Rogelio Macías-Ordóñez

• Ph.D. Behavioral & Evolutionary Biology
• Researcher at Institute of Ecology INECOL

Genetic diversity is an important attribute of populations, essential for understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes affecting them and assessing their health status. In Hymenoptera, such as eusocial bees, colony management can influence genetic diversity in both natural and managed populations. Management can impact admixture, increas...

1. Agroecosystem simplification for greater food production has led to the loss of eco- system services such as pest control by predators. Plant diversification has shown excellent potential to improve the diversity of crop predators such as spiders. 2. However, in agroecosystems with frequent disturbances such as annual crops, it is unknown whethe...

The full-grown larval stage of Curculio mexicanus Gibson is described and illustrated for the first time. The larvae were collected in fruits (acorns) of several species of Quercus L. (Fagaceae): Q. pinnativenulosa C. H. Mull, Q. xalapensis Bonpl., Q. germana Schltdl. & Cham., Q. candicans Née and Q. polymorpha Schltdl. & Cham; all species with wid...

1. Agroecosystem simplification for greater food production has led to the loss of eco- system services such as pest control by predators. Plant diversification has shown excellent potential to improve the diversity of crop predators such as spiders. 2. However, in agroecosystems with frequent disturbances such as annual crops, it is unknown whethe...

Flight morphological variations and its consequences on animal performance are common in winged insects. In the butterfly Heliconius charithonia, sex-related differences in the wing morphological design have been described resulting in differences in foraging behavior, daily flight distances and flight aerodynamics. It has been suggested that these...

The size of the organs responsible for emitting and detecting sexual communication signals is a likely target for selection. Communication via bioluminescent signals in synchronous fireflies is a promising model to test hypotheses regarding differences between males and females in the effect of the size of signal emission and detection organs on fi...

Confirmed Case Data have been widely cited during the current COVID-19 pandemic as an estimate of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, their central role in media, official reports and decision-making may be undeserved and misleading. Previously published Infection Fatality Rates were weighted by age structure in the 50 countries with more...

The availability and spatial distribution of food resources affect animal behavior and survival. Black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) have a foraging strategy to balance their nutrient intake that involves mixing their consumption of leaves and fruits. The spatial aggregation of food items should impact this strategy, but how it does so is largely...

Mate searching is assumed to be performed mostly by males, but when females benefit from multiple mating or are under risk of failing to mate, they may also perform mate searching. This is especially important in scramble competition polygynies, in which mate searching is the main mechanism of mate competition. Typically, more mobile individuals ar...

Less than 0.2% of all spider species live in close associations with conspecifics. Among these, subsocial spiders show characteristics of both solitary spiders (e.g., individuals disperse for breeding) and social spiders (e.g., prolonged cooperative behaviours at least prior to independent reproduction). Dispersing individuals build small webs, usu...

Fights among females are frequent, although less attention has been placed on them than on male fights. They arise when females compete for food, oviposition, mates, brooding sites, or access to resources which increase offspring survival. It has been shown that the outcome of female fights may be less predictable by asymmetries in resource holding...

Tab separated text data file containing variables used by S2. (TXT)

Tab separated text data file containing variables used by S4. (TXT)

R script to estimate random distribution of probabilities for each potential outcome for owner. (R)

R script polytomous logistic regression to evaluate the effect of independent variables on fight outcome. (R)

R script logistic regression on odds ratio between splitting started by owner and intruder. (R)

Abiotic factors exert direct and indirect influences on behavioral, morphological, and life-history traits. Because some of these traits are related to reproduction, there is a causal link between climatic conditions and the expression of reproductive traits. This link allows us to generate predictions on how reproductive traits vary in large geogr...

Harvestmen belong to the order Opiliones , and, unlike other arachnids, they are highly polygynandrous , with both males and females mating multiply throughout the breeding season. In this chapter, we review the current information on sexual selection in the group, focusing mostly on intersexual interactions. Particularly, we provide an overview of...

The capacity of organisms to change their sex has evolved independently in several plant and animal lineages. Sex change has been widely studied, but research approaches have differed for plants and animals, and conclusions have often been taxon-specific. Although sex allocation theory provides a unifying framework for the study of sex change, this...

In scramble competition polygyny, male and female mobility may be under strong selection as a result of fitness effects of searching for reproductive resources such as mates, oviposition sites, or resources for egg production. We analyzed the relationship between mating frequency, mobility, and body size in males and females of the chrysomelid beet...

Harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones) are a highly diverse group found in extremely different environmental conditions. For this and other reasons described in this chapter, they offer a novel and unique opportunity to explore hypotheses regarding the effect of abiotic environmental conditions on several life-history traits, and thus on their mating sy...

