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Group

The group in March 2023. Top row, left to right: Virginia Chirilá, Florencia Miguel, Mélanie Roy, Diego Vázquez. Bottom row, left to right: Alisa Álvarez, Micaela Santos, María Pascual Tudanca, David de la Cruz, Alejandra Medero, Miranda Lede. Missing in picture: Mary Diniz, Gabriel Guerra.

Senescent

nydiaFlorencia Miguel, Assistant Researcher, CONICET.
Interested in community ecology, plant-plant and plant-animal interactions, ecological networks, and effects of anthropogenic activities on ecological interactions. Born and raised in Guatraché, La Pampa. Don’t be surpirsed if you’ve never heard of it.
E-mail | Twitter | Google Scholar | ORCID
diego_19-12-20_smallMélanie Roy, visiting researcher affiliated with IFAECI and CNRS.
Her métier are plant-fungi interactions, fungal and soil biodiversity, and environmental DNA. French, raised partly in Québec, Canada. No wonder why she likes wine, cheese, and cold weather.
E-mail | Google Scholar | ORCID
diego_19-12-20_smallDiego Vázquez, group leader; Superior Researcher, CONICET; Director, IADIZA; Associate Professor, National University of Cuyo.
A true generalist, interested in everything in this web site and beyond, especially community ecology, plant-animal interactions, mutualism, ecological networks, and invasions biology. Born and raised in San Fernando, national capital of sailing and of precipitous urbanization.
E-mail | Bluesky | Google Scholar | ORCID

Mature

Andrea Fruitos, post-doctoral researcher funded by the International Organization for Vine and Wine.
Talk to her if you want to learn about agroecology, ecological intensification in vineyards, biological control, plant-pollinator interactions, and landscape ecology. Another true mendocina.
E-mail
Micaela Santos, post-doctoral researcher.
Mica studies ecological communities, landscape ecology, plant-animal and animal-animal interactions, interaction networks, and habitat networks. Born and raised in La Plata, a city planned from scratch to become the capital of Buenos Aires Province.
E-mail | Twitter
María Paula Pascual Tudanca, post-doctoral researcher funded by CONICET.
Her interests include community ecology, conservation ecology, ecological interactions, and exotic species. Born and raised in Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz, at (almost) the very tip of the continent. Understandably, she hates hot weather.
E-mail | Twitter
Florencia Yannelli, post-doctoral researcher funded by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany.
Flor studies the ecology of biological invasions, ecological restoration, plant-soil interactions, legacy effects, and conceptual ecology. Also born and raised in Mendoza, she has trotted the globe, studying and working for over a decade in Germany and South Africa.
E-mail | Twitter | Google Scholar | ORCID

Juvenile

Virginia Chirilá, doctoral student at UN Salta.
Vicky’s interests span community ecology, conservation ecology, landscape ecology, plant-animal interactions, environmental gradients, ecosystem management, and botany. Born, raised, and doing thesis field work in Cachi, Salta. Confusingly, she likes watching the night sky and being indoors.
E-mail | Twitter
David de la Cruz, doctoral student funded by CONICET.
David likes dirt and the little things that happen to live there (soil biodiversity), which he studies using tools of environmental DNA, ecological networks, and landscape ecology. He’s also into astrobiology and science communication. Venezuelan, partly raised in Colombia, slowly camouflaging as Argentinian.
E-mail | Twitter | Instagram
Mary dos Reis Diniz, doctoral student at UN Cuyo.
Mary works with plant-bee-parasitoid interactions, population and community ecology, ecological networks, solitary bees, and species distribution. Brazilian, born and raised in Cassilândia, Mato Grosso do Sul. And yes, she likes dancing.
E-mail | Twitter | Google Scholar

Embryonic

Gonzalo Di Carlo, undergraduate student, UN Cuyo.
Fearless and dilligent, Gonzalo is passionate about evolutionary biology, urban ecology and parasitism. Born in Mendoza, partly raised in Rosario, a man of two cities.
E-mail

Mutualist

Alejandra Medero, Principal Professional, CONICET.
Our technical guru, Ale assists us in all imaginable ways in the lab and in the field. Born and raised in Las Heras, Mendoza. She can make the world go round.
E-mail

Museum specimens (former lab members)

Undergraduate students

  • Belén Maldonado, 2009-2010
  • Marina Alma, 2012-2013
  • Juliana Arias, 2014
  • Juan Manuel Drack, 2016
  • María Paula Pascual Tudanca, 2019-2020
  • Yamila Leguizamón, 2019-2020
  • Leonardo Ríos, 2021-2022
  • Rosario Miranda, 2020-2022
  • Miranda Lede, 2021-2022

