Members
Paola L. Sassi
PhD (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba).
Biologist (Universidad Nacional de San Luis).
Associate Researcher at IADIZA-CONICET and Associate Professor at FCEN, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo.
Academic interests: I am interested in the mechanisms underlying processes and patterns in animal ecology. To explore them, I use a holistic approach, integrating behavior, physiology and anatomy in the search for animals’ responses to the challenges posed by their environments.
Currently, my projects aim to study energetics, nutritional ecology, and behavioral strategies of resource utilization by different species, across spatial and temporal gradients. The goal is to determine their diverse levels of sensitivity and exposure to environmental variation, information that is crucial to model distribution patterns of populations in the face of the climate change forecasted in the region.
Contact: psassi@mendoza-conicet.gob.ar , paola.sassi@gmail.com
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paola-Sassi-3
Web CONICET: https://www.conicet.gov.ar/new_scp/detalle.php?id=31525&keywords=paola%2Bsassi&datos_academicos=yes
Nadia Vicenzi
Dra. en Biología (Universidad Nacional del Comahue). Licenciada en
PhD (Universidad Nacional del Comahue). Biologist (Universidad Nacional de La Plata).
Assistant Researcher at IADIZA – CONICET, Assistant Professor at FCEN, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo.
Academic interests: I am interested in understanding the effects of global change on reptile assemblages of arid zones. In particular, I am studying how regional disturbances, like climate change, and local disturbances, like land-use change, could affect the physiology, behavior, and distribution of reptile populations.
My most recent projects aimed to analyze evaluated the roles of intraspecific variation and phenotypic plasticity as a possible adaptive response of different reptile populations to climate change. Currently, I am studying how global change might affect reptile distribution patterns.
Contact: nvicenzi@mendoza-conicet.gob.ar ; navicenzi@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7309-7294
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=b7C4JjwAAAAJ&hl=es&oi=ao
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nadia-Vicenzi
Grisel Cavieres Parada
PhD (Universidad de Chile)
Assistent Professor at Zoology Department, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción.
I am an ecological and evolutionary physiologist interested in exploring the proximal and evolutive causes of animals’ physiological variation.
During my academic trajectory, I have used an experimental approach to explore how organisms can adjust their physiology to compensate for high temperatures and low water availability and how phenotypic plasticity can modulate the limits and tolerances of organisms. My current research focuses on exploring ectothermic species’ vulnerabilities to global warming, assessing the mean temperatures, thermal variability, and extreme events ‘ impact on physiological performance and fitness over different time scales.
Contact: griselcavieres@gmail.com
ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4230-2923
Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Eo65gQYAAAAJ&hl=es
Research Gate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Grisel-Cavieres
Rosarito Sánchez Dómina
Bachelor in Biological Sciences (Universidad Nacional de Cuyo)
PhD Student at IADIZA – CONICET. Advisor: Paola Sassi (IADIZA – CONICET). Co-advisor: Soledad Albanese (IADIZA – CONICET)
Academic interests: The main goal of my PhD project is to evaluate the influence of different environmental factors in the mechanisms that sustain the semelparous reproductive strategy of Thylamys bruchi, a didelphid marsupial that inhabits the Monte Desert of Mendoza.
Contact: rsanchezdomina@mendoza-conicet.gob.ar
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com.ar/citations?user=1zAGawgAAAAJ&hl=es
Josefina Menéndez
Licenciada en Ciencias Básicas con orientación en Biología (FCEN-
Bachelor in Biological Sciences (Universidad Nacional de Cuyo).
PhD Student (CONICET). Advisor: Paola L. Sassi (IADIZA). Co-advisor: Paula A. Taraborelli (EEA Barrow).
Academic interests: My interest lies in studying the physiological mechanisms of animals’ responses to their environment, its variability at intra and inter specific levels and the contribution of phenotypic plasticity to species versatility. In particular, my PhD project centers on studying the physiological variability in traits related to energy balance in small Andean rodent species along an altitudinal gradient, and the phenotypic flexibility of these traits in response to thermal acclimation, in order to estimate the potential response capacity of the assemblage in the face of climate change.
