Ricardo Colin

Bio: Ricardo Colin is an academic researcher from National Autonomous University of Mexico. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Endangered species. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 3 publications receiving 55 citations.

From Isozymes to Genomics: Population Genetics and Conservation of Agave in México

Abstract: Mexico is a megadiverse country, but less than 54 % of its original vegetation still remains. In particular Mexican deserts and arid and semiarid ecosystems harbor a large number of endemic taxa, and the genus Agave is an outstanding example. Agave is one of the largest genera of the Mexican flora, including a total estimated number of 200 species, 74 % of them endemic to the country. Agave is also one of the Mexican plant genera with more population genetic studies. We describe here studies in 22 Agave species using different genetic markers. For the genus we found on average a high level of genetic variation, H s = 0.19, and a low genetic differentiation, F st = 0.15. We identify some species that should be subject to special conservation genetic efforts, in particular the endangered A. victoriae-reginae and both wild populations and landraces of A. angustifolia, including the cultivated A. tequilana.

Phylogeographic analyses and genetic structure illustrate the complex evolutionary history of Phragmites australis in Mexico

Abstract: PREMISE OF THE STUDY Genetic data suggest that three lineages of Phragmites australis are found in North America: the Native North American lineage, the Gulf Coast lineage, and the Invasive lineage. In Mexico, P. australis is a common species, but nothing is known about the distribution or ecology of these lineages. We examined the phylogeography of P. australis to analyze the current geographic distribution of genetic variation, demographic history, and dispersal patterns to better understand its evolutionary history in Mexico. METHODS We sampled 427 individuals from 28 populations. We used two noncoding regions of chloroplast DNA to estimate the levels of genetic variation and identified the genetic groups across the species' geographical range in Mexico. We compared the genealogical relationships among haplotypes with those previously reported. A hypothesis of demographic expansion was also tested for the Mexican P. australis lineages. KEY RESULTS We found 13 new haplotypes native to Mexico that might be undergoing an active process of expansion and diversification. Genealogical analyses provided evidence that two independent lineages of P. australis are present in Mexico. The invasive lineage was not detected with our sampling. Our estimates of population expansions in Mexico ranged from 0.202 to 0.726 mya. CONCLUSIONS Phragmites australis is a native species that has been in Mexico for thousands of years. Genetic data suggest that climatic changes during the Pleistocene played an important role in the demographic expansion of the populations that constitute the different genetic groups of P. australis in Mexico.

Genetic and Ecological Characterization of the Invasive Wetland Grasses Arundo donax and Phragmites australis in the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin

Abstract: Arundo donax and Phragmites australis are two of the most aggressive invasive grasses worldwide, both are associated with wetlands and can be very abundant, becoming dominant in these ecosystems. These two species are common in northern Mexico. Genetic and ecological characterization of A. donax in two populations from the state of Coahuila (North of Mexico) indicate that they are less clonal and more variable, as well as with a higher genetic diversity compared to populations in other parts of the world and suggest that their genotypes are adapted to different environmental conditions and may represent independent introductions. On the other hand, genealogical analyses show that two independent lineages of P. australis are present in Mexico, the Gulf Coast subspecies, P. australis ssp. berlandieri, found across Mexico, including the state of Coahuila, and the endemic native subspecies, P. australis ssp. americanus, found in a population from Cuatro Cienegas Basin (CCB) (Coahuila, Mexico). Here, we conduct a review of the genetic and ecological characteristics of both species in the Chihuahuan Desert, mainly focusing in CCB. The aim is to provide a better understanding in the evolutionary ecology of these two closely related and ecologically similar species and determine if these species of grasses represent a risk for the ecosystem and the valley’s biota.

Wisdom and Wonder@@@2000. Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States

Abstract: Foreword Preface Contributors Participating Institutions Acknowledgements 1. Biodiversity: Our Precious Heritage 2. Discovering Life in America: Tools and Techniques of Biodiversity Inventory 3. A Remarkable Array: Species Diversity in the United States 4. Conservation Status of U.S. Species 5. State of the States: Geographic Patterns of Diversity, Rarity, and Endemism 6. The Geography of Imperilment: Targeting Conservation towards Critical Biodiversity Areas 7. More than the Sum of the Parts: Diversity and Status of Ecological Systems 8. Leading Threats to U.S. Biodiversity: What's Threatening Imperiled Species 9. Strategies for Biodiversity Protection 10. Owning Up to Our Responsibilities: Who Owns Lands Important for Biodiversity? 11. Safeguarding Our Precious Heritage Appendix A: Extinct and missing species of the United States Appendix B: State Diversity, Endemism, and Rarity Appendix C: Kuchler Potential Natural Vegetation Types Appendix D: Principal Sources for the Natural Heritage Central Databases Literature Cited

Lineage overwhelms environmental conditions in determining rhizosphere bacterial community structure in a cosmopolitan invasive plant.

