Sandra P. Galeano

• Master of Zoology, PhD in Biological Sciences
• Líder Colección Anfibios y Colección Reptiles at Colecciones Biológicas del Instituto Humboldt

The high proportion of declining amphibian populations and species without ecological information makes it imperative to conduct research on their population biology, natural history and habitat requirements. We describe the abundance, age structure, activity patterns and microhabitat of four populations of Rhinella macrorhina, a threatened toad fr...

Intraspecific morphological variation may correspond to behavioral variation that helps determine the nature of species interactions. Color variation among populations of variably toxic organisms has been shown to associate with alternative anti-predator behaviors. However, the effects of these alternative behavioral tendencies on the outcomes of i...

We sampled the snake fauna in 13 landscapes along 80 km of highway and in the adjacent vegetation cover in the Colombian Llanos. We registered 119 snakes belonging to 33 species. Traffic levels significantly influenced rates of snake road kill, while adjacent vegetation cover, rainfall seasonality, and landscape structure and composition did not. W...

Centrolenidae is a Neotropical family widely distributed in Central and South America, with its species richness concentrated in the tropical Andes. Several taxonomic problems have been identified within this family, mostly related to species with broad geographic distributions. In this study, we assessed and redefined the species boundaries of the...

Snakes have diverse and unique sensory systems that make them extremely efficient at moving through the environment while detecting prey and predators and performing courtship behaviors. In recent years, the number of studies on the mechanoreception of aquatic snakes has increased, principally focusing on the ecological and sexual roles of cephalic...

Roadkill and landscape composition affect snakes at different spatial scales, depending on the functional trait value of the species, which is reflected in the functional diversity indices at the assemblage level. This study evaluated the effect of roads and landscape composition on snakes' functional diversity at different areas of influence (250,...

An expansive and detailed review of the biology of Caribbean amphibians, considering their threats, conservation and outlook in a changing world. Amphibians are the group of vertebrates undergoing the fastest rate of extinction; it is urgent that we understand the causes of this and find means of protecting them. This landmark illustrated volume br...

This dataset is the first effort to combine the audio biodiversity of a taxonomic group in a selected location, the Boyacá department in Colombia. We conducted a detailed review of the sound recordings for birds from the Boyacá department within three repositories, the environmental sound collection of the Humboldt Institute, the Macaulay Library o...

Este libro surge como resultado del trabajo que realizaron conjuntamente científicos, comunidades locales e instituciones en el proyecto Expediciones Boyacá Bio y sintetiza los principales hallazgos, resultado de 17 expediciones científicas, de interés particular para los tomadores de decisiones para la gestión de la biodiversidad en el departament...

Existen métodos tradicionales para abordar estudios en biodiversidad de aves. Sin embargo, novedosas técnicas y aproximaciones permiten entender dicha diversidad desde otro punto de vista. Evaluamos la diversidad acústica de las aves del departamento de Boyacá, a partir de una revisión de repositorios acústicos ornitológicos y exploraciones recient...

At the symposium ‘‘Disease Ecology: Past and Present for a Better Future’’ held as part of the XI Latin American Congress of Herpetology, experts from nine countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Spain, and the United States of America) presented results of their ongoing research and most recent discoveries. Furtherm...

Background/Question/Methods Novel insights into mechanisms influencing community assembly can be gained by examining the influences of intraspecific phenotypic variation on species interactions. Intraspecific morphological variation may associate with behaviors that mediate the strength of species interactions, and may ultimately affect species d...

Background/Question/Methods Intraspecific phenotypic variation associates with behaviors that can mediate the strength of species interactions, and may ultimately affect species distributions and abundances. Polymorphic species provide an effective tool to help us better understand the potential effects of intraspecific phenotypic variation in sp...

Background/Question/Methods Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) may reduce biodiversity and account for species extinctions. Therefore, it is urgent to understand the temporal and spatial dynamics of EIDs and to identify the factors associated with these dynamics. We studied seasonal and elevational patterns of prevalence and intensity of Batracho...

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has contributed to population declines and extinction of amphibians worldwide. Disease-caused extinction is rare, but may occur where reservoirs exist or where transmission is independent of host density. Because some species persist after Bd epizootic events, they may act as potential reservoirs of the infection...