Herpetology laboratory
Research is conducted on morphological, systematic, and ecological aspects of amphibians and reptiles from Buenos Aires and other parts of the country through field techniques, including capture and recapture of specimens for studies on trophic ecology, abundance, population density, size distribution, and habitat use, among others.
WHAT TASKS DO WE CARRY OUT?
Among the tasks carried out, environmental aspects and their relationship with different impact situations on herpetofaunal assemblages are evaluated. Research is also conducted on the diversity and abundance of herpetofauna in various areas of Buenos Aires Pampas in relation to different land uses, studying, for example, the impacts of urbanization on populations of freshwater turtles in the region.
RESEARCH LINES
- Ecology, systematics, and morphology of herpetofauna in general (turtles, snakes, frogs, and toads).
- Neo-ecosystems or hybrid ecosystems and their impact on the distribution and abundance of herpetofauna.
- Distribution and population genetics in freshwater turtles and their impact on conservation.
FIELD ACTIVITIES
MEMBERS
Leandro Alcalde
UNLP. CONICET Independent Researcher
and their role in biodiversity conservation
in northeastern Buenos Aires.””
Paula Caram
Candela Betbede
Francisco López Ferreira
Publications
Semeñiuk, MB, Cassano MJ, Sánchez RM, Palumbo EO & Alcalde L. 2020. Where are the turtles when they are not? Underwater refuges used by Hydromedusa tectifera COPE, 1869 in a suburban stream. Urban Ecosystems 23: 1289-1297.
Di Pietro DO, Williams JD, Cabrera MR, Alcalde L, Cajade R & Kacoliris FP. 2020. Resource partitioning in a snake assemblage from east-central Argentina. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 92: 1-22.
Palumbo E, Cassano MJ, Alcalde L & Diaz JI. 2021. Seasonal variation of Hedruris dratini (Nematoda) parasitizing Hydromedusa tectifera (Chelidae), with focus on host’s torpor state. BMC Zoology 6:10.
Sánchez RM, Semeñiuk MB, Cassano MJ & Alcalde L. 2021. Diet variation of the South American snake-necked turtle (Hydromedusa tectifera) from two different urban neighboring streams. North-Western Journal of Zoology 17: 212-219.
Alcalde L, Sánchez MR & Pritchard PCH. 2021. Hydromedusa tectifera Cope 1870– South American Snake-necked Turtle, Argentine Snake-necked Turtle, Tortuga Cuello de Vibora, Cágado Pescoço de Cobra. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Iverson, J.B., van Dijk, P.P., Stanford, C.B., Goode, E.V., Buhlmann, K.A., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs 5 (Installment 15): 113.1-17.
Gómez N, Siri A, Rodrígues Capítulo L, Colautti DC, Alcalde L, Rodrígues Capítulo A, Donato M, Álvarez MF, García de Souza JR, Jensen RF, Bauer DE, Maroñas M, Paredes del Puerto JM, Altieri P, Armendáriz LC , Benitez HH, Cassano MJ, Cortese B, Di Giorgi HD, Donadelli JL, Nicolosi Gelis MM, García ID, Maiztegui T, Paracampo AH, Sánchez RM, Sathicq MB & Rodríguez Catanzaro LNS. 2022. Effects of urban demand for food and water on physicochemicals and biotic structure of riverine wetlands in the Pampean plain. Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology 22: 355-369.
Cassano MJ & Alcalde L. 2022. Diet and hábitat of the Scorpion Mud Turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides scorpioides) in the southern limit of the species’ distribution (Argentina). Chelonian Conservation and Biology 21: 232-245.
Sansineña JA, Plaul SE, Bahl MF, Piccinini A, Laube PFA, Alcalde L & Natale GS. 2023. High frequency of larval abnormalities of the toad Rhinella Arenarum (Anura: Bufonidae) in an Argentinian agroecosystem. Revista de Biología Tropical 71 (e-51733): 1-13
Oser FL, Sansiñena JA, Alcalde L & Natale GS. 2023. Análisis morfológico de un caso de polimelia en Rhinella dorbignyi (Anura: Bufonidae). Cuadernos de Herpetología 37:213-218.
Palumbo EO, Alcalde L, Bonino M, Lescano J, Montes M, Solari A & Días JI. 2024. Closing the knowledge gap: Helminth parasites of freshwater turtles from the Chaco-Pampa Plain, Southern South America. Journal of Helminthology 98, e30: 1-15.
Alcalde L & Rodríguez Allo L. 2023. Notas acerca de una población de mariposa Bandera Argentina (Morpho epistrophus argentinus) y lista preliminar de lepidópteros registrados en la futura reserva Bosque Las Banderitas (City Bell – Buenos Aires). Notulas Faunisticas 13: 127-133.
Cassano MJ, Ezquiaga MC, Gullo BS & Alcalde L. 2024. Parasitic and Commensal Epibionts of the Chaco Side-necked Turtle (Acanthochelys pallidipectoris) and the Scorpion Mud Turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides scorpioides) in Argentina. South American Journal of Herpetology, in press.