Leticia Ochoa-Ochoa

Leticia Ochoa-Ochoa
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México | UNAM · Department of Evolutionary Biology

Dphil, University of Oxford

About

87
Publications
47,204
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864
Citations
Citations since 2017
40 Research Items
535 Citations
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2017201820192020202120222023020406080100
Introduction
I am a full professor in the area of Herpetology at the Museum of Zoolgy “Alfonso L. Herrera”, Faculty of Sciences, UNAM. My main area of research is Biogeography and Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles. The study of the biogeographical patterns that encompass the different dimensions of Diversity, such as taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional. I am also interested in Bioacoustics: it includes acoustic landscapes and the phenology of anuran activity and calls.
Additional affiliations
February 2019 - present
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Position
  • Professor
January 2016 - present
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Position
  • Professor
February 2014 - October 2015
University of Copenhagen
Position
  • PostDoc Position

Publications

Publications (87)
Article
Full-text available
La perturbación ambiental de origen antrópico ha tenido, en la mayoría de los casos, efectos negativos en las comunidades bióticas. Sin embargo, también hay algunas respuestas positivas. Entender los mecanismos bajo los cuales estas perturbaciones influyen en los patrones de diversidad y estructura genética, así como posibles adaptaciones locales,...
Article
Full-text available
Mexico possesses a large diversity of amphibians partly due to its complex topography and transitional position between the Nearctic and Neotropical biogeographical regions. However, its helminth parasite fauna has been relatively poorly studied. Specimens of the Vaillant's frog, Lithobates vaillanti (Brocchi) were sampled in the tropical rain fore...
Article
Full-text available
El bosque mesófilo de montaña (BMM) es catalogado como un ambiente altamente rico en especies de flora y fauna, y con un alto número de endemismos; del mismo modo, ha sido considerado como uno de los ecosistemas más amenazados. En el presente trabajo se hace una reseña de las principales problemáticas que enfrenta este tipo de vegetación así como l...
Article
Full-text available
Patógenos en los anuros de un ambiente tropical estacional en Guanajuato (México) En el presente estudio se caracterizaron las especies de bacterias y hongos de una comunidad de ranas de un ambiente tropical estacional en el Área Natural Protegida (ANP) Las Musas, en Guanajuato (México), usando protocolos morfológicos y bioquímico–microbianos. Los...
Article
Full-text available
Aim: Our aim is to document the dimensions of current squamate reptile biodiversity in the Americas by integrating taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional data, and assessing how this may vary across phylogenetic scales. We also explore the potential underlying mechanisms that may have originated the observed geographical diversity patterns. Locat...
Article
Full-text available
Knowledge about the dynamics of regional diversity patterns is a foundation on which measures aimed to protect diversity dimensions in the light of climate change can be constructed. Here, we describe taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity patterns of amphibians in the Yucatan Peninsula and their representation in the current protected a...
Article
Full-text available
Context Land use change modifies landscapes’ original compositions and configurations, which can have a positive, negative, or neutral effect on species diversity. The direction and magnitude of the effect depends on how each species responds to these conditions and can change depending on the scale in which it is evaluated. Objectives We evaluate...
Article
Full-text available
El bosque mesófilo de montaña (BMM) es un ambiente altamente rico en especies de flora y fauna en México. La notable diversidad de especies resalta aún más cuando se analizan también los endemismos en este ambiente. En el presente estudio se describe la importancia de endemismos de vertebrados terrestres en México, considerando los grupos de anfibi...
Preprint
Full-text available
In Mexico, Crocodylus acutus is widely distributed along the Pacific coast, while C. moreletii occurs on the Gulf of Mexico. Both species converge in the Yucatán peninsula where natural hybridisation is reported, and later it was also reported in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, due to translocations and stochastic events, currently there are h...
Article
Full-text available
Understanding the threats to wildlife across space and time is essential for developing effective conservation strategies. In Mesoamerica (i.e., the region that extends from Central Mexico to the most southern point in Panama) at least 40% of amphibian species declined between the late 1970s and the early 2000s. Most of these declines have been lin...
