Brief CV
of Hugo Cerda
1. Contact Information:
Tropical Agro Ecology Center
Simón Rodriguez National University (UNESR)
Caracas, 47925
Venezuela
Phone: +58-412-251-8750
Fax: +58-212-372-0905
Email:hugocerda04@gmail.com, hcerda@ivic.gob.ve
ve.linkedin.com/in/hugocerda
2.
Present Ranks:
Researcher Level C the highest academic position of the Venezuelan
Ministry of Science
Professor of Ecology at Tropical Agro-ecology
Center, Simon Rodriguez National University (UNESR) Venezuela.
Associate Researcher of the
Laboratory of Organismal Biology of the Centre of Ecology of the Venezuelan
Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC) Venezuela.
Jinshan Scholar of Institute
of Applied Ecology and Research Centre for Biodiversity and Eco-Safety Fujian
Agricultural and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
3.
Academic Qualifications:
Post Ph.D. (Ecology), Université
de la Bourgogne, France 2004
Ph.D. (Biology), Imperial College
of London University, UK 1999-2003
M.Sc. (Biology), Simon
Bolivar University, Caracas Venezuela 1991-1993
B.Sc. (Biology), Simon
Bolivar University, Caracas, Venezuela 1976-1982
4.
Research Interests:
My research interests centre on
problems in applied insect ecology and evolution. These include biological
control of insect pests of tropical agricultural and forestry crops; pest
forecasting; effects of climate change on insect pest populations; empirical
and ecological simulation using Stella
and Matlab of evolution of Bt resistance
to GMO crops. I am also interested in
the pest control of Muscaeas cultivars
like banana weevil Cosmopolites
sordidus, pest control of the leaf ant eater Atta laevigata, sugarcane
pest like weevil Metamasius hemipterus
and palm weevil Rhynchophorus palmarum and control of several potato and orchard insect
pest by the use of host plant kairomoes,
aggregation pheromones and natural enemies.
The main insect groups studied by my team are the Coleoptera,
Himenoptera and Lepidoptera, but I also have research interests in the earthworms.
I am also interested in more general ecology problem as ant- flower interaction
in the Amazonian forest canopy; nutritional composition and rearing of
traditional invertebrate food source of Amazonian Amerindians, and most
recently phylogeography of Plutella
xylostella in conjunction with the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry
University of China in an effort to address a variety of interesting questions
in applied and pure ecology and insect evolution. Additionally, in a more
general approach to the ecology and science I am interested in socialize
science and make it available to the common people, to do this I produce a
national radio program of Science entitled “Science for all” you which is
broadcast nationally and by internet at: http://www.ivic.gob.ve/cpt/. I am also
interested in the conservation of the American tiger The Jaguar Pantera onca and its prey in order to do
that I have a joint project with the
Polish Academy of Science to study the conservation genetics and ecology
of Panthera onca the American tiger.
5. Current Researches:
Biological control of insect pests
of tropical agricultural and forestry crops
Effects of climate change on
insect pest populations
Evolution of insecticide resistance
Plutella xylostella (L.) phylogeography
6. International Activities:
I have working experiences in teaching and research in
at least nine (9) different universities both in America and Europe at:
1) Universidad de los Andes in Bogota-Colombia
and Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain were I worked at Genetics
department studying the evolution of Drosophila
replete group (desert drosophilae) with Dr. Antonio Fontdevila.
2) Simón Rodríguez and Simón Bolívar Universities
in Venezuela, were I co-discoverer the
Rhynchophorol, the aggregation pheromone of Rhynchophorus
palmarum one of the principal pest of American coconut plantations with Dr.
Klaus Jaffe and his collaborators.
3) Universidad de Chile were we studied
Hidroxamic acid insect plant interaction with Dr. Hermann Niemeyer as International Program of Chemistry IPICS-Sweden fellow.
4) University of London (United Kingdom) were I studied
for several years resistant Bt toxin evolution of P. xylostella with Dr. Denis J. Wright
and Dr. Ali H. Sayyed, as FONACYT-Venezuela and British Council fellow.
5) Université de la Bourgogne in France I studied
freshwater amphipod species odour
behavior and chemical communication.
6) Universitá di Padova and Universitá degli Estudi de Milano
(Italy) were I with Dr. Mauritzio Guido
Paolettti we describe some Venezuelan
Amazonian invertebrates as food.
7) With Prof. Dr. W. Jedrzejewski from Polish Academy
of Science we study the American tiger (Panthera
onca) conservation genetics and ecology.
