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University of Oxford
School of Geography and the Environment

 School of Geography and the Environment

IGS: Current and Recent Graduate Research

Leticia Ochoa Ochoa

The amphibian meta-community structure in three Mexican landscapes and its relationship with ecological and geographical space

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Academic Profile

Leticia is a biologist from the National University of Mexico (UNAM). Since her undergraduate research she has been interested in biogeographic and macroecological processes and the implication of these processes on community dynamics. Her undergraduate research project was entitled the 'Centres of endemism of the Mexican Herpetofauna', which was published as a book in 2006. She developed her project in the Zoology Museum (MZFC) of UNAM. During the thesis she became involved in the HerpNet project sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the USA, for which she georeferenced all the registered locations of amphibians and reptiles collected in Mexico.

In her masters degree she continued working with patterns of diversity in amphibians and reptiles but focused on turnover or beta-diversity patterns. Her research was divided in two major objectives. The first objective was to explore the beta diversity patterns of amphibians and reptiles in five different regions of the country. The hypothesis was that the mega-diversity of Mexico is mainly explained by the beta diversity component. Once the patterns were quantified, the second objective was to model how the patterns might change under a climate change scenario (this results were not included the thesis). The results were pessimistic: most of the communities collapse between the 2020 and 2050. On a conservative scenario of climate change most of the amphibian diversity will become extinct, without considering the impact of land use and vegetation changes. She is currently preparing an article based on this research for publication.

In 2006 she participated in a project supported by the National Commission of Biodiversity (CONABIO). The project performed a conservation GAP analysis for Mexico under the agreements of the COP7. Part of the results was published in a popular science booklet and a complete report is now being prepared. At the same time she was involved in the second national study of Mexico (Segundo Estudio de País), the results of which have been published in five books.

She has been a member of the International Biogeography Society since 2005; the Mexican Herpetology Society since 2002; and Macroecology Lab, UNAM since 2004.

Current Research

The aim of Leticia's D.Phil. project is to understand how communities respond to alterations in the environment by fragmentation, through a meta-community approach. More specifically, she has four research questions designed to address particular gaps in the knowledge of amphibian ecology:

  1. In most regions of the World, anthropogenic activities have created a complex matrix, which has different effects on communities. She would like to understand how are amphibian communities structured in a fragmented landscape and how do different species interact with their ecosystem?
  2. In general, the studies of beta diversity have been developed at larger or local scales; and she wishes to explore the relationship between the local and the regional processes within this aspect of diversity. How is beta diversity affected within a fragmented landscape at different scales?
  3. Nowadays the use of programs that predict distribution ranges based on the ecological niche approach has become increasingly popular, especially for conservation plans. It is important to test them using recent field data. How accurate are the distribution range models on different spatial scales?
  4. In general, ecological processes have been studied without consideration of geographical space. Increasingly the importance of geogrpahiacl space for the study of ecologial processes is being recognized. Fortunately, nowadays the technology to incorporate this aspect is available. How does the quality of the matrix and the topography influence the persistence of the amphibian communities in a fragmented landscape?