Article
Full-text available
En México, uno de los principales mecanismos para preservar la biodiversidad son las áreas naturales protegidas (ANP). No obstante, para poder implementar acciones eficaces de conservación, es indispensable saber qué especies habitan en las ANP (gubernamentales y privadas), y en qué categoría de riesgo se encuentran. Utilizando las áreas de distrib...
Poster
Full-text available
La contaminación de ruido generada por el tráfico aéreo puede afectar la conducta de fauna que mantiene exposición cercana a aeropuertos. Pocos casos se han estudiado sobre el impacto del ruido de aviones sobre la comunicación de anuros, siendo la disminución de la tasa de repetición de cantos la principal consecuencia conocida hasta ahora. Después...
Article
Full-text available
The cloud forest shows a great diversity of groups and has been considered as centers of high richness and endemism, throughout Asia, Africa and mainly in the Americas. To determine the specific and phylogenetic richness as well as the association in the composition of species of amphibians and reptiles in this environment in Mexico, using database...
Article
Full-text available
Geophis laticollaris and G. russatus are rare Mexican snakes currently known in the scientific literature only from their holotypes. However, fieldwork conducted in the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca by us and other workers during the last decades has made a few specimens of each taxon available for study. We review the taxonomic status of G. russat...
Article
Anuran calling activity has been widely associated with abiotic factors, such as temperature, rain and photoperiod. In this sense, mathematical modelling could help us to decipher the mechanisms that underlie these phenomena in order to be able to predict possible scenarios. Here, we propose 15 models that incorporate some environmental variables w...
Article
Full-text available
Climate change-driven modifications in thermal and precipitation patterns can result in shifts in species distributions. Avian species in humid mountain forests (HMF) are among the most vulnerable to these atmospheric changes. In this study, we assessed the extent to which climate change could cause distribution shifts in 34 bird species spatially...
Article
Full-text available
Species that are part of a community may be restricted by available resources. One of them is the acoustic space, where if there is overlap, communication between conspecifics and, potentially, reproduction can be affected. For this reason, it is expected that communities of anurans that present a marked seasonality have a segregation of niche in t...
Article
Bromeliads are recognized as vital habitats for arboreal amphibians. However, these plants are often not included in traditional amphibian surveys. Furthermore, focused canopy sampling techniques are time-consuming, require specialized equipment and training, and, in the case of bromeliads, sampling is typically destructive. In this study, we devel...
Article
Full-text available
Cloud forests are ecosystems with a restricted distribution and high biodiversity, but they are highly threatened due to land use change. The objective of this study is to evaluate and prioritize existing cloud forest fragments to achieve their long-term conservation, combining threat levels and the potential response capacity of various conservati...
Article
Recently, the first record of Borrelia associated with reptiles in Mexico was published; however, no studies have been done to assess the role of Mexican ticks as potential vectors of this Borrelia group. Amblyomma dissimile is a hard tick mainly associated with amphibians and reptiles in this country. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pres...
Article
Full-text available
Anuran vocalizations transmit relevant information that aids in individual recognition and sexual selection by females. When studied over time, vocalizations can help us to understand reproductive phenology. Here, we used an automated recording system to obtain calls of 4 anurans in southeastern Mexico, described the calling phenology of the specie...
Article
Aim The links between taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity and how these vary geographically are key to understanding how historical and contemporary processes have shaped communities at regional and local scales. Here, we evaluate the links between taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity for the amphibians in the Continental...
Article
Many biotic groups have been proposed as biodiversity surrogates; however, using different taxa could provide complementary information for choosing conservation priorities. There are two general ways to evaluate the performance of surrogates: (1) using cross-taxon congruency as an a priori test, before the application of some prioritization algori...
Article
The reptile-associated Borrelia represent a monophyletic group of bacteria transmitted by several species of hard ticks, which has been reported to only infect amphibians and reptiles in Eurasia and Middle East, however, this bacterial group has not been studied in North America. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of Borrelia spiroche...