Abstract: Plant–microbe interactions play crucial roles in species invasions but are rarely investigated at the intraspecific level. Here, we study these interactions in three lineages of a globally distributed plant, Phragmites australis. We use field surveys and a common garden experiment to analyze bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of P. australis stands from native, introduced, and Gulf lineages to determine lineage-specific controls on rhizosphere bacteria. We show that within-lineage bacterial communities are similar, but are distinct among lineages, which is consistent with our results in a complementary common garden experiment. Introduced P. australis rhizosphere bacterial communities have lower abundances of pathways involved in antimicrobial biosynthesis and degradation, suggesting a lower exposure to enemy attack than native and Gulf lineages. However, lineage and not rhizosphere bacterial communities dictate individual plant growth in the common garden experiment. We conclude that lineage is crucial for determination of both rhizosphere bacterial communities and plant fitness. Environmental factors often outweigh host heritable factors in structuring host-associated microbiomes. Here, Bowen et al. show that host lineage is crucial for determination of rhizosphere bacterial communities in Phragmites australis, a globally distributed invasive plant.

Agave biotechnology: an overview.

Abstract: Agaves are plants of importance both in Mexican culture and economy and in other Latin-American countries. Mexico is reported to be the place of Agave origin, where today, scientists are looking for different industrial applications without compromising its sustainability and preserving the environment. To make it possible, a deep knowledge of all aspects involved in production process, agro-ecological management and plant biochemistry and physiology is required. Agave biotechnology research has been focusing on bio-fuels, beverages, foods, fibers, saponins among others. In this review, we present the advances and challenges of Agave biotechnology.

Save Our Bats, Save Our Tequila: Industry and Science Join Forces to Help Bats and Agaves

Abstract: The genus Agave is one of the most diverse and rich groups of plants of Mexico. Mexican people have developed several technologies to extract products from Agave, and for many years they have consumed five different alcoholic beverages derived from Agave: Tequila, Mezcal, Bacanora, Raicilla, and Pulque. Additionally, Agave has coevolved with nectar-feeding bats, and in several cases, bats play the main role as functional pollinators in this ecological relationship. But with growth in the demand of agave derived products, management practices have reduced dependence on bat pollination, using instead clonal shoots to replant fields and harvesting plants before flowering, thereby negatively affecting both bats (by decreasing food availability) and agaves (by lowering their genetic diversity). We explore the possibility that bat-friendly practices may be incorporated into the production system. We compiled data about the pollination biology of Agave to infer how many bats could use the available resources, if Mezcal and Tequila producers allowed 5–10% of agave crop inflorescences to flower based on a linear projection using Agave angustifolia (a sister group of A. tequilana). If only 5% of the plants in one hectare were allowed to flower (approximately 222 individuals), then, depending on nectar concentration and total volume, a minimum of 89 individual bats could feed every night during flowering period. This means that allowing 5% of the current total population of A. tequilana reproductive agaves to flower could feed a total of 2,336,250 nectar feeding bats per month.

Management of invasive Phragmites australis in the Adirondacks: a cautionary tale about prospects of eradication

Abstract: Invasive plant management (largely mechanical and chemical) consumes an ever-increasing portion of budgets for land management organizations, but metrics of success, other than extent of areas treated or resources expended is rarely available. Here we assess success of managing 346 populations of invasive Phragmites australis (range 0.36–4134 m2; cover 37–75%) in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York, USA. We began by treating 18 patches in 2010 using herbicide; gradually adding patches treated annually or intermittently for a total of 334 by the end of the project period. We monitored each population annually and if P. australis was present mapped its spatial extent and estimated cover. We considered P. australis eradicated when live stems were absent from a site for at least three consecutive years. Our treatments reduced size and cover of P. australis populations and eradication was achieved at 104 of 294 sites. However, probability of eradicating P. australis over a 7-year project timeframe was 0.83 for the smallest patches (0.36 m2), whereas at medium (45 m2) and large patches (>3000 m2) probability of eradication decreased to 0.26 and 0.02, respectively. Our results question efficacy of managing large P. australis populations with the goal of eradication. We urge conservation organizations to clearly articulate management objectives beyond short-term suppression of target plants and to promote accountability by providing quantitative measurements of outcomes.