Eugenia Zarza
@eugeniazarza.bsky.social
Researcher @ECOSUR, Mexico. Interested in studying biodiversity, evolution, bioinformatics; IUCN Iguana Specialist Group
A new preprint about genetic diversity indicators applied in Mexico
bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 5d agoChallenges and opportunities for integrating genetic diversity monitoring in megadiverse countries: reflections from Mexico https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.26.754592v1
I found interesting insects last weekend: one of the largest butterflies I’ve seen, and the tiniest mantis I’ve seen 🦋🇲🇽
One of my students got me a delicious cold chocolate to celebrate I got promoted to level II in the National System of Researchers 🇲🇽.
One of my students defended his MSc thesis today! He investigated the gut microbiota of spiny tailed iguanas from southern Mexico.🦎🧬🧪
The tectonic plates under my feet have been very active! We have had 1473 aftershocks following the M7.1 earthquake on July 17. 😬🌎
Crazy seismic activity this morning : a strong 7.4 earthquake followed by three aftershocks between 4.5 - 6.5. Too much adrenaline!
Happy World Snake Day! Sharing this tiny beautiful blind snake - possibly an introduced Indotyphlops, the smallest snake species (5 - 10 cm) 🧪🌎🐍
Our latest paper! We compared the genomes of 4 bacteria isolated from earthworms living in vermicompost. They have several genes coding for enzymes that degrade hemicellulose. Very useful for waste management in local coffe and oil palm plantations 🦠🧬🧪 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Comparative genomic analysis of hemicellulose-degrading potential in bacterial isolates from the anterior intestine of Eisenia andrei (Bouché, 1972) - Archives of Microbiology
Earthworms and their associated microbiota can degrade various types of lignocellulosic residues, but the enzymes, carbohydrate-binding modules, and sugar transporters involved in this process remain ...
link.springer.com
Finishing our bioinformatics course at ECOSUR! We got a group of students with a wide range of interests: native bee and earthworm gut microbiota, orchid genetics, bacterial diversity in water 🧬🧪👩🏽💻🇲🇽
My colleagues from the Iguana Specialist Group created these cool cards with Iguanas from countries playing in the current tournament. Today's match: Galápagos pink land iguana (Ecuador) vs Oaxacan spiny-tailed iguana (Mexico)! 🦎🧪⚽
Happy to have contributed to this work on metagenomics during the fermenting process of artisinal Mezcal, a culturally important drink in Mexico made with Agave. "Para todo mal mezcal, para todo bien, también" (con moderación 😉) 🧬🧪🦠 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Environmental contributors to bacterially dominated fermenting consortia of artisanal Mezcal - BMC Microbiology
The production of spontaneously fermented beverages worldwide relies on native microorganisms acquired incidentally through cross-contamination from environmental reservoirs. We examined the microbiot...
link.springer.com
I couldn’t get any closer to this Black iguana male to get a better pic. Can you see the female’s head sticking out from the grass?
Surviving the last meeting of the day after two very busy weeks of marking course work, preparing and submitting CV for an important evaluation and organizing my son’s birthday party … I want my cat’s lifestyle 👩🏽🔬
Happy birthday, David Attenborough! Thanks for narrating this "near miraculous escape" !! 🦎vs 🐍 youtu.be/rGpuxOr3QCc?...
Iguana vs Snakes | 4K UHD | Planet Earth II | BBC Earth
YouTube video by BBC Earth
youtu.be
Jamaican Rock Iguana made it to Round 2 of The Indianapolis Zoo Uproar Conservation Challenge! You can vote once each day on each device, but MUST vote for all pairs for your vote to count! 📣Vote at UproarChallenge.com uproar.indianapoliszoo.com 🦎🌎 #IiF #IUCN-ISG
Happy that we finally produced some data with the @nanoporetech.com Minion in our lab! It took months of admin and logistics. Now we know the path, hope it’s easier next time. This is my student showing some genera that are part of the black iguana microbiome! 🦎🦠🧬🧪
Did you know Achoque salamanders have 'superpowers'? www.facebook.com/reel/9090647... Laboratorio de Biología Acuática (who we support) have made a beautiful video about these astonishing but Critically Endangered amphibians. Click to watch! The art starts at 35s in. 🌎🦎
1.1K views · 40 reactions | Proyecto Achoque: Libro de Artista Colectivo Del 08 al 13 de Agosto del 2022, se llevó a cabo el Taller del Libro de Artista Colectivo en el Municipio de Quiroga, Michoacá...
Proyecto Achoque: Libro de Artista Colectivo Del 08 al 13 de Agosto del 2022, se llevó a cabo el Taller del Libro de Artista Colectivo en el Municipio de Quiroga, Michoacán, el cual tuvo como...
facebook.com
Working hard on International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Lucky to have the opportunity to study lots of animal species, their DNA, and even their bacteria! #11F 🧬🦎🐜🦠🧪👩🏽🔬
Buscamos personas interesad@s en estudiar la biodiversidad de eucariontes con métodos basados en DNA ambiental #eDNA. Consulta la convocatoria de maestría en ECOSUR (México): www.ecosur.mx/posgrado/con... Para más información contacta a Dra. Eugenia Zarza: eugenia.zarza@ecosur.mx 🧪🌎🧬🐟🐜🪲🪱🍄🐭
We´re seeing a similar paradox in Mexico. Green iguanas are native and protected by the environmental law, but there are new populations outside their original range (e.g. Baja California Peninsula). Besides the ecological issues, this confuses the general public. 🦎🌎
Environmental Conservation@envconsjournal.bsky.social · 9mo ago'The green iguana paradox: balancing conservation, trade and ecological security in invasive species management' Read this new Comment article online as FirstView in #EnvironmentalConservation #biosecurity #greeniguana #iguanas #ecology #invasivespecies 🌐 🌎 🦎 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
I really enjoyed Costa’s book and learning how Wallace had an impact on many scientific fields. Happy birthday Wallace!
juli g pausas@jgpausas.bsky.social · 9mo ago#OTD in 1823, Alfred R Wallace was born. He independently co-discovered the "Darwin-Wallace" theory of evolution by natural selection, & much more! Suggested reading: Costa's book (2023 @princetonupress.bsky.social) Summary: jgpausas.blogs.uv.es/2024/01/06/h... 🧪🌍💙📚👀📅🗃️ #histsci #ecoevo
I was happy to see my two favourite volcanoes again: Popocatepetl (left, active, 5,393 m, Smoking Mountain in Nahuatl) and Iztaccíhuatl (right, dormant, 5,230 m, White Woman in Nahuatl). However it’s worrying that the glaciers are quickly disappearing 🗻🇲🇽 #climatechange
Merry Christmas from Axolotl lake, Xochimilco 🇲🇽. Sadly very few axolotls are left in the wild. We visited an “ajolotario” and saw these two cute guys. 🌎🐸
My first PhD student graduated! I’m proud of his work on wastewater viral metagenomics! He detected a wide diversity of plant viruses in our tropical region. 🧪🧬🦠🌱
Went for a run early enough to catch the Tacaná volcano silhouette against the sunrise colours. It is an active volcano but it has been calm for almost 40 years, I hope it continues like that 🌋🇲🇽
