Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena
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Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena
Main Affiliation
Quito
Email
noraoleas@uti.edu.ec
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Scopus Author ID
12645534600

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Molecular Systematics of Threatened Seed Plant Species Endemic in the Caribbean Islands

2013 , Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena , Jestrow B. , Calonje M. , Peguero B. , Jiménez F. , Rodríguez-Peña R. , Oviedo R. , Santiago-Valentín E. , Meerow A.W. , Abdo M. , Maunder M. , Griffith M.P. , Francisco-Ortega J.

A review of available Caribbean Island red-lists species (CR and EN categories based on the IUCN guidelines from 2001, and E category established according to the IUCN guidelines from 1980) is presented. A database of over 1,300 endemic species that are either Critically Endangered or Endangered sensu IUCN was created. There are molecular systematic studies available for 112 of them. Six of these species (in six genera) are the only members of early divergent lineages that are sister to groups composed of a large number of clades. Seven of the species (in seven genera) belong to clades that have a small number of taxa but are sister to species/genus-rich clades. Ten of the species (in six genera) are sister to taxa restricted to South America or nested in clades endemic to this region. Fifty-seven of the species (in 35 genera) are sister to Caribbean Island endemic species. Erigeron belliastroides, an Endangered (EN) Cuban endemic, is sister to the Galapagos genus Darwiniothamnus. The phylogenetic placement of four of the threatened species resulted in changes in their taxonomic placement; they belong to polyphyletic or paraphyletic genera. © 2013 The New York Botanical Garden.

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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 , Martin Bustamante , Hugo Romero-Saltos , María Paulina Moreno-Armijos , Alan W. Meerow , Catalina Quintana

We report for the first time in Ecuador the small plant genus Pyrolirion Herb. (Amaryllidaceae). We identify several Ecuadorian populations of Pyrolirion tubiflorum (L’Hér.) 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 P. tubiflorum is provided, along with detailed photographs of some of the Ecuadorian examples of the species.

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A Comprehensive Database of Expert‐Curated Occurrences for the Genus Carex L. (Cyperaceae)

2025 , María Sanz‐Arnal , Pablo García‐Moro , Carmen Benítez‐Benítez , Marina Coca‐de‐la‐Iglesia , Angélica Gallego‐Narbón , Consolación Barciela , Fabrizio Bartolucci , Prabin Bhandari , Matthew Bradley , Asunción Cano , Antoine Derouaux , Sabina Donadío , Marcial Escudero , Mariela Fabbroni , Kerry A. Ford , Gabriele Galasso , Sebastian Gebauer , M. Socorro González‐Elizondo , David Hamon , Matthias H. Hoffmann , Xiao‐Feng Jin , Jacob Koopman , Bangze Li , Raúl Lois , Yi‐Fei Lu , Modesto Luceño , José Ignacio Márquez‐Corro , Santiago Martín‐Bravo , Attila Mesterházy , Mónica Míguez , Ana Morales‐Alonso , A. Muthama Muasya , Paulo Muñoz‐Schüler , Robert F. C. Naczi , Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena , Luciana Pereira‐Silva , Radomír Řepka , Anton A. Reznicek , Katie K. Sanbonmatsu , Enmily Sánchez , Daniel Spalink , Arne Strid , Pieter Vanormelingen , Filip Verloove , Karen L. Wilson , Okihito Yano , Shuren Zhang , Pedro Jiménez‐Mejías

Motivation: Geographic occurrences are essential for biodiversity studies, but publicly available repositories like GBIF often contain errors and biases, especially for taxonomically complex groups like Carex L. (Cyperaceae). This work provides an expert-curated global dataset of occurrences compiled from different sources to enhance data accuracy and usability. The final dataset includes 384,067 occurrences of 1790 Carex species. Main Types of Variables Contained: The dataset includes species occurrence records with geographic coordinates, taxonomic identifications, and curation flags (e.g., introduced, erroneous records). Spatial Location and Grain: The dataset covers a global scale, using the WGS84 projection. Spatial resolution is standardised to a minimum of three decimal degrees (~1 km, if possible). Time Period and Grain: Online records span from 1950 to 2020, but some manually georeferenced records are earlier (1850). There is also fieldwork data after 2020, specifically up to 2023. Major Taxa and Level of Measurement: Cyperaceae: Carex. Most records have species-level identification, and some of them are identified at subspecies or variety levels. Software Format: Data are supplied as comma-separated values files with UTF-8 encoding.

