorial snake species are not well understood. We tested for interspecific differences in the ability of two fossorial earthsnakes, Conopsis biserialis and Conopsis nasus, t...

Signal divergence and sensory preferences may lead to sexual isolation and eventually promote speciation between animal populations. However, few studies have quantified the degree of chemical signal divergence and scent-mediated sexual isolation in lizard populations. Geographic and ecological variations among populations of the whiptail lizard As...

If combined with anthropogenic disturbances and global climatic change, hurricanes may lead to major effects on animal populations and assemblages. The combined effects of cumulative natural and human disturbances on vertebrates have been little studied. There is evidence that herpetofaunal assemblages are sensitive in species richness, abundance,...

Questions The ecological condition of riparian habitats has been negatively altered by human activities and land‐use changes. The aims of this study were to evaluate: (a) how adjacent land use affects the ecological condition of riparian habitats; and (b) whether the ecological condition relates to riparian vegetation properties (i.e., structure, d...

Ecological interactions of lizards on islands tend to differ from those on the mainland, with a decrease in predation and interspecific competition and an increase in intraspecific competition. This may drive morphological divergences from their mainland counterparts, presenting gigantism and frequently sexual dimorphism. The aim of this study was...

Amphibian chytridiomycosis panzootic is ongoing and continuing to have extensive worldwide impact on amphibians. Severity of chytridiomycosis-associated amphibians declines is partly associated with species’ altitudinal ranges. Michoacán state in México harbors 54 amphibian species on a wide range of climates, including high-altitude areas (above 3...

Studies on predatory responses in newborn snakes have helped us to understand many aspects on feeding ecology, recognition and prey preferences. Research on chemoreceptive abilities and his relationship with prey preferences in fossorial snakes are poorly known. We evaluated the innate responses of newborn fossorial snake Conopsis biserialis to dif...

Most of Ambystoma species in Mexico are endemic having a limited distribution, and are threatened principally by anthropogenic factors. The presence of pathogens as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis could be another threat to these species, especially in species with limited range. We surveyed populations of Ambystoma andersoni, A. flavipiperatum, and...

Amphibians are one of the most vulnerable groups of tetrapods with 41% of species considered threatened with extinction. In amphibians, an increase in stress level is an early physiological response to factors associated with habitat degradation. In vertebrates, stress increases the susceptibility to parasite infections and is associated with chang...

During the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt history, geological events related to its formation have produced barriers for highland species, favoring isolation and population diversification. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships between amphibian populations from the highlands of the Santiago River Basin in Jalisco and Nayarit,...

En este libro recopilamos descripciones de las características y relevancia de algunas de las colecciones científicas más importantes albergadas en la Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo. In this book we compile descriptions of the characteristics and relevance of some of the most important scientific collection habored in the Univer...

Road construction produce abrupt changes in landscape topography, microclimate, vegetation cover and levels of traffic noise. Moreover, road networks negatively affect vertebrate abundance, population gene flow, animal behavior and individual survival. Between July 2010 and January 2011, we conducted 10 surveys of animals killed on a road in Michoa...

Amphibian diversity in Neotropical mountains habitats is at risk, particularly those species associated with stream habitats at altitudes >500 m above sea level (a.s.l.). This pertains especially to the amphibian diversity of Mexico, where the number of species is high on the central and southwestern highlands. In the present study, we predicted th...

Land-use change is the main cause of deforestation and degradation of tropical forest in Mexico. Frequently, these lands are abandoned leading to a mosaic of natural vegetation in secondary succession. Further degradation of the natural vegetation in these lands could be exacerbated by stochastic catastrophic events such as hurricanes. Information...

Disminuir la acelerada pérdida de la biodiversidad y lograr al mismo tiempo satisfacer la creciente demanda de alimento, es uno de los principales desafíos actuales de la humanidad. A diferencia de otros efectos de la degradación y transformación de los hábitats, la pérdida de la biodiversidad es particularmente grave, ya que tiene un carácter irre...

Natural and anthropogenic disturbances alter animal populations in complex ways. Shifts in population size and taxonomic species diversity as such may not always completely reflect the effects of forest disturbance on faunal communities. In this study, we used a functional ecological approach to detect resilient and vulnerable species including anu...

Biologists have increasingly recognized the importance of secondary forests as facilitators of passive landscape restoration and recovery of faunal communities in landscapes fragmented by farming. To evaluate the role of secondary forests as providers of food resources for anurans, we studied the diet of the Shovel-Nosed Treefrog (Diaglena spatulat...

Identification of early warning signals previous to the occurrence of population decline or extinction is a major challenge for the conservation of animal species. Prevalence of morphological abnormalities in a population can be one of these signals. We registered morphological abnormalities in the salamander Ambystoma ordinarium. We also evaluated...

Pictures showing habitat condition a) optimal, b) suboptimal, c) marginal, and d) poor. (TIF)

Data set underlying findings in this study. (DOCX)

Habitat disturbance can modify microhabitats and therefore have a significant effect on the abundance and distribution of anurans species, particularly those associated to specific microhabitats. In this study we evaluated changes in the use of microhabitat by two syntopic species of tree frogs, Agalychnis dacnicolor and Smilisca fodiens along a su...