Contacto: jmenendez@mendoza-conicet.gob.ar
ORCID / ResearchGate
Emmanuel Fabián Ruperto
PhD in Biological Sciences (Universidad Nacional de Cuyo).
BSc in Biology (Universidad Nacional de La Plata).
Academic interests: My research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that allow species to maintain their thermo-energetic balance within viable ranges in highly fluctuating environments. During my PhD, I analyzed the behavioral responses of several Andean rodent species in the face of altitudinal and temporal variability of their habitats, their intra- and interspecific plasticity, and the potential contribution of their behavior to their resilience in context of climate change. My research is currently oriented toward understanding the co-evolution of behavioral, physiological, and life history traits, and the fitness of integrated phenotypes.
Contact: efruperto@mendoza-conicet.gob.ar
ORCID: https://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0002-4110-2375
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emmanuel-Ruperto
María Cielo Linares
Veterinary – University Juan Agustín Maza, Mendoza Argentina.
Postgraduate degree course completed at Veterinary Residence of Public Health. Ministry of Health, Autonomous government, Buenos Aires.
Currently assisting as support professional for the development and investigation staff (CPA assistant) at IADIZA.
Wild Animal Care Laboratory Coordinator, also member of the Institutional Animal Care & Use Commission (IACUC).
Contact: mclinares@mendoza-conicet.gob.ar
Web conicet: https://www.conicet.gov.ar/new_scp/detalle.php?keywords=&id=50911&datos_academicos=yes
M. Soledad Albanese
PhD in Biological Sciences (Universidad de Buenos Aires). Biologist (Universidad de Buenos Aires).
Assistant Researcher at CONICET
Academic interests: my research interests focus on identifying the processes and factors that regulate mammal populations in arid systems to understand how these natural or anthropogenic factors determine life history strategies and influence their spatial patterns and population dynamics.
During my Ph.D. and postdoc, I studied the ecology and life history of a small desert marsupial, investigating the ecological strategies that allow them to live in extreme environments such as arid zones. I am interested in population ecology and its application in the conservation and management of wild species. I am currently seeking to identify the factors (anthropogenic and natural) that influence the occupation, activity rhythms, and ecological strategies of mammals as an adaptive response to living in extreme or anthropized environments and their influence on the population dynamics of these species.
Contact: salbanese@mendoza-conicet.gob.ar
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Soledad_Albanese
https://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0001-7857-3296
Fiona A. Patterson
Estudiante de la Licenciatura en Ciencias Básicas con orientación en
Undergraduate Biology Student (Universidad Nacional de Cuyo), currently finishing Honors thesis. Former EVC-CIN scholarship holder.
Advisor: Emmanuel Fabián Ruperto (IADIZA). Co-advisor: Nadia Vicenzi (IADIZA).
Academic interests: My main interests lie in the study of animal behavior, particularly how the expression of different behaviors depends directly on underlying metabolic processes. In fact, my thesis project focuses on evaluating how certain behavioral, physiological, and life history traits of Phyllotis vaccarum, a rodent that inhabits the Central Andes, co-evolve along an altitudinal gradient.
Contact: pattersonfiona1@gmail.com
Renzo Carrabal
Undergraduate Natural Resources Engineering Student (Universidad Nacional de Cuyo)
Thesis student. Advisor: Nadia Vicenzi (IADIZA-CONICET). Co-advisor: Paola Sassi (IADIZA-CONICET).
Academic interests: I am interested in studying the ecology of wildlife in an integral way in order to create and propose measures necessary to protect biodiversity in the face of global change.
The aim of my thesis project is to understand how the physiology and behavior of Phymaturus palluma are correlated, and how individuals respond to the challenges presented by their environment.
Contact: renzocarrabal678@gmail.com