
Vinicio SosaInstitute of Ecology INECOL | INECOL · Ecología Funcional
Vinicio Sosa
PhD
About
80
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Introduction
Current interests: Biodiversity in agroecosystems. Plant-animal (birds and bats) mutualisms. Biostatistical modelling. Sustainable coffee production.
Additional affiliations
January 2015 - present
Publications
Publications (80)
Species face increasing threats from anthropogenic disturbances to natural habitats, and we need to understand how threatened species are affected. For example, studying animals’ behavior and responses toward co-occurring species provides information on ecological interactions. We explored the patterns and drivers of the spatial use of two native c...
Improving management practices in coffee agroecosystems to achieve sustainability is required to counter the current anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity. Identifying the specific habitat characteristics that determine the occupancy of insectivorous birds in coffee farms can represent an effective tool to improve management practices and bird co...
La restauración ecológica es una estrategia de conservación que acelera el proceso de sucesión natural. Se emplean plantaciones para facilitar la llegada de dispersores y semillas, fortaleciendo la regeneración del ecosistema. Al recuperar la cubierta vegetal, se espera que las áreas restauradas atraigan a animales voladores. La presencia de especi...
Cozumel Island is one of the most important tourist destinations in Mexico. Unfortunately, this has been associated with a deterioration of the integrity of essential habitats for native fauna, including the Critically Endangered pygmy raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus). Environmental degradation can affect, among other things, their food availability. Her...
1. Rodents are one of the most abundant and diverse groups of mammals in arid zones. Their population and community dynamics are closely linked to climatic factors and pulses of primary productivity activation. In the future, climatic conditions in arid ecosystems could become more extreme as a consequence of climate change, which could affect the...
The relative importance of allochthonous and autochthonous carbon (C) as sources of energy for tropical stream food webs remains an open question. Allochthonous C might be the main energy source for small and shaded forest streams, while autochthonous C is more likely to fuel food webs draining land uses with less dense vegetation. We studied food...
Private conservation areas (PCA) are a complementary resource that can be used to favor the conservation of mammals in tropical regions of the world. However, their reduced extent can exert a differential influence on the behavior of the species present, and ultimately affect their coexistence. We investigated the daily activity patterns of canopy...
Pteronotus gymnonotus (Wagner, 1843) has its northernmost distribution records in southeastern Mexico, where it is classified as an endangered species. In this report we communicate two northernmost extralimital acoustic records of the species in the state of Veracruz, obtained in 2018 and 2022. The average constant frequency of echolocation calls...
Given the growing anthropogenic disturbances of habitats, species are facing several threats and this makes it very important to know the impact of these disturbances on the presence of species. Our objective was to understand the patterns and drivers of the spatial use of the pygmy raccoon Procyon pygmaeus , a carnivore endemic to Cozumel Island a...
Area-based strategies for conservation include defining species richness and rarity hotspots. However, excluding vulnerable species (e.g., with restricted distribution and categorized as threatened), in establishing such hotspots may limit their representativeness, so the convenience of asserting them has been widely debated. To inform conservation...
The expansion of cattle ranching in the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico is transforming freshwater swamps resulting in the reduction of swamps area and the introduction of invasive exotic grasses. This study seeks to determine the structure of the remaining population of Annona glabra in a grassland, evaluate vegetation and environmental condit...
Background and Aims:
Currently, freshwater swamps are deteriorating and their cover is decreasing, mainly due to deforestation for livestock and the introduction of exotic grasses. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the survival and the growth of Annona glabra seedlings, monitor changes in the accompanying vegetation, and estimate the co...
Worldwide, tropical montane cloud forest is one of the most important and biodiverse ecosystems, however it is also one of those most threatened by anthropic activities. These activities lead to a fragmented, deforested landscape with narrow riparian forest strips immersed in an agricultural matrix dominated by pastures. Here, we characterize the i...