Publications

In peer-reviewed journals
  • Ochoa, L., Urbina-Cardona, J.N., Vázquez, L.B., Flores-Villela, O., and J. Bezaury-Creel (2009) The Effects of Governmental Protected Areas and Social Initiatives for Land Protection on the Conservation of Mexican Amphibians. PLoS ONE.
  • Ochoa, L., Cruz, B., García, G. and A. Luis-Martínez (2003) Contribución al Atlas Panbiogeográfico de México: los géneros Adelpha, Hamadryas (Nymphalidae), Dismorphia, Enanita, Lienix y Pseudopieris (Pieridae) (Papilionoidea; Lepidoptera). [Contribution to the panbiogeographic atlas of Mexico: Species Adelpha, Hamadryas (Nymphalidae), Dismorphia, Enanita, Lienix and Pseudopieris (Pieridae) (Papilionoidea; Lepidoptera)]. Folia Entomologica Mexicana, 42(1): 65-77.
Science Popularization (or Disclosure)
  • Calderón Mandujajo, R., Ochoa-Ochoa, L. & Flores Villela, O. (2009) Oxtankah Amphibians and Reptiles. Vol. 1. Physical Environment and Diversity. Oxtankah.
Books
Edited Books
  • Flores-Villela, O., Handal-Silva, A. and Ochoa-Ochoa, L. (eds.) (2003) Diagnóstico de la diversidad biológica de El Salvador (Biological Diversity Diagnosis of El Salvador Republic). REDMESO/SER, México, D. F. 171 pp.
Chapters in Books
  • Flores-Villela, O., Canseco-Márquez, L. and Ochoa-Ochoa, L. (in press, 2009) Geographic distribution and conservation of herpetofauna of central highlands of Mexico. In: Wilson, L.R. and J.H. Towsend (eds.) Conservation of Mesoamerican Amphibians and Reptiles.
  • Ochoa-Ochoa, L. and Flores-Villea, O. (in press, 2009) Endemismo de la herpetofauna de Veracruz: análisis y problemáticas. In: Diversidad Biológica de Veracruz.
  • Koleff, P., Soberón, J., Arita, H., Dávila, P., Flores-Villela, O., Halffter, G., Lira-Noriega, A., Moreno, C.E., Moreno, E., Munguía, M., Murguía, M., Navarro-Sigüenza, A., Téllez, O., Ochoa-Ochoa, L., Peterson, A.T., and Rodríguez, P. (2009) Spatial Diversity Patterns in species selected groups. Segundo Estudio de País. México.
  • Bezaury-Creel, J.E. and Ochoa-Ochoa, L. (2007) Áreas Naturales Protegidas del Centro y Occidente de México (Natural Protected Areas in Center and Northwest of Mexico). In, Plan Ecorregional del Centro y Occidente de México (Center and Occident Ecorregional Plan of Mexico). CONABIO, PRONATURA, TNC.
  • Ochoa-Ochoa L., Vázquez, L.B., Urbina, N. and Flores-Villela, O. (2007) Anfibios (Amphibians). In, Análisis de vacíos y omisiones en la conservación de la biodiversidad terrestre en México: espacios y especies (GAP analyses of the terrestrial biodiversity in Mexico: spaces and species). Conabio-Conanp-TNC-Pornatura-FCF, UNAL. México.
  • Ochoa-Ochoa, L., Vázquez, L.B., Urbina, N. and Flores-Villela, O. (2007) Reptiles (Reptiles). In, Análisis de vacíos y omisiones en la conservación de la biodiversidad terrestre en México: espacios y especies (GAP analyses of the terrestrial biodiversity in Mexico: spaces and species). Conabio-Conanp-TNC-Pornatura-FCF, UNAL. México.
  • Flores-Villela, O., Ochoa-Ochoa, L. and Moreno, C. (2005) Variación latitudinal y longitudinal de la riqueza de especies y la diversidad beta de la herpetofauna mexicana (Latitudinal and Longitudinal variation of the species richness and beta diversity of the Mexican Herpetofauna). Chapter 11, in: Halfter, G., Soberón, J., Koleff, P. and A. Melic (eds.) Sobre diversidad biológica: el significado de las diversidades alfa, beta y gama (About biological diversity: the significance of the diversities alpha, beta and gamma). Monografías Tercer Milenio. SEA, CONABIO, Grupo DIVERSITAS & CONACYT, Zaragoza. IV +242 p. pp. 143-152.
Other Publications
  • Natural Protected Areas from the Mexican States and Counties. CD and Poster Formats.
  • Ecorregional Plan of the Center and Occident of Mexico. Format CD.
  • GAP analysis of Marine Biodiversity: Islands, Seas and Oceans. Format CD.
Conferences
  • January 2009. Oral Presentation. Climate change and the collapse of amphibian diversity in Mexico. Biennial Conference of the International Biogeography Society. Mérida, Yucatán. México.
  • November 2007. Oral Presentation. Beta Diversity Dynamics of the Mexican Amphibians: A global warming approach. VII International Symposium of Zoology. Topes de Collantes, Cuba.
  • January 2007. Poster. Richness and Endemism, a matter of scales? 3rd Biennial Conference of the International Biogeography Society. Tenerife, Spain. Poster awarded.
  • November 2006. Oral Presentation. Diversity scaling of Mexican Vertebrates. National Ecology Congress. Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico.
  • November 2006. Oral Presentation. Beta diversity of Mexican Vertebrates: The Mesoamerican Zone. X Mesoamerican Conference for Biology and Conservation. Antigua, Guatemala.
  • November 2006. Oral Presentation. Diversity Patterns in Mexican Herpetofauna. IX National herpetology meeting. Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.
  • November 2005. Oral Presentation. Beta diversity of Mexican Vertebrates. IX Mesoamerican Conference for Biology and Conservation. La Ceiba, Honduras.
  • August 2005. Poster. National collection of amphibians and reptiles in the Biology Institute, UNAM. VII Latin American Congress of Herpetology. Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
  • January 2005. Poster. Is there a relationship between species' fundamental ecological niche and geographic range? 2nd Biennial Conference of the International Biogeography Society, West Virginia, USA.
  • November 2004. Poster. Longitudinal patterns of Beta diversity patterns of terrestrials vertebrates: implicantion in conservation. VIII Mesoamerican conference for biology and conservation. Managua, Nicaragua. Poster awarded.
  • November 2004. Oral Presentation. Analyses of the Centres of Endemism in Mexican Herpetofauna. VII National herpetology meeting. Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico.
  • August 2002. Poster. Description of the Anuran reproductive dynamic in Oxtankah: preliminary results. VII National herpetology meeting. Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico.