Francisco Emmanuel Mendez Castro
Researcher
+420380720377
francisco.mendez@ibot.cas.cz
I am interested in unveiling the role of spatial and ecological isolation in the biodiversity patterns of habitat islands. I am especially curious about how species-specific traits, such as mobility, persistence, and behavior are responsible for shaping distribution patterns of species. My expertise comprises entomology, canopy ecology, functional biogeography, and conservation.
Expertise:
entomology, canopy ecology, functional biogeography, and conservation.
Education:
2010-2016 Ph.D. at Institute of Applied Biotechnology and Ecology (INBIOTECA), Universidad Veracruzana (Mexico)
Employment:
Since 2022 Researcher at the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Czech Republic)
2019 -2021 Postdoc at the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Czech Republic)
2016-2019 Postdoc at Philipps-Universität Marburg (Germany)
Field experience:
Entomological sampling, Canopy sampling, Botanical surveys
Selected publications:
- Méndez-Castro et al. (2021) What defines insularity for plants in edaphic islands? Ecography. DOI: 10.1111/ecog.05650
- Méndez-Castro et al. (2020) Island‐biogeographic patterns of spider communities on epiphytes depend on differential space use among functional groups. Journal of Biogeography. DOI: 10.1111/jbi.13812
- Méndez-Castro et al. (2018) Islands in the trees: A biogeographic exploration of epiphyte-dwelling spiders. Journal of Biogeography. DOI: 10.1111/jbi.13422
- Méndez Castro FE & Rao D (2014) Spider diversity in epiphytes: Can shade coffee plantations promote the conservation of cloud forest assemblages? Biodiversity and Conservation. DOI 10.1007/s10531-014-0739-x
Research topics and projects:
I am currently working with Dr. Gianluigi Ottaviani and Dr. Jitka Klimesova (Institute of Botany CAS) on a GACR project about island biogeographic patterns of plants on edaphic islands. The focus of this project was to understand the role of geographic isolation on the taxonomic and functional diversity of habitat specialist plants occurring in three edaphic island-like systems (outcrops in the Czech Republic, Fens in Slovakia, and Mountaintops in Spain). We have already published two manuscripts from this project, one opinion paper in Trends in Plant Science and one forum paper in Ecography. This project will officially finish in December 2021; however, we will continue collaborating for the next two years to publish the remaining project-related manuscripts.