Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena

Preferred name

Main Affiliation

Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático

Quito

noraoleas@uti.edu.ec

ORCID

0000-0002-1948-4119

Scopus Author ID

12645534600

Now showing 1 - 10 of 38

Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Compiling and analyzing the non-native flora of a megadiverse Neotropical country: a new catalogue for continental Ecuador
(2025)
Ileana Herrera
;
Anahí Vargas
;
Kimberly Rizzo
;
Zhofre Aguirre
;
Isabella Dillon
In this study, we provide a comprehensive and updated inventory of the non-native vascular flora of continental Ecuador and analyze its key biogeographic and ecological attributes to inform biological invasion management. We recorded 486 non-native wild plant taxa, 52% of which are naturalized and 48% casual. This inventory was primarily based on secondary data (published literature, scientific reports, and online databases) and enriched through fieldwork and expert consultations. It includes information on taxonomy, life form, lifespan, origin, first year of record, and spatial-temporal distribution. The most represented families were Poaceae (16%), Asteraceae (10%), and Fabaceae (9%). About 60% of the taxa originated from Asia and/or Africa, and 67% are herbs. The earliest introductions date back to the late 18<jats:sup>th</jats:sup> century, with an exponential increase beginning in ca. 1915. Only 13% of the taxa have a minimum residence time exceeding 125 years. The Andes accounted for the highest number of taxa (93%, including taxa shared with other regions). Nearly 80% of the non-native taxa have documented uses, most commonly ornamental (42%) and medicinal (38%). Naturalized taxa tended to have longer residence times and more frequently reported uses than casual ones, suggesting these traits may influence naturalization likelihood. Due to limited systematic sampling across the country, particularly outside the Central Andes, some spatial bias may exist. However, the integration of citizen science-derived data, a methodological innovation in our study, proved to be a promising approach for addressing knowledge gaps and improving detection efforts in regions with limited research capacity. Our findings offer a foundation for advancing the management of biological invasions in Ecuador through early detection, rapid response (EDRR), and species prioritization. Finally, we provide a practical, adaptable and replicable framework, based on citizen science and appropriate statistical analyses, for developing national inventories of non-native plant species in data-deficient countries.
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
From smartphones to satellites: Integrating citizen science and high-resolution environmental data for mapping plant invasions in urban mountain landscapes
(Elsevier BV, 2026-11)
Bonilla Bedoya, Santiago
;
Salazar-Valenzuela, David
;
Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena
;
Buenaño, María Belén
;
Quijano-Abril, Mario
Predicting the distribution of invasive species in urban mountain ecosystems is important for biodiversity conservation and effective management. We developed a sequential two-stage species distribution modelling framework to characterize habitat suitability for the invasive vine Thunbergia alata in the Metropolitan District of Quito and to evaluate the contribution of citizen science records, systematic field surveys, and multi-source environmental data. In the first stage, 637 iNaturalist occurrence records retained after quality control were combined with 12 bioclimatic variables from WorldClim to develop a preliminary MaxEnt model. The resulting habitat suitability map was classified into five categories and used to design a stratified field survey across the predicted suitability gradient. We sampled 1009 locations, obtaining 450 confirmed presences and 559 independent absence records. In the second stage, the field-derived occurrence data were used to develop a refined MaxEnt model incorporating the bioclimatic variables together with elevation, slope, land cover, VIIRS nighttime lights, NDVI, and the red spectral band. Environmental predictors were standardized to a common 5 m. spatial resolution and screened for multicollinearity. Both models were evaluated using receiver-operating characteristic analyses and AUC, with 10 replicate runs and 25% of occurrence records withheld for testing. Mean AUC values were 0.851 ± 0.012 and 0.902 ± 0.008 for the preliminary and refined models, respectively. In the preliminary model, habitat suitability was primarily associated with broad-scale climatic variables, particularly precipitation seasonality and temperature-related variables. In the refined model, nighttime light intensity