Paramos are highly diverse ecosystems of tropical mountains above the tree line, where plant communities are frequently exposed to extreme climatic conditions. In this study, we analyzed the influence of microenvironmental factors (slope, cover of rocks, herbs and shrubs) on the richness, abundance and composition of fern and orchid assemblages in...
With the expansion of human settlements and the environmental changes brought on by human activity and pollutants toxicology and risk assessment of mammal species is becoming increasingly of interest to toxicologists involved in environmental research. This book focuses specifically on environmental risk assessment in marsupial and placental mammal...
During the last century the mean sea level has been increasing at a rate of 0.2–0.4 mm·year−1, and that rate is expected to accelerate during this century. Coastal wetland ecosystems are sensitive to the potential changes and impacts resulting from a rise in sea level. In the coastal region of the Gulf of Mexico, freshwater swamps are wetlands loca...
Restoration of tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) landscapes is urgently required. Assisting the regeneration of endangered and shade tolerant tree species is essential for both the recovery of this vulnerable group and of ecological processes. However, there is limited species‐specific information regarding tree performance under different distu...
In recent decades land cover change resulting from different types of human activity has severely reduced the original area of tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF). Deforested landscapes in neotropical America commonly have a heterogeneous structure (i.e. landscape context) with increasingly small forest patches immersed in an agricultural matrix....
During the last century the mean sea level has been increasing at a rate of 0.2 to 0.4 mm·year -1 , and that rate is expected to accelerate during this century. Coastal wetland ecosystems are sensitive to the potential changes and impacts of resulting from a rise in sea level. In the coastal region of the Gulf of Mexico, freshwater swamps are wetla...
Between 2005, 2014–2017, we studied six Elegant Euphonia (Euphonia elegantissima) nests from two sites (urban and suburban) in the city of Xalapa, Veracruz. They were located in a macadamia tree crown, under epiphytic bromeliads, and under hanging fern and Euphorbia pots. The two nests we extracted and measured (7.2 x 7.5 x 5.6 cm; 10.1 x 8.6 x 11...
1. The factors that drive resource removal by insect predators hold the clue to understanding their role in structuring ecological communities and their evolution. Harvester ants are formidable seed predators and invertebrate carcass feeders. However, the extent to which neutral and niche‐based factors drive the selection and removal of preferred f...
Daily activity is an important aspect of animal behavior and depends both on nutritional and reproductive demands. It also can be modified by—among other factors—interspecific competition, the need to minimize the risk of predation, and human disturbance, such as the presence of cattle. We studied the activity patterns and degree of overlap among c...
Background:
Cloud forest in central Veracruz is highly fragmented. However, different arboreal elements are still present within the agricultural matrix, including small patches of secondary forest, isolated trees and forested riparian belts. These elements could be important for cloud forest species conservation.
Questions:
What is the structure...
Experiencias de agroforestería en México, es un cuaderno de divulgación de la temática.
Esta publicación es una contribución a los objetivos de la RedSAM y espera ser una muestra del manejo agroforestal en México. El texto está dividido en dos partes; la primera incluye los siguientes apartados: Introducción. ¿Qué es la agroforestería? Sistemas y prácticas agroforestales. Beneficios ambientales y sociales de los sistemas agroforestale...
Tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) host high biodiversity and endemicity and are severely threatened by illegal selective logging, deforestation, fragmentation and climate change. The fragments of TMCF present high heterogeneity over short spatial intervals and a regional forest restoration approach must therefore incorporate seedling performanc...
Cloud forest tree species are reported to be shifting and retracting their distributional ranges in response to increasing temperatures. However, there is limited information regarding the impact of increasing temperatures on the recruitment of cloud forest trees, a critical phase in population dynamics. Evaluating the establishment of introduced s...
Este libro es una contribución de la Red Temática de Sistemas Agroforestales de México. Se encuentra en revisión por pares.