La conversión de los hábitats naturales en monocultivos es un fenómeno que se presenta cada vez con mayor frecuencia, por lo que es necesario el estudio de su impacto sobre la diversidad, por ejemplo, de la herpetofauna. En el presente estudio se realizó un muestreo intensivo de anfibios y reptiles en 3 sitios en huertas de aguacate, 3 en bosque de...

The Tropical Dry Forest (TDF) is one of the most highly transformed and threatened neotropical systems in the world and much of its original area has been replaced by secondary forests. Therefore, it is important to understand the process of ecological succession underlying the natural regeneration of TDF, especially the role of early successional...

We report the first record of Eleutherodactylus nivicolimae for the state of Michoacán, extending the distribution range of this species.

Se realizó una revisión sobre el efecto de las actividades agropecuarias y forestales en los ensambles de anἀbios y reptiles en regiones tropicales y subtropicales del mundo. Se realizó una búsqueda en tres bases de datos de literatura científíca. Se registraron 150 artículos relacionados con el tema, la mayoría de ellos publicados en los últimos 1...

Resumen: Se reporta el primer registro de la serpiente Ficimia publia para el Estado de Michoacán, México, ampliando su rango conocido de distribución.

We investigated the diet of the endemic teiid lizard Aspidoscelis calidipes in the Balsas-Tepalcatepec Basin in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, during 2010 and 2011. We removed, analyzed, and identified stomach contents to order or family. The diet of A. calidipes consisted of 27 prey taxa and the dietary diversity was low (H′ = 0.45). Termites and...

Secondary forests are replacing mature primary forests in the tropics because of increasing demand for agricultural land to support the growing human population. It is important to determine the potential of these secondary forests to support old-growth forest species, particularly threatened animal groups such as reptiles and amphibians. Moreover,...

Deforestation and agricultural land degradation in tropical regions can create conditions for growth of perennial plant species forming mono-dominated patches (MDP). Such species might limit forest regeneration, and their proliferation forces the abandonment of fields and subsequent deforestation to establish new fields. Therefore, identifying fact...

We collected field information on the diet of Ambystoma ordinarium in a mountain stream in the trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Additionally, we examined the influence of habitat disturbance on the diet of this species by comparing stomach contents and prey availability between undisturbed and disturbed stream segments. The diet of the population consi...

The "aje" (Llaveia axin axin) is a parasitic hemipteran of various tree species in tropical dry forests of Mexico and Guatemala. Females produce fatty extracts used since prehispanic times (i.e., traditional medicine and as raw material to produce handcrafts). However, very little is known about its biology and conservation status. In Michoacán and...

2 Uno de los problemas más interesantes, pero a la vez más desafiantes, de la conservación biológica es ha-cer compatibles las acciones que generan desarrollo económico con las acciones enfocadas en la preser-vación de los ecosistemas naturales y las especies que los habitan. Un ejemplo claro de esta situación se observa en el caso del desarrollo d...

Presentamos una síntesis del programa de investigación de largo plazo (iniciado en 2004) denominado Manejo de Bosques Tropicales (MABOTRO), llevado a cabo por académicos de once instituciones y más de 50 estudiantes de licenciatura y posgrado. Se construyó un marco metodológico para la generación de conocimientos que coadyuve a la preservación de s...

A herpetofaunistic survey was carried out in 2007 and 2008 in 6 vegetation types in the Municipality of Tacámbaro, state of Michoacán, México. A total of 21 amphibian species (8 families) and 58 reptile species (16 families) were registered. Species richness estimators indicated that from 85 to 91% of amphibian species, 77 to 85% of lizard species...

Studies that assess the importance of riparian habitats in maintaining diversity of herpetofaunal assemblages in tropical dry forests are limited. We examined changes in abundance, diversity and composition of anuran, lizard and snake assemblages along stream edge–upslope gradients in conserved and disturbed areas of tropical dry forest on the Paci...

Registramos información sobre la dieta del sapo marmóreo (Bufo marmoreus) en áreas conservadas y perturbadas del bosque tropical seco en la costa de Jalisco, México, durante el 2000 y 2001. Aunque la dieta de B. marmoreus consistió de 19 taxa de presas, el moderadamente bajo valor de diversidad (H′ = 1.51) reflejó la dominancia en la dieta de solam...

We explored the impact of forest conversion to agricultural mosaic on anuran, lizard, snake, and turtle assemblages of Neotropical dry forests. Over 2 years, we sampled 6 small watersheds on the west coast of Mexico, 3 conserved and 3 disturbed. The disturbed watersheds were characterized by a mosaic of pastures and cultivated fields (corn, beans,...

Information on the feeding habits of a paedomorphic population of Ambystoma ordinarium is presented. Caddisfly larvae composed the greatest portion of the diet in numbers and frequency of occurrence, but grasshoppers were the most abundant item by volume. Smaller paedomorphs selected large numbers of small prey, whereas the largest size class fed o...