8) I
am currently working in collaboration with Prof. Minsheng You as "Jinshan
Scholars" on a project aimed to describe Plutella xylostella phylogeography.
Also I was a three-time winner of the
international competition for young researchers of the International Foundation
for Science (IFS) of Sweden
and Marie Curie Fellowship of the European Union.
7. Courses Currently Taught:
Natural control, biological and
integrated pest management
Insect Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
8. Books chapters:
1- Cerda,
H. and D.J. Wright 2007 Resistance to Bt transgenic plants.En: Encyclopedia
of Pest Management Vol II :553-554 (ed. D. Pimentel), CRC Press, New York 784 pgs ISBN
142053612. DOI: 10.1081/E-EPM-120009973 Published on: 16 April 2003
2- Cerda,
H., Araujo, Y., Glew, R.H., and Paoletti, M.G. 2005. Palm worm (Coleoptera,
Curculionidae:Rhynchophorus palmarum) a traditional food:examples from Alto
Orinoco, Venezuela. En Ecological implication of minilivestock: potential of
insects, rodents, frogs and snails, Editor: M.G. Paoletti.
3- Nathusilin, I. ;
Chacón, P.; Cerda, H.; Lopez
Hernandez, D.; Torres, F.; and M. Paoletti. 1999. Biodiversity tools to
evaluate sustainability in Savanna-forest Ecotone in the Amazons (Venezuela ). In
M.V. Reddy (ed.): Management of tropical Agroecosystem and Beneficial Soil
Biota. Science Publisher Inc., Enfield ,
New Hampshire , pp. 291-352 ISBN
1-57808-339-7.
4- Jaffé, K., Hernandez, J. V., Goitía, W.,
Osio, A., Osborn, F., Cerda, H.,
Arab, A., Rincones, J., Gajardo, R., Caraballo, L., Andara, C. and Lopez, H. 2003. Flower ecology in the neotropics: a
flower-ant love-hate relationship. In Arthropods of Tropical Forests:
Spatio-Temporal Dynamics and Resource Use in the Canopy, eds Y. Basset, V.
Novotny, S. E. Miller & R. L. Kitching, pp. 213-219. Cambridge ,
UK : Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 0-521-82000-6
10. Selected Journal Papers:
Topic 1. Ecology and Genetics
of GMO
[1]
Cerda, H. and D.J. Wright 2007 Resistance to Bt transgenic plants.En: Encyclopedia of
Pest Management Vol II :553-554 (ed. D. Pimentel), CRC Press, New York 784 pgs ISBN 142053612. DOI:
10.1081/E-EPM-120009973 Published on: 16 April 2003
[2]
Cerda, H. and
D.Wright 2006. Diamondback
moth resistance of Bacillus thuringiensis transgenic canola: evaluation of
refugia size with non-recessive resistant insects. Journal of Applied
Entomology 130 (8): 421-425.
[3]
Cerda, H. 2005. El uso de los cultivos transgenicos: estrategia para el control
de Plagas. Gaudeamus 3
(7): 25-27.
[4]
Cerda, H. and Wright D.J. 2005. Resistance management to Bt engineered
crops: the role, ecology and optimization of refuges. Aspects of Applied
Biology 74: 101-108.
Topic 2 Amazonian invertebrates
as human food
1- Cerda, H., Araujo, Y., Glew, R.H., and
Paoletti, M.G. 2005. Palm worm (Coleoptera, Curculionidae:Rhynchophorus
palmarum) a traditional food:examples from Alto Orinoco, Venezuela. En
Ecological implication of minilivestock: potential of insects, rodents, frogs
and snails, Editor: M.G. Paoletti.
2- Cerda, H; Y. Araujo; R.H. Glew and
Paoletti, M. 2005. Palm worm (Coleoptera, Curculionidae: Rhynchophorus
palmarum) traditional food: An Example from Alto Orinoco, Venezuela. En:
Ecological implications of minilivestocks: role of insects, frogs and snails
for sustainable development. Pg 353- 364. Ed. M. G. Paoletti. Science Publisher Inc., Enfield , New Hampshire ISBN 1-57808-339-7.
3-
Paoletti, M.G. ; Buscardo, E.; Vanderjagt D. J.; Pastuszyn, A.; Pizzoferrato,
L.; Huang, Y-S.; Chuang, L-T.; Glew, R. H.; Millson, M. and Cerda,
H. 2003. Nutrient content of termites (syntermes soldiers) consumed by
Makiritare amerindians of the Alto Orinoco of Venezuela. Ecology of Food and
Nutrition 42(2):177 – 191.
