Nandadevi Cortes-Rodriguez

• PhD
• Professor (Assistant) at Ithaca College

Genetic and genomic data are increasingly used to aid conservation management of endangered species by providing insights into evolutionary histories, factors associated with extinction risks, and potential for future adaptation. For the 'Alalā, or Hawaiian crow (Corvus hawaiiensis), genetic concerns include negative correlations between inbreeding...

Migratory tracking of genetically distinct populations can be used to develop conservation strategies that prioritize the protection of unique genetic lineages across the annual cycle. In North America, the island of Newfoundland harbors populations of numerous species that are genetically differentiated from populations in mainland North America....

Background The Mesoamerican dominion is a biogeographic area of great interest due to its complex topography and distinctive climatic history. This area has a large diversity of habitats, including tropical deciduous forests, which house a large number of endemic species. Here, we assess phylogeographic pattern, genetic and morphometric variation i...

Across Africa, wild giraffes suffer from a variety of skin disorders of mostly unknown etiology. With their populations already threatened from anthropogenic factors, it is important to understand infectious disease risks to giraffes. Here we describe filarid parasites and a portion of their genetic sequence associated with skin disease in Rothschi...

Species with narrow environmental tolerances are often distributed within fragmented patches of suitable habitat, and dispersal among these subpopulations can be difficult to directly observe. Genetic data can help quantify gene flow between localities, which is especially important for vulnerable species with a disjunct range. The Shenandoah salam...

The Mariana Crow, or Åga (Corvus kubaryi), is a critically endangered species (IUCN -International Union for Conservation of Nature), endemic to the islands of Guam and Rota in the Mariana Archipelago. It is locally extinct on Guam, and numbers have declined dramatically on Rota to a historical low of less than 55 breeding pairs throughout the isla...

Complex spatial and temporal phylogenetic patterns have emerged among Pacific Island radiations and their Australian and New Guinean congeners. We explore the diversification of Australo-Pacific Petroica robins using the first phylogeny with complete species-level sampling of the genus. In doing so we provide the first assessment of the phylogeneti...

Table S1. Specimen numbers and sampling locations for tissue samples.

As two lineages diverge from one another, mitochondrial DNA should evolve fixed differences more rapidly than nuclear DNA due to its smaller effective population size and faster mutation rate. As a consequence, molecular systematists have focused on the criteria of reciprocal monophyly in mitochondrial DNA for delimiting species boundaries. However...

Geographic barriers between populations of a species can result in divergence of genes, morphology, or behaviors that can lead to speciation. The Yellow-backed Oriole (Icterus chrysater) is distributed from southern Mexico to Colombia, but with a major range disjunction of 600 km in Costa Rica. We examined molecular and morphological data for diffe...

De acuerdo con el Instituto de Educación Internacional (IIE – Institute of International Education), existen diferentes razones por las cuales alumnos de países diversos deciden emigrar de sus países de para realizar estudios de posgrado en los Estados Unidos. Algunas de las razones son las siguientes: 1) Ganar experiencia e incrementar el conocimi...

Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and he is currently completing his PhD in Instructional Design & Technology with a certificate in Learning Sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His research interests focus on informal and collaborative learning, professional development, STEM edu-cation, intercultural training, e-portf...

In our globalized world, we need professionals who can adapt to the interaction of cultures and countries. Students who are interested in pursuing careers in organizations that have a global or international focus need to be culturally competent. Cultural competence (the ability to interact effectively with people from other cultures and socio-econ...

The Isthmus of Tehuantepec has played an important role in shaping the avian diversity of Mexico, as well as the rest of the Western Hemisphere. It has been both a barrier and a land connector between North and South America for many groups of birds. Furthermore, climatic change over the Pleistocene has resulted in ecological fluctuations that led...

We present a recent additional record of the Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens), an uncommon bird in the Valley of Mexico, representing the second record in the Distrito Federal after 120 years.

Presentamos un registro adicional del buscabreña (Icteria virens), un ave poco común en la cuenca del Valle de México y que corresponde al segundo ejemplar registrado para el Distrito Federal después de 120 años.

Many avian species from the temperate zone show low levels of genetic diversity when compared with species from the tropics, although there are some interesting exceptions, and species whose ranges occur across the temperate–tropical boundary could have characteristics of either or both zones. The distribution of the Streak-backed Oriole (Icterus p...

We analyzed mitochondrial DNA sequence variation across 69 Amethyst-throated Hummingbirds (Lampornis amethystinus), comparing with samples of related taxa. Although this group shows discrete phenotypic variation in throat color among populations in Oaxaca and Guerrero (Mexico), the only phylogeographic structure observed was between phenotypically...

We investigated the phylogeny of the genus Cynanthus and the taxonomic status of C. doubledayi using partial sequences of the mitochondrial DNA gene ND2 and three phylogenetic approaches: maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference. Our results corroborate the monophyly of the genus and provide preliminary support for the validity...

Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) populations were sampled to evaluate geographic patterns of differentiation and connectivity across the species' range. We observed patterns of differentiation generally coincident with geographic patterns in plumage patterns with distinct subpopulations in Baja California Sur, northern Central America, so...

The huge biodiversity found in Mesoamerica is often explained by its geographic situation as a natural bridge between two large biogeographic regions. Often overlooked, however, are the high levels of speciation and diversification in the area. Here we assess the phylogenetic relationships within a Mesoamerican group of hummingbirds (Lampornis). We...

Se dé cuenta o no, todo biólogo –aun el que trabaja en el nivel molecular-trabaja con especies o partes de especies y sus hallazgos pueden ser influidos decisivamente por la elección de una especie en particular; la comunicación de sus resultados dependerá de la correcta identificación de la especie involucrada y de esta manera de su taxonomía.