The exuberant variety of neotropical life forms has lured naturalists for centuries. Darwin himself was amazed by this diversity, and among the first to suggest that many of their traits were not the result of natural (viability) selection but rather of an additional and sometimes opposite selective force: sexual selection. Does this imply that sex...

Spatial distribution of resources is known to govern animal distribution and behaviour. However, few empirical studies have formally evaluated this relationship. Unlike previous studies in which a patch or gap of floral resources is defined a priori by the observer at a subjective perception scale, we used the Spatial Analysis by Distance IndicEs (...

Recent debate has highlighted the importance of estimating both the strength of sexual selection on phenotypic traits, and the opportunity for sexual selection. We describe seasonal fluctuations in mating dynamics of Leptinotarsa undecimlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). We compared several estimates of the opportunity for, and the strength of, s...

R script for null model for Imates and related parameters. A null model generator for Imates and related parameters based on Shuster, S. M., and M. J. Wade. 2003. Mating Systems and Strategies. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press, chapters 1–3. Observed data should be in a csv file (named “File S3 - Matrix of mating success per time interval...

A worked example. Hypothetical data of six time intervals and twenty males showing how to obtain all parameters related to three estimates of the opportunity for sexual selection (Imates) presented in Shuster, S. M., and M. J. Wade. 2003. Mating Systems and Strategies. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press, chapters 1–3. Some of the steps were...

Matrix of mating success per time interval per male for period 3. In order to see results for period 3 only instead of results for the whole season, this database in.csv format may replace “File S3 - Matrix of mating success per time interval per male for the whole season.csv” when running “File S2. R script for null model for Imates and related pa...

Matrix of mating success per time interval per male for period 1. In order to see results for period 1 only instead of results for the whole season, this database in.csv format may replace “File S3 - Matrix of mating success per time interval per male for the whole season.csv” when running “File S2. R script for null model for Imates and related pa...

Matrix of mating success per time interval per male for the whole season. This database in.csv format is required by “File S2. R script for null model for Imates and related parameters.r” (see description in legend for File S2). It should be placed in the same working directory of File S2. (CSV)

Matrix of mating success per time interval per male for period 2. In order to see results for period 2 only instead of results for the whole season, this database in.csv format may replace “File S3 - Matrix of mating success per time interval per male for the whole season.csv” when running “File S2. R script for null model for Imates and related pa...

Matrix of mating success per time interval per male for period 4. In order to see results for period 4 only instead of results for the whole season, this database in.csv format may replace “File S3 - Matrix of mating success per time interval per male for the whole season.csv” when running “File S2. R script for null model for Imates and related pa...

R script for interactive Figure 8. Install the rgl library first. Then run this R script from beginning to end and two windows will appear (panels A and B). Amplify or maximize each window, click and hold on the graph and then move the mouse to rotate it. You will be able to see the projections on the three planes. See figure 8 for legend and the t...

Phylogenetic relationships within the Sclerosomatidae, the largest family of harvestmen, are explored using molecular data from four nuclear genes (28S and 18S rRNA, Histone 3 and Elongation factor-1α) and two mitochondrial gene regions (COI-COII, 16S and 12S rRNA). The taxon sample includes representative species from all families in Phalangioidea...

Intense male–male competition for females may drive the evolution of male morphological dimorphism, which is frequently associated with alternative mating tactics. Using modern techniques for the detection of discontinuous allometries, we describe male dimorphism in the Neotropical harvestman Longiperna concolor, the males of which use their elonga...

Theory predicts that asymmetry between contenders influences their ability to defend resources. More recently, some theoretical approaches have also examined the circumstances that might promote sharing of the disputed resources. We tested these hypotheses in males of the ball roller beetle Canthon cyanellus cyanellus. Males fight for possession of...

The lines of defense in the harvestman Hoplobunus mexicanus are reported including the complete chemical characterization of defensive secretion, a morphological description of the ozopore, and a spectrogram of stridulating sounds. Aposematic coloration may be regarded as the first line of defense, warning diurnal predators about the unpleasant att...

Alternative male phenotypes may be a source of novel adaptive traits and may evolve under strong sexual selection. We studied interpopulation differences in male mating behavior related to receptive female synchrony in the monandrous pupal-mating butterfly Heliconius charitonia. In the population in which female-receptive pupae were more synchronou...

The tropical damselfly Paraphlebia zoe has two male morphs: a black-winged (BW) male which is associated with territorial defense of oviposition sites; and a hyaline-winged (HW) male similar in appearance to females, and, compared to the black morph, less frequently found defending territories. In a wild population of this species, we first assesse...