and elevation showed the highest contributions and permutation importance, while NDVI and climatic variables also contributed to model predictions. Independent field validation showed that 47.2% of absence observations occurred in the two lowest suitability classes, whereas 33.5% occurred in areas classified as highly or very highly suitable. The refined model therefore captured substantial spatial variation in habitat suitability while also revealing areas of mismatch between predicted suitability and field observations. These results demonstrate the value of sequentially integrating citizen science, systematic field observations, and fine-resolution environmental predictors to improve invasive species mapping. This framework provides a practical approach for supporting targeted monitoring and management of invasive plants in complex urban mountain ecosystems. © 2026 The Authors.
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Compiling and analyzing the non-native flora of a megadiverse Neotropical country: a new catalogue for continental Ecuador
(2025)
Ileana Herrera
;
Anahí Vargas
;
Kimberly Rizzo
;
Zhofre Aguirre
;
Isabella Dillon
In this study, we provide a comprehensive and updated inventory of the non-native vascular flora of continental Ecuador and analyze its key biogeographic and ecological attributes to inform biological invasion management. We recorded 486 non-native wild plant taxa, 52% of which are naturalized and 48% casual. This inventory was primarily based on secondary data (published literature, scientific reports, and online databases) and enriched through fieldwork and expert consultations. It includes information on taxonomy, life form, lifespan, origin, first year of record, and spatial-temporal distribution. The most represented families were Poaceae (16%), Asteraceae (10%), and Fabaceae (9%). About 60% of the taxa originated from Asia and/or Africa, and 67% are herbs. The earliest introductions date back to the late 18<jats:sup>th</jats:sup> century, with an exponential increase beginning in ca. 1915. Only 13% of the taxa have a minimum residence time exceeding 125 years. The Andes accounted for the highest number of taxa (93%, including taxa shared with other regions). Nearly 80% of the non-native taxa have documented uses, most commonly ornamental (42%) and medicinal (38%). Naturalized taxa tended to have longer residence times and more frequently reported uses than casual ones, suggesting these traits may influence naturalization likelihood. Due to limited systematic sampling across the country, particularly outside the Central Andes, some spatial bias may exist. However, the integration of citizen science-derived data, a methodological innovation in our study, proved to be a promising approach for addressing knowledge gaps and improving detection efforts in regions with limited research capacity. Our findings offer a foundation for advancing the management of biological invasions in Ecuador through early detection, rapid response (EDRR), and species prioritization. Finally, we provide a practical, adaptable and replicable framework, based on citizen science and appropriate statistical analyses, for developing national inventories of non-native plant species in data-deficient countries.
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Phylogeny of Weinmannia (Cunoniaceae) reveals the contribution of the southern extratropics to tropical Andean biodiversity
(2025)
Ricardo A. Segovia
;
Eduardo Aguirre-Mazzi
;
Christine E. Edwards
;
Alexander G. Linan
;
Alfredo Fuentes
The Andes are a relatively young mountain range with impressive biodiversity, but the biogeographic processes underlying its hyperdiversity are still being unraveled. Novel mid- to high-elevation climates may have served as a biological corridor for the immigration of temperate-adapted lineages to more equatorial latitudes, contributing unknown levels of diversity to this region. We tested the hypothesis that Weinmannia is a lineage of extratropical origin that recently reached and then diversified extensively in the tropical Andes. Using a 2bRAD seq approach to generate a time-calibrated phylogeny for the genus, we found that extratropical species were placed as sister to the rest of Weinmannia and that younger clades were distributed towards more equatorial latitudes. Although Weinmannia exhibited low niche conservatism in elevation and latitude, trait reconstructions of climatic variables showed that the common ancestor of Weinmannia occupied cool climates, with high conservatism of thermal and water availability niche across the phylogeny. Thus, Andean uplift likely created habitats with suitable environmental conditions, providing a dispersal route for extant Weinmannia to colonize the tropical Andes from the southern extratropics. These southern lineages likely converged with those originating in other tropical and extratropical centers of diversification, providing multiple origins for the hyperdiversity in the modern montane forests of the tropical Andes.