Objetivo: Compartir las experiencias de manejo agroforestal (especies, sistemas, prácticas, formas de organización, retos, limitaciones) de campesinos, productores, agricultores, pequeños propietarios, comunidades y organizaciones para contribuir a resolver problemas sociales y ambientales en México. Se realizará en Morelia Michoacán el 14 de junio...
Tropical forests are home to a rich biodiversity, and protected natural areas (PNA) represent one of the approaches adopted for conserving this biodiversity. However, PNAs are under constant threat of becoming too isolated in a landscape matrix frequently hostile to most of the species they harbor. A new system of conservation has recently been pro...
La restauración ecológica es una estrategia de conservación para acelerar el proceso de sucesión natural. Las plantaciones representan la intervención de restauración máxima, mientras que las exclusiones de la perturbación representan la intervención mínima. El objetivo evaluar el efecto del nivel de intervención sobre la disponibilidad de recursos...
a Primera Reunión Nacional de Sistemas Agroforestales de México la cual se organizó en la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur del día 30 al 1 de noviembre del 2017. La estructura de la reunión se estableció a partir de las temáticas y situaciones consideradas más relevantes en nuestro país en relación con estas formas de manejo y su estudio...
An experiment in greenhouse conditions in order to study the effect of native communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation from four different ecosystems, on the development of sorghum and maize plantlets was developed. The four soils used like inoculums were collected in four different areas (Mountain Mesophyllous Forest, Acahual,...
Changes in vegetation cover due to disturbance affecting animals of Tropical Dry Forests (TDF) including bats. The available evidence suggests that these changes in vegetation have little impact on bat richness while the effect on their relative abundances is more severe (Avila-Cabadilla et al 2009; Avila-Cabadilla et al 2012; Nassar et al 2014). W...
For birds, we tested the efficacy of a technique used to obtain faecal samples and their seed content from
bats by placing plastic sheets below mist nets. This method was compared with that of collecting faecal samples using cotton bags. Plastic sheets were placed below each of eight mist nets to obtain faecal samples from birds caught in cloud for...
The response of vascular epiphyte communities following natural or human disturbance has been little studied. Over 5 y, we evaluated the post-stripping recolonization of vascular epiphytes in cloud forest. Vascular epiphytes were experimentally removed from branch and trunk plots (1 m in length) on five trees in two secondary cloud forest fragments...
We investigated the reproductive biology, including the floral biology, pollination biology, breeding system and reproductive success, of Pachira aquatica, a native and dominant tropical tree of fresh water wetlands, throughout the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico. The flowers present nocturnal anthesis, copious nectar production and sugar conce...
Forest disturbance causes specialization of plant-frugivore networks and jeopardizes mutualistic interactions through reduction of ecological redundancy. To evaluate how simplification of a forest into an agroecosystem affects plant-disperser mutualistic interactions, we compared bat-fruit interaction indexes of specialization in tropical montane c...
Context
Dry forests usually have a marked seasonality in resource availability; as a consequence, wildlife is subjected to drastic changes in food availability during the year. The presence of high-quality sites that provide food during lean periods is crucial in these habitats, especially in human-modified landscapes where resources are limited an...
Shade coffee plantations are considered important habitats for frugivorous bats. However, it is not known if bats use this agricultural habitat for shelter, food resources, or both. This study addresses these questions using the highland yellow-shouldered bat (Sturnira hondurensis) as an example. Twenty-six adult individuals of S.hondurensis were c...
Understanding the structure and evolution of ecological communities requires an examination of the factors that influence plant-animal mutualistic interactions. These interactions are affected by factors that are both extrinsic and intrinsic to the animals We used a meta-analysis technique to examine such factors affecting the interactions between...
Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / a g e e Benefits and costs of epiphyte management in shade coffee plantations a b s t r a c t While epiphytes contribute to the biodiversity and structural complexity of shade coffee, their removal from the shade trees is a common...