Males and females of two syntopic phytophagous fly species (O. nitens and O. ferruginea, Diptera: Richardiidae) compete over small ephemeral feeding territories. We assessed fight frequency of both sexes of two species in the wild, and the simultaneous effects of potential fight asymmetries, sex and species, on the outcome of territorial contests i...

The evolution of sexually dimorphic traits has been the focus of much theoretical work, but empirical approaches to this topic have not been equally prolific. Males of the neotropical family Gonyleptidae usually present a strong fourth pair of legs armed with spines, but their functional significance is unknown. We investigated the putative functio...

1. Body condition (defined as the relative amount of energy reserves in the body) is an animal trait with strong ecological implications. In some animal taxa (e.g. arthropods), the external volume of the body part in which most nutrients are stored (e.g. abdomen) is used interchangeably with body mass to estimate body condition, making the implicit...

Males of the subfamily Belostomatinae, within the giant waterbugs (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae), brood eggs on their backs from oviposition until egg-hatching. The eggs in the clutch must be kept moistened and exposed to enough oxygen flow for them to develop properly and maximize hatching success. When submerged, males regularly perform different be...

In lekking species, females may become sperm-limited when mating with sexually successful males, and this may be exacerbated by a poor male diet. Polygynous males may also be limited by the amount of accessory gland products (AGPs) they can transmit to females, which in turn may influence the females’ refractory period and longevity. Here, we teste...

Golden egg bug Phyllomorpha laciniata (Heteroptera, Coreidae) females oviposit on male and female conspecifics that carry ova until they hatch. Embryos benefit from being carried because of diminished risks of predation. Female carriers are never the parents of carried eggs, and males are only rarely the fathers of any carried eggs. Eggs develop an...

Body size is an essential variable in many behavioural and physiological studies. Previous methods for body size estimation present two conflicting drawbacks. They either (1) consider variation in only one dimension through linear measurements or (2) they are time and resource consuming, hard to apply in field conditions and/or stressful to the ani...

Sexes and also within sex phenotypes, frequently differ in morphological traits associated with efficiency and performance in foraging and mating behaviours. In butterflies and other flying animals, phenotypic differences in wing size and traits associated with flight are involved in flight performance and individual fitness, but explorations of li...

Selection usually acts differently on males and females during intrasexual competition for resources and/or mates. Nevertheless, agonistic behavior has been examined both theoretically and empirically mostly in males. Our research questions whether males and females follow the same rules of engagement in intrasexual contests as predicted by the seq...

We report the results of a 2-yr survey that determined some of the host plant and parasitoid associations of Anastrepha fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in the "Montes Azules" tropical rainforest biosphere reserve (State of Chiapas, Mexico). We collected a total of 57.38 kg of fruit representing 47 native species from 23 plant families. Of these,...

Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) is recognized as a pest of citrus, apples, and blackberries in South America. In Mexico, it is mainly found in fruit of the family Myrtaceae and has never been reported infesting citrus. Here, we sought to determine whether females stemming from Mexican A. fraterculus populations (collected in the state of Veracru...

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) have been used previously as a model to explore the effect of nutrition on male reproduction. Here we tested the hypothesis that adult feeding history influences male sexual performance in four species of neotropical fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha (A. ludens, A. obliqua, A. serpentina, and A. striata), an app...

The number of copulations by different males and in different territories was evaluated in the field in the butterfly Callophrys xami (Lycaenidae). The total number of copulations per male and per hour was very low (.0027 and .0029 copulations / male / h in 1989 and 1990, respectively). There was high variance among males in the number of copulatio...

Courtship and mating behavior of Brachypelma klaasi, heretofore unknown, is described on the basis of three courtship and mating sequences, one in captivity and two in the field. Adult males perform courtship movements (pedipalp drumming, leg drumming, push-up and shaking) when they locate a female's burrow, probably in order to avoid female aggres...

The objective of this project was to develop recommendations for a "National Program for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Mexican Reefs" within the context of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). Chapter 1 provides an overview of the status of existing information on Mexican coral reefs and communities, based upon an extensive bib...

Gutiérrez-Carbonell, D., C. García-Sáez, M. Lara-Pérez Soto, C. Padilla-Souza, J. Pizaña-Alonso, R. Macías-Ordoñez. 1993. Caracterización de Arrecifes de la Reserva de la Biosfera Sian Ka’an, Q. Roo. Sian Ka´an Serie Documentos No. 1: diciembre 1993. pp. 1-47. Cancún, Quintana Roo, México

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 1997. Bibliography: leaves 136-160. Includes vita.