35
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Genotyping‐by‐sequencing informs conservation of Andean palms sources of non‐timber forest products
(2024)
Nicolás Peñafiel Loaiza
;
Abigail H. Chafe
;
Mónica Moraes R
;
Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena
;
Julissa Roncal
Conservation and sustainable management of lineages providing non‐timber forest products are imperative under the current global biodiversity loss. Most non‐timber forest species, however, lack genomic studies that characterize their intraspecific variation and evolutionary history, which inform species' conservation practices. Contrary to many lineages in the Andean biodiversity hotspot that exhibit high diversification, the genus <jats:italic>Parajubaea</jats:italic> (Arecaceae) has only three species despite the genus' origin 22 million years ago. Two of the three palm species, <jats:italic>P. torallyi</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>P. sunkha</jats:italic>, are non‐timber forest species endemic to the Andes of Bolivia and are listed as IUCN endangered. The third species, <jats:italic>P. cocoides</jats:italic>, is a vulnerable species with unknown wild populations. We investigated the evolutionary relationships of <jats:italic>Parajubaea</jats:italic> species and the genetic diversity and structure of wild Bolivian populations. Sequencing of five low‐copy nuclear genes (3753 bp) challenged the hypothesis that <jats:italic>P. cocoides</jats:italic> is a cultigen that originated from the wild Bolivian species. We further obtained up to 15,134 de novo single‐nucleotide polymorphism markers by genotyping‐by‐sequencing of 194 wild <jats:italic>Parajubaea</jats:italic> individuals. Our total DNA sequencing effort rejected the taxonomic separation of the two Bolivian species. As expected for narrow endemic species, we observed low genetic diversity, but no inbreeding signal. We found three genetic clusters shaped by geographic distance, which we use to propose three management units. Different percentages of missing genotypic data did not impact the genetic structure of populations. We use the management units to recommend in situ conservation by creating new protected areas, and ex situ conservation through seed collection.
18
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Recent diversification in the high Andes: Unveiling the evolutionary history of the Ecuadorian hillstar, Oreotrochilus chimborazo (Apodiformes: Trochilidae)
(2021)
Bonaccorso E.
;
Rodríguez-Saltos C.A.
;
Freile J.F.
;
Peñafiel N.
;
Rosado-Llerena L.
Studying the genetic signatures of evolutionary diversification in young lineages is among the most promising approaches for unveiling the processes behind speciation. Here, we focus on Oreotrochilus chimborazo, a high Andean species of hummingbird that might have experienced rapid diversification in the recent past. To understand the evolution of this species, we generated a dataset of ten microsatellite markers and complementary data on morphometrics, plumage variation and ecological niches. We applied a series of population and coalescent-based analyses to understand the population structure and differentiation within the species, in addition to the signatures of current and historical gene flow, the location of potential contact zones and the relationships among lineages. We found that O. chimborazo comprises three genetic groups: one corresponding to subspecies O. c. chimborazo, from Chimborazo volcano and surroundings, and two corresponding to the northern and southern ranges of subspecies O. c. jamesonii, found from the extreme south of Colombia to southern Ecuador. We inferred modest levels of both contemporary and historical gene flow and proposed the location of a contact zone between lineages. Also, our coalescent-based analyses supported a rapid split among these three lineages during the mid-to-late Holocene. We discuss our results in the light of past and present potential distributions of the species, in addition to evolutionary trends seen in other Andean hummingbirds. © 2021 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.
28
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Population Dynamics of the Endangered Plant, Phaedranassa tunguraguae, from the Tropical Andean Hotspot
(2012)
Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena
;
Meerow A.W.
;
Francisco-Ortega J.