Chapter
Full-text available
El proceso de modelado de nichos ecológicos y distribución de especies ha sido producto del desarrollo de la teoría de nicho ecológico y algoritmos que han tratado de reproducir las complejas relaciones que dan origen y forma a las áreas de distribución de las especies. El presente trabajo muestra una estrategia metodológica basada en modelos de ni...
Article
Full-text available
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...
Article
Hertz et al. (1993) designed what is now the most widely used protocol to analyse the thermal strategies and efficiency of small squamates. Preferred temperature range (Tp) is one of the most important variables required for determining the thermal efficiency index, and is calculated by monitoring the body temperature of the individuals in an enclo...
Article
Aim We examined the geographical distribution of functional diversity for American amphibians and tested the relationship between functional diversity and environment. We also explored how the functional evenness of life‐history traits varies across biogeographical regions. Location Continental Americas. Methods We performed a trait classificati...
Article
Invasive exotic species have been identified worldwide as a major threat to biodiversity. Legal instruments are an important tool in counteracting their negative impacts. There are four important aspects that any legal instrument should have, that is: an explicit (and transparent) method for species inclusion; an exclusive focus, so that conflict b...
Article
Full-text available
We explored the hypothesis that high β–diversity of terrestrial vertebrates of Mexico is associated with a high environmental heterogeneity (HEH) and identify the drivers of β–diversity at different spatial scales. We used distribution range maps of 2,513 species of amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds occurring in Mexico. We estimated β–divers...
Data
Supporting information file containing Figure A and Table B. (DOCX)
Data
Supporting information file containing the data for the analyses performed. (ZIP)
Article
Full-text available
Genus Borrelia is a group of bacteria transmitted by ticks, composed by three main clades, the Relapsing Fever, Lyme Borreliosis, and Borrelia Associated with Reptiles groups. Given the importance in public health of some species of Borrelia, the aim of this study was to explain the role of amphibians and reptiles in the cycle of this bacterium, th...
Article
Full-text available
El género Borrelia es un grupo de bacterias helicoidales el cual está divide filogenéticamente en tres clados principales, el que comprende a las borrelias asociadas con reptiles, el que incluye al agente causal de la Fiebre Recurrente y el grupo de Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. Dada la importancia de las borrelias como agentes patógenos, el objetivo d...
Article
Full-text available
Ochoa-Ochoa, L.M., Mejía-Domínguez, N.R., Bezaury-Creel, J. 2017. Prioritization for Cloud Forest Conservation in Mexico. Ecosistemas 26(2): 27-37. Doi.: 10.7818/ECOS.2017.26-2.04 Cloud Forests (Bosque de Niebla) are ecosystems with restricted distribution and high biodiversity, which are also highly threatened due to land use change. Our aim was...
Article
On 7 December 2016, the federal government of Mexico published an Agreement listing Exotic Invasive Species for Mexico ([ 1 ][1]). However, the report contains inaccurate information about the species and ambiguous measures regarding the prevention, control, and eradication of these species.
Data
Las áreas forestales permanentes (AFP) son tierras de uso común que la asamblea ejidal o de bienes comunales, o en su caso los pequeños propietarios dedican exclusivamente a la actividad forestal sustentable. En México este tipo de áreas se han establecido principalmente, aunque no exclusivamente, en los estados de Quintana Roo y Campeche con el pr...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
It can be observed that, when faced with news of environmental crises such as the impacts of climate change, many people increasingly express detachment or even denial. Given the fundamental importance of public participation in conservation action, it is clearly important to understand how this situation arose and how it might be improved. Here, w...
Article
Full-text available
Amphibians are known to be sensitive to environmental change but their responses at the level of metacommunities to short-term environmental variability are poorly understood. We used field data from two protected areas, La Pera and Naha ́ (Chiapas, Mexico) to test for variation in metacommunity properties for two consecutive years (2009 and 2010)....
