Eduardo T. Mezquida
I collaborated on a project on the taxonomy of microarthropods in Spain, but I soon focused my research interests on the ecology of birds participating in a project on the breeding and feeding ecology of a bird species in southern Spain. During my PhD research, I studied the breeding ecology of a bird assemblage in an arid area of western Argentina under the supervision of Dr. Luis Marone. This study included basic aspects of the breeding ecology of this poorly known avifauna. This mostly descriptive work was a necessary first step for testing hypotheses and planning realistic as well as biologically meaning experiments. I also evaluated the role of nest predation as a potential selective pressure for life history trait evolution and the selection of nest sites. During my stay in Argentina, I had the opportunity to collaborate on a project that Dr. Tom Martin conducted on the reproductive ecology of birds in a temperate area of South America. In Spain, I participated with some colleagues in the study of bird communities in forests and reedbeds of central Spain. Topics of this research included: movements and migration, biometry, habitat use, and community ecology.
Recently, my research interests have focused on animal-plant interactions. As a post-doctoral fellow at New Mexico State University and the University of Wyoming I conducted a project evaluating reciprocal selection and coevolution between Common (Red) Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) and Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) in the Mediterranean. I have more recently completed a project on crossbills and mountain pine (Pinus uncinata) in the Pyrenees and in isolated ranges to the south to further address the importance of and conditions favoring coevolution between crossbills and Mediterranean pines. I continue working on this and other systems in Spain. I teach at the Polytechnic University of Madrid.
Publications:
Benkman C. W., T. L. Parchman, and E. T. Mezquida. 2010. Patterns of coevolution in the adaptive radiation of crossbills. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1206:1-16.
Mezquida, E. T., and C. W. Benkman. 2010. Habitat area and structure affect the impact of seed predators and the potential for coevolutionary arms races. Ecology 91:802-814. PDF
Parchman, T.L., C.W. Benkman, and E.T. Mezquida. 2007. Coevolution between Hispaniolan crossbills and pine: Does more time allow for greater phenotypic escalation at lower latitude? Evolution 61:2142–2153.
Mezquida, E.T., S.J. Slater, and C.W. Benkman. 2006. Sage-grouse and indirect interactions: potential implications of coyote control on sage-grouse populations. Condor 108:747–759. PDF
Marone, L., F.A. Milesi, R. González del Solar, E.T. Mezquida, J. Lopez de Casenave, and V.R. Cueto. 2006. The difficult though essential dialogue between biology and its philosophy. Interciencia 31:146–150. PDF
Mezquida, E.T., and C.W. Benkman. 2005. The geographic selection mosaic for squirrels, crossbills and Aleppo pine. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 18:348–357. PDF
Mezquida, E.T. 2004. Nest site selection and nesting success of five species of passerines in a South American open Prosopis woodland. Journal of Ornithology 145:16–22. PDF
Mezquida, E.T. 2004. Patrones de orientación de los nidos de passeriformes en una zona árida del centro-oeste de Argentina [Nest orientation patterns of Passeriformes in an arid area of central-western Argentina]. Ornitología Neotropical 15:145–153. PDF
Mezquida, E.T., L. Quse, and L. Marone. 2004. Artificial nest predation in natural and perturbed habitats of the central Monte Desert, Argentina. Journal of Field Ornithology 75:364–371. PDF
Mezquida, E.T., and L. Marone. 2003. Comparison of the reproductive biology of two Poospiza Warbling-Finches of Argentina in wet and dry years. Ardea 91:251–262. PDF
Mezquida, E.T., and L. Marone. 2003. Are results of artificial nest experiments a valid indicator of success of natural nests? Wilson Bulletin 115:270–276. PDF
Mezquida, E.T. 2003. La reproducción de cinco especies de Emberizidae y Fringillidae en la Reserva de Ñacuñán, Argentina [The breeding of five species of Emberizidae and Fringillidae in the Reserve of Ñacuñán, Argentina]. Hornero 18:13–20. PDF
Marone, L., R. Milesi, R. González del Solar, E.T. Mezquida, J. Lopez de Casenave, and V. Cueto. 2002. La teoría de evolución por selección natural como premisa de la investigación ecológica [The Evolutionary Theory as a premise of ecological research]. Interciencia 27:137–142. PDF
Mezquida, E.T. 2002. Nidificación de ocho especies de Tyrannidae en la Reserva de Ñacuñán, Mendoza, Argentina [Nesting of eight species of Tyrannidae in the Reserve of Ñacuñán, Mendoza, Argentina]. Hornero 17:31–40. PDF
Mezquida, E.T., and L. Marone. 2002. Microhabitat structure and avian nest predation risk in an open Argentinean woodland: an experimental study. Acta Oecologica 23:313–320. PDF
Mezquida, E.T. 2001. Aspects of the breeding biology of the Crested Gallito. Wilson Bulletin 113:104–108. PDF
Mezquida, E.T., and L. Marone. 2001. Factors affecting nesting success of a bird assembly in the central Monte Desert, Argentina. Journal of Avian Biology 32:287–296. PDFMezquida, E.T., and L. Marone. 2000. Breeding biology of Gray-crowned Tyrannulet in the Monte desert, Argentina. Condor 102:205–210. PDF