The Tropical Andes is a diversity hotspot for plants, but there is a scant knowledge about patterns of genetic variation within its constituent species. Phaedranassa tunguraguae is an IUCN endangered plant species endemic to a single valley in the Ecuadorian Andes. We estimate the levels of genetic differentiation across the geographic distribution of P. tunguraguae using 12 microsatellite loci. We discuss factors that might influence the genetic structure of this species. Genetic distance was used to evaluate relationship among populations and geographic patterns. Bayesian methods were used to investigate population structure, migration, evidence of recent bottlenecks, and time of divergence. The 7 populations form 2 genetic clusters. These clusters show highly significant differentiation between them, along with isolation by distance. Allele richness decreases from the most diverse westernmost population to the least diverse easternmost population. The species overall shows an excess of homozygotes, with highest levels of inbreeding in the easternmost population. We found evidence of recent bottleneck events. Migration rates were in general low but were higher between populations within each of the clusters. Time of divergence between populations was related to historical volcanic activity in the area. Based on our results, we propose 2 management units for P. tunguraguae. © The American Genetic Association. 2012. All rights reserved.
Scopus© Citations 10 34
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Carex huancabambica (Cyperaceae), a new species from the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Andes
(2025)
Luis González-Gallego
;
Carmen Benítez-Benítez
;
Anton A. Reznicek
;
Asunción Cano
;
Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena
The Huancabamba Depression in Neotropical South America, a natural barrier between the Northern and Central Andes, serves as a refuge for high levels of angiosperm diversity. However, this biodiversity remains understudied, especially in complex and species-rich genera, such as Carex L. (Cyperaceae). This genus is notably underrepresented in taxonomic and systematic research on the Neotropics. In this study, we employed an integrative systematic approach combining molecular and morphological data to elucidate the taxonomic status of several Carex populations from Ecuador and northern Peru, which exhibit morphological affinities with the sect. Porocystis Dumort. (Castanea Clade). We conducted a phylogenetic analysis using two nuclear (ITS and ETS) and one plastid (matK) DNA regions and carried out a detailed morphological comparison with Neotropical relatives within the section. Both phylogenetic and morphological results supported the systematic distinctiveness of the focal populations. As a result, we describe a new species, Carex huancabambica Gonz.Gallego & Jim.Mejías, sp. nov. and provide its taxonomic treatment. This study contributes to disentangling the biodiversity of the genus Carex in the Neotropics.
10
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
First records of the genus Pyrolirion Herb. (Liliopsida, Asparagales, Amaryllidaceae) in Ecuador
(2025)
Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena
;
Lou Jost
;
Ricardo Zambrano C.
;
Cristian Guzmán Torres
;
Jorge Heredia
We report for the first time in Ecuador the small plant genus <jats:italic>Pyrolirion</jats:italic> Herb. (Amaryllidaceae). We identify several Ecuadorian populations of <jats:italic>Pyrolirion tubiflorum</jats:italic> (L&rsquo;H&eacute;r.) M. Roem. located in four provinces along the Ecuadorian Andes. This species has been previously recorded in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. An updated description of <jats:italic>P. tubiflorum</jats:italic> is provided, along with detailed photographs of some of the Ecuadorian examples of the species.
16
Some of the metrics are blocked by your
consent settings
Typification of names of Weinmannia (Cunoniaceae) of species described by José Cuatrecasas from Colombian collections
(2025)
Carmen Ulloa Ulloa
;
Andrea Chaspuengal-Morales
;
Francisco Fajardo-Gutiérrez
;
Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena
We propose 18 new lectotype designations for names of <jats:italic>Weinmannia</jats:italic>, five of which are second-step typifications involving four inadvertent first-step lectotype designations, and 13 of them are designations of one single duplicate at the herbarium where deposited. José Cuatrecasas described all, but one, of the taxa from collections made in Colombia. We clarify the lectotypification for <jats:italic>Weinmannia parvifoliolata</jats:italic> Cuatrec. Finally, we propose one lectotype designation for <jats:italic>W. cochensis</jats:italic> described by Georg Hieronymus.
12

Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena

Filters

Settings

Sort By

Results per page