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Taxonomy based on science is necessary for global conservation

2018 , Thomson S.A. , Pyle R.L. , Ahyong S.T. , Alonso-Zarazaga M. , Ammirati J. , Araya J.F. , Ascher J.S. , Audisio T.L. , Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena

[No abstract available]

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Muddy boots beget wisdom: Implications for rare or endangered plant species distribution models

2019 , Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena , Feeley K.J. , Fajardo J. , Meerow A.W. , Gebelein J. , Francisco-Ortega J.

Species distribution models (SDMs) are popular tools for predicting the geographic ranges of species. It is common practice to use georeferenced records obtained from online databases to generate these models. Using three species of Phaedranassa (Amaryllidaceae) from the Northern Andes, we compare the geographic ranges as predicted by SDMs based on online records (after standard data cleaning) with SDMs of these records confirmed through extensive field searches. We also review the identification of herbarium collections. The species' ranges generated with corroborated field records did not agree with the species' ranges based on the online data. Specifically, geographic ranges based on online data were significantly inflated and had significantly different and wider elevational extents compared to the ranges based on verified field records. Our results suggest that to generate accurate predictions of species' ranges, occurrence records need to be carefully evaluated with (1) appropriate filters (e.g., altitude range, ecosystem); (2) taxonomic monographs and/or specialist corroboration; and (3) validation through field searches. This study points out the implications of generating SDMs produced with unverified online records to guide species-specific conservation strategies since inaccurate range predictions can have important consequences when estimating species' extinction risks. © 2019 by the authors.

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Population genetic structure of Phaedranassa cinerea Ravenna (Amaryllidaceae) and conservation implications

2025 , María Belén Buenaño , Carmen Ulloa Ulloa , Javier Francisco-Ortega , Alan W. Meerow , Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena

Background: Andean orography has shaped the endemism of plant species in montane forests, creating a mosaic of habitats in small and isolated areas. Understanding these endemic species' genetic diversity patterns is crucial for their conservation. Phaedranassa cinerea (Amaryllidaceae), a species restricted to the western Andes of Ecuador, is listed as “vulnerable” according to the IUCN criteria. This study seeks to determine whether there is genetic structure among and within Phaedranassa cinerea populations, estimate the timing of their genetic divergence, and recommend conservation strategies based on these genetic structure findings. Results: Using 13 microsatellites and a Bayesian approach, we analyzed the genetic differentiation of P. cinerea and possible diversification scenarios. Our results indicate that the genetic diversity of P. cinerea is lower than congeneric species. The Bayesian analysis identified two genetic groups, with no evidence of isolation by distance. Populations in the northwest of the Ecuadorean Andes have less allele richness compared to those in the southwest. Additionally, the species exhibits excess homozygosity and evidence of bottlenecks. Our Bayesian analysis suggests that the differentiation among populations was not older than 5,000 years and was as recent as 600 years ago for some of the populations. Based on the geographic distribution of the known populations, the species should be listed as endangered instead of vulnerable to extinction. Conclusions: Phaedranassa cinerea shows lower genetic diversity than related species, with the most variation within populations. We identified two to four genetic groups, suggesting recent divergence along the ridges of the western Andes. The findings suggest that conservation efforts should focus on securing genetic exchange between populations to preserve the genetic diversity of P. cinerea.

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chromosome data 46

2025 , Karol Marhold , Jaromír Kučera , Sayantika Banerjee , Igor V. Bartish , Carmen Benítez‐Benítez , Julio Rubén Daviña , Tomáš Dostálek , Lucas Mateo Escobar , Leonardo P. Felix , Kerry Ford , Pablo García‐Moro , Anahit G. Ghukasyan , Arneet Grewal , Aghunik V. Harutyunyan , Diego Hernán Hojsgaard , Ana Isabel Honfi , Pedro Jiménez‐Mejías , Xiao‐Feng Jin , Se‐Eun Jung , Satinder Kaur , Sangtae Kim , Ilia J. Leitch , Yi‐Fei Lu , Modesto Luceño , Mario Mairal , Terezie Mandáková , José Ignacio Márquez‐Corro , Santiago Martín‐Bravo , Eric Javier Martínez , Lora Yu. Martirosyan , Mónica Míguez , Ana Morales‐Alonso , Paulo Muñoz‐Schüler , Zuzana Münzbergová , Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena , Diego N. Penneckamp , Rubens T. Queiroz , Poonam Rani , Anna Verena Reutemann , Anton A. Reznicek , Rogelio Sánchez‐Villegas , Angeline M.S. Santos , María Sanz‐Arnal , Carolina Anyelen Sartor , Juan Sebastián Schneider , Merav Seifan , Karla M. Silva , Rosemere dos S. Silva , Vojtěch Zeisek

