The Plant Evolutionary Biology Laboratory

Welcome to the Plant Evolutionary Biology Laboratory at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico!

I am Yalma L. Vargas-Rodriguez, a Professor based at the University of Guadalajara and the Principal Investigator of the laboratory. I am a member of the National Research System (Mexico, CONACyT). I earned my doctoral and master degree at the Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, USA). 

I am broadly interested in historical and contemporary factors that influence plant species distribution and genetic diversity. I apply descriptive and multivariate techniques to answer questions about plant communities' distribution and environmental variables related to species presence. I adopt molecular and bioinformatics tools to study the evolutionary conditions that have promoted genetic and phenotypic diversity, within an historical, geographic, and climatic context. I combine this knowledge to establish conservation guidelines for tree populations.

#currently working on

#reproductive biology of maples

#bioinformatics tools to analyze next-gen data

#molecular markers and phylogeography of basswoods

#taxonomy of oaks

#and

#botanical gardens

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I am happy to announce that I am an Editor of The International Maple Society Newsletter, staring Fall 2022, and,

a Council Member of The Society of Systematic Biologists, term 2023-2025.

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