4-
Paoletti, M.G.; Buscardo, E.; VanderJagt, D.J.; Pastuszyn, A. Pizzoferrato,
L; Huang, Y.-S; L.-T. Chuang; Millson,
M.A. Cerda, H.; Torres, F. and Glew,
R.H. 2003. Nutrient content of
earthworms consumed by Ye’Kuana Amerindians of the Alto Orinoco of Proceedings
of the Royal Society London B. 270 (1512): 249-257
Topic 3.
Biological pest management, natural ecology
and chemical communication (host plant kairomoes, sex and aggregation pheromones) tropical insect
pests.
1- Cerda,
H; G. Fernandez; A. Lopez and J. Vargas. 1999 Study
of the olfactory attraction of the sugar cane pestMetamasius hemipterus
(Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to host plant odors , and its aggre¬gation
pheromone in the field and laboratory. Florida
Entomologist 82-103-110.
2- Cerda, H.; K. Mori;
T. Nakayama and K. Jaffe. 1997. A synergistic
aggregation pheromone in the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus Germar 1824
(Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Acta Cientifica Venezolana 48 (1):23.
3- Sanchez, P.; Cerda, H.; A. Cabrera; F. Caetano; M. Materan; F. Sanchez; P.
Sanchez and K. Jaffe. 1996. Secretory mecanism for the
male aggregation pheromone of the palm
weevil Rhynchophorus palmarum (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Journal of
Insect Physiology 42 (11-12): 1113-1119
4- Cerda, H.; A. Lopez; P. Sanchez and K. Jaffe. 1995. Tecnique olfatometrique et response olfactive du
charancon des bananiers Cosmopolites sordidus Germar 1824 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Fruits 50 (5): 319-327
Topic
4. Evolutionary ecology, population genetics and speciation process of Drosophila replete group
1- Cerda, H. and A. Fontdevila. 1998. Evolutionary Divergence of
Drosophila Venezolana (Martensis Cluster, BuzzatiiComplex) on Gran Roque Island , Venezuela .
Drosophila Information Service DIS 81:144-147.
2- Cerda, H.; M. Benado and
A. Fontdevila. 1996. Distribution and breeding
substrates of the cacthophilic Drosophila martensis cluster in Venezuela
(Mulleri complex). Drosophila
Information Service 77:53-55.
3- Benado, M.; Fontdevila, A.; Cerda,
H.; Garcia, G.; Ruiz, A. and
C. Montero. 1984. On the distribution and the
cacthiphilic niche of Drosophila martensis in Venezuela . Biotropica 16: 120-124.
4-Cerda,
H. and M. Benado. 1983.
Cacthiphilic Drosophila and their host plant in western central Venezuela . Acta
Científica venezolana 34: 148-150.
Topic
5 Ecology and Jaguar conservation in Venezuela
1. Cerda, H., W. Jędrzejewski and Á.
Viloria. 2013. La conectividad ecológica y el “dialogo de saberes” para promover
la conservación del yaguar Panthera onca en Venezuela. Revista MEMORIA de la
Fundación La Salle de Ciencias Naturales, In Press
2.Jedrzejewski,
W.; M. Abarca; Á. Viloria; H. Cerda;
D. Lew; H. Takiff; É. Abadía; P. Velozo and
K. Schmidt. 2011. Jaguar conservation in Venezuela against the backdrop of
current knowledge on its biology and evolution. INTERCIENCIA 36 (12):954-966.
Topic 6. Insect Ecology of Amazon
1- Nathusilin, I.; P. Chacón; H. Cerda; D. Lopez Hernandez; F. Torres and M. Paoletti. 1999. Biodiversity tools to
evaluate sustainability in Savanna-forest Ecotone in the Amazons (Venezuela ). In
M.V. Reddy (ed.): Management of tropical Agroecosystem and Beneficial Soil
Biota. Science Publisher Inc., Enfield ,
New Hampshire , pp. 291-352 ISBN
1-57808-339-7.
2- Jaffé, K., Hernandez, J. V., Goitía, W., Osio, A., Osborn, F., Cerda, H., Arab, A., Rincones, J.,
Gajardo, R., Caraballo, L., Andara, C. and
Lopez, H. 2003. Flower
ecology in the neotropics: a flower-ant love-hate relationship. In Arthropods
of Tropical Forests: Spatio-Temporal Dynamics and Resource Use in the Canopy,
eds Y. Basset, V. Novotny, S. E. Miller & R. L. Kitching, pp. 213-219. Cambridge , UK :
Cambridge University Press.