KM, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7658-0844; JK, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9983-7630; SB, https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1906-293X; IVB, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2909-6205; CB-B, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4956-0343; JRD, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1886-7521; TD, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3681-5223; LME, https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5746-6666; LPF, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9202-9828; KF, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3832-9835; PG-M, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8331-4771; AGG, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4580-2061; AG, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5355-9666; AVH, https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4791-3919; DHH, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8709-4091; AIH, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0915-2129; PJ-M, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2815-4477; X-FJ, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8195-6738; S-EJ, https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9358-7583; SKa, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8919-1856; SKi, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1821-4707; IJL, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3837-8186; Y-FL, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6095-3821; ML, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0336-4083; MMa, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6588-5634; TM, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6485-0563; JIM-C, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4277-2933; SM-B, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0626-0770; EJM, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7769-0199; LYuM, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9385-6462; MMí, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4321-2121; AM-A, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1497-1070; PM-S, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7070-4121; ZM, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4026-6220; NHO, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1948-4119; DNP, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0760-4128; RTQ, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2865-1668; PR, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0698-2757; AVR, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1043-4999; AAR, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9467-6225; RS-V, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9744-0306; AMSS, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8765-8291; MS-A, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0651-243X; CAS, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5374-4262; JSS, https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6921-8579; MS, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2830-5450; KMS, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2557-6386; RSS, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1838-6362; VZ, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3481-9367. © 2025 International Association for Plant Taxonomy.

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Evolutionary history of CAM photosynthesis in Neotropical Clusia: Insights from genomics, anatomy, physiology and climate

2022 , Luján, M. , Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena , Winter, K.

Clusia is a remarkable genus of Neotropical woody plants as its members engage in either C3 photosynthesis or employ, to varying degrees, crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis. Information about the evolutionary history of CAM in Clusia is scarce. Restriction site-associated sequencing of 64 species (20% of the genus) provided strong support for most of the previously recognized nine lineages. Ancestral reconstruction using maximum parsimony or maximum likelihood under a one-rate model suggested that CAM evolved at least four times independently from a most recent common ancestor (MRCA) with C3, whereas a maximum likelihood two-rate model suggested that CAM was already present in the MRCA followed by reversions to C3 in several lineages. Phylogenetic generalized least square analysis assessed variation in seven leaf anatomical traits and CAM activity measured as δ13C. Results indicate that CAM is highly correlated with palisade mesophyll layer thickness and cell size. In addition, correlation between 19 bioclimatic variables and δ13C was evaluated. It was found that CAM is positively correlated with habitats with a more severe dry season and greater precipitation seasonality. Since CAM is weakly and/or only periodically expressed in many Clusia spp., and thus not readily reflected in δ13C, future analysis of phylogenetically-informed CAM expression in Clusia must include physiological measurements such as CO2 exchange and/or diel changes in leaf acidity for each species under investigation. © 2021 The Linnean Society of London,.

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Water quality assessment of the cutuchi river basin (Ecuador): A review of technical documents

2021 , Zapata D. , Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena , Páez-Vacas, Mónica , Tobes, Ibon

The Cutuchi River Basin extends over the inter-Andean valley south of the Cotopaxi Volcano, in Ecuador. It flows through two provinces, Cotopaxi and Tungurahua, and its waters are extensively used to irrigate crops that provide food to the main cities in the country. Unfortunately, the basin receives untreated domestic and industrial discharges. The need for an environmental quality assessment of the river has been acknowledged over the years. The aim of this study is to gather information about water quality of the Cutuchi River through a historical bibliographic review. A total of 57 works published between 2007 and 2018 were found, including books, articles, thesis and project reports. Only 18 documents provided biological, physical, or chemical data linked to water quality. The data obtained through the literature review were compared with maximum thresholds from national and international regulations. Unfortunately, revised studies were scattered on time and randomly along the basin and did not provide robust information to evaluate the state of the water-system. Some contamination was detected significantly exceeding safety thresholds. More exhaustive studies along the basin are needed as a baseline to help the decision makers to design management plans and mitigate human impacts. © 2020 Institute of Physics Publishing. All rights reserved.

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Community voices: the importance of diverse networks in academic mentoring

2022 , Deanna, R. , Merkle, B.G. , Chun, K.P. , Navarro-Rosenblatt, D. , Baxter, I. , Oleas Gallo, Nora Helena , Bortolus, A. , Geesink, P. , Diele-Viegas, L. , Aschero, V. , de Leone, M.J. , Oliferuk, S. , Zuo, R. , Cosacov, A. , Grossi, M. , Knapp, S. , Lopez-Mendez, A. , Welchen, E. , Ribone, P. , Auge, G.

[No abstract available]

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