Article
Full-text available
Patterns of diversity are scale dependent and beta-diversity is not the exception. Mexico is megadiverse due to its high beta diversity, but little is known if it is scale-dependent and/or taxonomic-dependent. We explored these questions based on the self-similarity hypothesis of beta-diversity across spatial scales. Using geographic distribution r...
Article
The goal of this study was to compare the richness and endemism patterns of Mexican species of amphibians and reptiles at different spatial scales. We used the best available dataset of distributional ranges generated from ecological niche models and employed geographically weighted regressions (GWRs) to test whether richness and endemism were rela...
Article
Full-text available
There is an unavoidable degree of uncertainty associated with future climate projections, and even more unpredictability about the potential impact of different climate scenarios on the ecology and distribution of organisms. Conservationists face a major public communications challenge to both raise awareness and mobilise support for conservation a...
Article
Full-text available
During the celebration of "Niño Florero" in Chiapas every December, bromeliads are collected to form floral offerings to Baby Jesus. In this process amphibians and reptiles are killed causing losses of those organisms in the pine-oak forests. Fieldwork was carried out in the forests of Chanal, Chiapas; and consisted of direct sampling of bromeliads...
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this article is to characterize at fine scale alpha and beta diversity patterns for Mexican amphibians and analyze how these patterns might change under a moderate climate-change scenario, highlighting the overall consequences for amphibian diversity at the country level. We used a geo-referenced database gathered from museums worldwide...
Article
Given the current speed of land use change, we cannot expect to save all species from extinction, and so must decide how to focus limited resources to prevent the greatest number of extinctions. This paper proposes a simple conservation triage method that: evaluates the threat status for 145 micro-endemic Mexican amphibian species; assesses current...
Data
Full-text available
Dowload shapefiles from http://www.estudiocalle.net/ANP_2012/ En la séptima reunión de la Conferencia de las Partes de la Convención sobre la Diversidad Biológica (CBD-COP7), llevada a cabo en Kuala Lumpur, Malasia, en 2004, las áreas naturales protegidas fueron seleccionadas como uno de los temas que serían objeto de un examen detallado. Es por es...
Data
Full-text available
Dowload shapefiles from http://www.estudiocalle.net/ANP_2012/ En la séptima reunión de la Conferencia de las Partes de la Convención sobre la Diversidad Biológica (CBD-COP7), llevada a cabo en Kuala Lumpur, Malasia, en 2004, las áreas naturales protegidas fueron seleccionadas como uno de los temas que serían objeto de un examen detallado. Es por es...
Article
Full-text available
Traditionally, biodiversity conservation gap analyses have been focused on governmental protected areas (PAs). However, an increasing number of social initiatives in conservation (SICs) are promoting a new perspective for analysis. SICs include all of the efforts that society implements to conserve biodiversity, such as land protection, from privat...
Data
Zoom to location of Lithobates psilonota historical (database) records. (8.79 MB TIF)
Data
Zoom to location of Lithobates publeae historical (database) records. (8.79 MB TIF)
Data
List of the endemic Mexican amphibian species used in the analyses. Each species+ has its number of unique records, values of the training model or area under the curve (AUC), size of the distribution range model, amount of remnant distribution and threatened status according with IUCN*, NOM-ECOL 2001** and remnant distribution range group***. (0.8...
Data
Zoom to location of Pseudorycea praellecens historical (database) records. (8.79 MB TIF)
Data
Zoom to location of Craugastor uno historical (database) records. (8.79 MB TIF)
Data
Zoom to location of Craugastor taylori historical (database) records. (8.79 MB TIF)
Data
Zoom to location of Plectrohyla labedactyla historical (database) records. (8.79 MB TIF)
Data
Zoom to location of Plectrohyla pachyderma historical (database) records. (8.79 MB TIF)
Data
Zoom to location of Thorius infernalis historical (database) records. (8.79 MB TIF)
Data
Zoom to location of Thorius minydemus historical (database) records. (8.79 MB TIF)