Diversity and abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi spores under different coffee production systems and in a tropical montane cloud forest patch in Veracruz,
In order to make recommendations on forest management, we compared the floristic composition, diversity and physiognomy of a tropical evergreen forest (TEF) vegetation regenerating after two types of past use, namely, selective cutting and shifting cultivation, in Agua Blanca State Park, Mexico. These common types of use caused different kinds of f...
a b s t r a c t In arid lands, food resources and predation risk become major decision factors in mule deer habitat use. We examined variables related to these two factors that might determine mule deer (Odocoileus hemi-onus) habitat use in a warm desert at two spatial scales: the macro-habitat scale, which relates to home range decisions, and the...
Veracruz, junto con Chiapas y Oaxaca, es considerado uno de los estados con mayor riqueza de mamíferos del país. Sin embargo, poco más de la cuarta parte de todas las especies de mamíferos registrados en el estado está catalogada en alguna categoría de protección de la NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2001 (Semarnat, 2002). Los mamíferos silvestres que se distribu...
La regulación del uso de los recursos de uso común, como es la fauna silvestre, depende de diversos factores como económicos, culturales, históricos, sociales. Identificar estos factores dentro de las comunidades es fundamental para desarrollar propuestas viables de uso sostenible de los recursos naturales.
It has been suggested that there is a geographic dichotomy in the pollination systems of chiropterophilous columnar cacti: in intra-tropical areas they are pollinated almost exclusively by bats, whereas in extratropical areas they are pollinated by bats, birds and bees. However, currently the studies are clumped both taxonomically (mainly Pachycere...
We report the dispersal of Conostegia xalapensis (Melastomataceae) and Coussapoa oligocephala (Urticaceae) seeds by Underwood's long-tongued bat, a species considered to be a specialized nectar and pollen consumer. Informamos la dispersión de semillas de Conostegia xalapensis (Melastomataceae) y Coussapoa oligocephala (Urticaceae) por el murciélago...
The biogeography of plant-animal interactions is a novel topic on which many disciplines converge (e.g., reproductive biology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology). Narrative reviews have indicated that tropical columnar cacti and agaves have highly specialized pollination systems, while extratropical species have generalized systems. However, t...
Myrmecochory sensu stricto is uncommon in Neotropical forests. In these ecosystems the role of ants as secondary dispersers of non-myrmecochorous seeds is well known, however, the primary dispersal of this type of seed by ants has been poorly documented. Only a few anecdotal observations scattered throughout the literature report the removal of the...
Most studies on cactus recruitment have focused on the role of woody plants as seedling facilitators. Although the spatial association of cacti with objects had been described, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unknown. The aims of this study were to identify which mechanisms facilitate the establishment of a columnar cactus under t...
Recruitment and survival of cacti in North American deserts are facilitated under the canopy of nurse plants. In the Sonoran desert, the giant cardon cactus (Pachycereus pringlei) is associated with ironwood (Olneya tesota) and mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) trees. We hypothesized that P. pringlei seedlings would perform better under ironwood than...
La ausencia de la ardilla terrestre mexicana Spermophilus mexicanus en el norte y centro del desierto Chihuahuense había sido atribuida a barreras fisiográficas. Aquí destacamos la presencia de esta especie en la Reserva de la Biosfera Mapimí, localizada en la parte central del desierto Chihuahuense. Estos registros extienden su distribución aproxi...
new ideas or new ways of interpreting existing information. It provides a chance for suggesting hypotheses and for challenging current thinking on ecological issues. A lighter prose, designed to attract readers, will be permitted. Formal research reports, albeit short, will not be accepted, and all contributions should be concise with a relatively...
We studied seed germination and the growth and survivorship of seedlings of females and hermaphrodites of Pachycereus pringlei (cardon), a Mexican columnar cactus whose geographically variable breeding system includes trioecy and gynodioecy. Results of a two-year field experiment conducted near Bahia Kino, Sonora, Mexico and a ten-month laboratory...