Enrique P. Lessa

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Enrique Pablo Lessa Gallinal (born March 16, 1956 in Montevideo ) is a Uruguayan biologist . His main research interests are evolutionary biology and mammalogy , especially the genus of the comb rats ( Ctenomys ).

Life

Lessa is the son of Enrique Lessa Zumarán and Graciela Gallinal Artagaveytía. In 1976 he began studying life sciences at the Universidad de la República , where he obtained his Licenciatura in 1981 . From 1983 to 1987 he studied at the New Mexico State University in Las Cruces , under the direction of where he Charles S. valleys, Jr. with the dissertation Functional morphology and allometry of the digging apparatus of pocket gophers (Rodentia, Geomyidae) for Ph .D. received her PhD in life sciences. From 1987 to 1992 a postdoctoral phase followed at the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in evolutionary biology and mammalian evolution . In January 1987 he received a research position in the department of biology at the Universidad de la República. He has been an honorary researcher since March 1988. Since April 1994 he has been a full professor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Universidad de la República in the Department of Evolution. Since March 2005 he has been an associate professor at the University of New Mexico.

In 1992, Lessa founded her own laboratory, which is dedicated to various aspects of the evolution and systematics of vertebrates , with a focus on mammals. His studies typically focus on studying aspects of the biology of organisms, species, and phylogenetic groups. Here he often uses molecular data. His research typically includes fieldwork as well as museum specimen preparation (skins, skeletons, and tissues) and laboratory work, mainly focused on DNA sequencing . He also uses the tools of phylogenetics and population genetics to generate and test hypotheses based on molecular and other data.

Lessa's main projects include population genetic, molecular phylogenetic and morphological genetic approaches to research the evolution of rodents living underground, especially the crested rats ( Ctenomys ). This genus has a model for the study of evolutionary processes to Lessa's team because they have conquered an underground niche and thus have a different degree of specialization because they are close to the octodontidae are related, have a rich fossil record, show different types of social structures and because they are viewed as a case of explosive speciation .

In 1983 Lessa and Alfredo Langguth described the Pearson's comb rat ( Ctenomys pearsoni ) and in 2002, in collaboration with Federico G. Hoffmann and Margaret F. Smith, the Cook's grave mouse ( Oxymycterus josei ).

In 2007 Lessa was alongside Douglas A. Kelt, Jorge Salazar-Bravo and James L. Patton co-author of the book The Quintessential Naturalist: Honoring the Life and Legacy of Oliver P. Pearson about the American mammalogen Oliver Payne Pearson (1915-2003).

Lessa is a member of the American Society of Mammalogists .

Awards and dedication names

In 1999 Lessa received a Guggenheim scholarship . In 2010 he received the Joseph Grinnell Award from the American Society of Mammalogists . In 2014 Scott Lyell Gardner , Jorge Salazar-Bravo and Joseph A. Cook honored Lessa in the species epithet of the Lessa crested rat ( Ctenomys lessai ).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Lessa, Enrique P.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lessa Gallinal, Enrique Pablo (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Uruguayan biologist
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Montevideo