Paola Angélica Sáez González
Actual occupation: PhD Student
Institution: Universidad de Chile
Research on: Evolutionary patterns of amphibians in Andean Altiplano
Educational Background:
2015 – Present. PhD. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Universidad de Chile
2010–2012. MSc, Universidad de Chile. Dissertation title: “Evolutionary relationships of Telmatobius (Anura: Telmatobiidae) genus from Chilean Altiplano”. Advisors: Marco Méndez and Patricia Iturra.
Research Interest: My main research interests are population genetics and systematics of the genus Telmatobius, to respond questions about the patterns and processes of diversification of this group of amphibians in the Andean Altiplano. My research has involved the use of DNA sequences for phylogenetic and phylogeographic inferences. Beside my main research, I am interested in conservation genetics, especially due to the strong pressures that the fresh water species inhabiting the Altiplano are subject to by water extraction for human activities. I am currently working on the complex Telmatobius marmoratus to elucidate its historical processes that could be responsible for their geographical distributions.
Publications:
Fabres AA, Valladares MA, Sáez PA, Collado GA, Pastenes LE & Méndez MA. 2020. Novel microsatellite markers for an endangered freshwater snail, Heleobia atacamensis (Caenogastropoda: Cochliopidae), from the Atacama Saltpan. Molluscan Research. DOI: 10.1080/13235818.2020.1775367
Fibla P, Serrano JM, Cruz-Jofré F, Fabres A, Ramírez F, Sáez P, Otalora K & Méndez MA. 2019. Evidence of predation on the Helmeted water toad Calyptocephalella gayi (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) by the invasive African clawed frog Xenopus laevis (Daudin 1802). Gayana. Accepted
Fibla P, Sáez PA, Salinas H, Araya C, Sallaberry M & Méndez MA. 2017. The taxonomic status of two Telmatobius frog species (Anura: Telmatobiidae) from the western Andean slopes of northernmost Chile. Zootaxa. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4250.4.1
Victoriano P, Muñoz-Mendoza C, Sáez PA, Salinas H, Sallaberry M, Fibla P & Méndez MA. 2015. Evolution and conservation on top of the world: Phylogeography of the Marbled Water Frog in protected areas of Chile. Journal of Heredity. DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esv039
Sáez PA, Fibla P, Correa C, Sallaberry M, Salinas H, Veloso A, Mella J, Iturra P & Méndez MA. 2014. A new endemic lineage of the Andean frog genus Telmatobius (Anura, Telmatobiidae) from the western slopes of the central Andes. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12152
Gallardo CE, Correa C, Morales P, Sáez PA, Pastenes L & Méndez MA. 2012. Validation of a cheap and simple non-destructive method for obtaining mitochondrial and nuclear markers in amphibians. Molecular Ecology Resource. DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.12013
Contact e-mail: paolasaezg@gmail.com
Awards: PhD Scholarship:
CONICYT-PCHA Doctorado Nacional 2016-21161242 and SOCEVOL.
Memberships:
Sociedad Chilena de Evolución (SOCEVOL). Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE)
Further information:
Hobby and interest: Nature, bird watching, sports.