Doctoral students

  • Rodolfo Carrara, 2005-2009
  • Valeria Aschero, 2005-2011
  • Jimena Dorado, 2006-2012
  • Erica Stevani, 2008-2015
  • Silvina Velez, 2009-2013
  • Belén Maldonado, 2012-2017
  • Ana Mazzolari, 2012-2017
  • Nydia Vitale, 2010-2017
  • Micaela Santos, 2015-2020
  • Benjamin Schwarz, 2017-2021
  • Alisa (Lisi) Álvarez, 2019-2022
  • María Eugenia Vázquez Novoa, 2020-2025

Post-doctoral researchers

  • Natacha Chacoff, 2006-2008
  • Silvia Lomáscolo, 2008-2010
  • Juan Álvarez, 2008-2010
  • Verónica Chillo, 2012-2014
  • Natalia Schroeder, 2013-2015
  • Hugo Marrero, 2014-2017
  • Guadalupe Peralta, 2015-2017
  • Nydia Vitale, 2017-2021

CONICET researchers

  • Natacha Chacoff, 2008-2012
  • Ramiro Ovejero, 2016-2017
  • Jimena Dorado, 2015-2019
  • Natalia Schroeder, 2015-2020

Visitors

  • Benigno Padrón Méndez, visiting PhD student from Universidad de las Islas Baleares, Spain, 2006
  • Daniel García, visiting scientist from University of Oviedo, Spain, 2006
  • William (Bill) Morris, sabbatical visitor from Duke University, USA, 2007-2008
  • Luciano Cagnolo, visiting scientist from IMBIV (CONICET & UN Córdoba), Argentina, 2008
  • Rocío Castro Urgal, visiting PhD student from Universidad de las Islas Baleares, Spain, 2009
  • Fernanda Valdovinos, visiting PhD student from Universidad de Chile, 2010
  • Julian Resasco, visiting PhD student from University of Florida, USA, 2011
  • Nico Blüthgen, visiting scientist from University of Würzburg, Germany, 2011
  • Thomas Schmitt, visiting scientist from University of Würzburg, Germany, 2011
  • Joel Araújo Queiroz, visiting PhD student from Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil, 2012
  • Hugo Saiz, visiting PhD student from Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, CSIC, Spain, 2012
  • Jana Souza, visiting PhD student from Universidade Federal de Paraná, Brazil, 2012
  • Gretchen LeBuhn, sabbatical visitor from San Francisco State University, USA, 2016
  • Agustín Vitali, visiting PhD student from INIBIOMA (CONICET & UN Comahue), Argentina, 2019
  • Lara Quaglini, visiting PhD student from University of Milano, Italy, 2024
  • Patricia Moreno Colom, visiting PhD student from CIDE (CSIC & University of Valencia), Spain, 2024
  • Alicia Montesinos Navarro, visiting scientist from CIDE (CSIC & University of Valencia), Spain, 2024

Lab technicians and assistants

  • Erica Stevani, 2006-2008
  • Leticia Escudero, 2008
  • Nydia Vitale, 2008-2010
  • Georgina Amico, 2011-2015
  • Laura Dällenbach, 2017
The group in May 2022 (with some absences). From left to right: Micaela Santos, Virginia Chirilá, Florencia Miguel, Rosario Miranda, Diego Vázquez, Alisa Álvarez, Mary Diniz, María Pascual Tudanca, Miranda Lede. Photo credit: Pablo Villagra.
The group plus some visiting colleagues and friends in 2019 during the annual retreat in Pampa del Leoncito. From left to right: Eugenia Vázquez Novoa, Micaela Santos, Lisi Álvarez, María Pascual Tudanca, Nydia Vitale, Joana Haedo, Florencia Miguel, Hugo Marrero, Mariana Allasino, Virginia Chirilá and Diego Vázquez.
interactio_grupo_16-07-30_crop_bn
The group during the annual retreat in Ñacuñán Biosphere Reserve in July 2016. From left to right: Ana Mazzolari, Natalia Schroeder, Hugo Marrero, Belén Maldonado, Julia Tavella (visiting from Córdoba), Guadalupe Peralta, Nydia Vitale, Ramiro Ovejero, Micaela Santos, Juan Manuel Drack, Luciano Cagnolo (visiting from Córdoba), Diego Vázquez and Jimena Dorado.
interactio_grupo_bn
Farewell party for Silvia Lomáscolo in January 2014, with current and former lab members and their families.
The group in December 2009.
The group in 2006.