Biography:Alejandro Rico-Guevara

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Short description: Evolutionary biologist and behavioral ecophysicist
Alejandro Rico-Guevara
Born (1981-02-09) February 9, 1981 (age 43)
NationalityColombian
Alma mater
Employer
Websitehttp://www.alejorico.com/Home.html http://ecophysics.org/

Alejandro Rico-Guevara is an evolutionary biologist and behavioral ecophysicist. His scientific research has focused on nectar-feeding animals with an emphasis on hummingbird bill morphology and biomechanics. He is an assistant professor in the Biology Department at the University of Washington and Curator of Ornithology at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.[1]

Education

Rico-Guevara attended Universidad Nacional de Colombia for his undergraduate work and received his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut as a Fulbright Scholarship recipient. He then held a postdoctoral position at the University of California, Berkeley as a Miller Research Fellow. He is currently an assistant professor at the University of Washington and Curator of Ornithology for the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. He received the Walt Halperin Professor of Biology award and is a Washington Research Foundation Distinguished Investigator.

Rico-Guevara has been interviewed for radio and television and his research has appeared in the The New York Times ,[2][3][4][5] National Geographic Magazine, NPR[6] Forbes ,[7] and TED-Ed.[8] His work has also been featured in several documentary series such as PBS Nature’s "Super Hummingbirds".[9]

Research

He leads the Behavioral Ecophysics lab focusing on mechanistic approaches to explain how animals function and evolve. He does this using interdisciplinary methods, incorporating study of physiology, movements, and signals (e.g. color and sound), while establishing explicit links to selective pressures from their biotic and abiotic environments. His work focuses on nectar feeding biomechanics, linking mechanisms to behavior and ecology,[10][11] and intrasexually selected weapons.[12]

Intrasexually selected weapons

In collaboration with Kristiina Hurme, Rico-Guevara has been investigating the trade-off between feeding efficiency and the use of bills as weapons. Previous literature has suggested that sexual differences in bill morphology is likely due to differences in foraging patterns. Rico-Guevara proposes that these morphological bill differences are likely an evolutionarily result of the need for weapons in the fight for male-male dominance. This work has been conducted in conjunction with Marcelo Araya-Salas. Their collaborative research has been published in both Behavioral Ecology[13] and Biological Reviews[14]

Nectar feeding biomechanics

The work Rico-Guevara is likely most known for his work investigating the biomechanics of nectar feeding. Previous research has suggested that hummingbirds obtain their nectar via capillary action, and many pieces of literature are based upon that understanding.[15][16] Rico-Guevara, in collaboration with Margaret Rubega, commented on the capillarity model[17] and suggested that the tongue acts as a fluid trap.[18]

Core-Code work

In addition to his research, Rico-Guevara leads his lab in what has been named “CORE-CODE”, an acronym for COmmunicating student science and experiences, REcruiting students (underrepresented groups in science), COnnections (e.g. students – researchers / local communities) and DEvelopment of students (inside and beyond academia). This effort emphasizes the importance of diversifying academia and greatly influences the Behavioral Ecophysics Lab, as well as informs Rico-Guevara’s mentorship of students and staff.

Science communication

In addition to his work as an ecophysicist, Rico-Guevara has focused his time on being a science communicator. He has written for the public with his collaborator, K. Hurme, in articles such as "Hummingbird tongues are tiny pumps that spring open to draw in nectar".[19] He has contributed to TED Ed talks, such as "The Surprising Secrets of Hummingbird Flight".[20] His paper 2015 paper in Proceedings B, "Hummingbird Tongues are Elastic Micropumps"[21] was covered in articles for the broader public by Science Magazine News, Discover Magazine.[22] and The Washington Post [23]

Awards and recognitions

  • 2008 William Fulbright Fellowship[24]
  • 2016 Adolph C. and Mary Sprauge Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science Fellowship
  • 2018 Frank A. Pitelka Award for Excellence in Research[25]
  • 2020 WRF Distinguished Investigator
  • 2019 Walt Halperin Endowed Professor of Biology[26]
  • 2020 WRF Distinguished Investigator

Selected publications

See also

  • Alien Worlds (TV series)
  • List of Nature episodes

References

  1. ↑ "Alejandro Rico-Guevara | UW Biology" (in en). https://www.biology.washington.edu/people/profile/alejandro-rico-guevara-0. 
  2. ↑ Gorman, James (2019-02-05). "The Hummingbird as Warrior: Evolution of a Fierce and Furious Beak" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/science/hummingbirds-science-take.html. 
  3. ↑ Gorman, James (2020-08-11). "A Honeybee's Tongue Is More Swiss Army Knife Than Ladle" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/science/honeybees-drink-video.html. 
  4. ↑ Bakalar, Nicholas (2011-05-02). "Forget Straws:Hummingbirds Sip With Forks" (in en-US). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/science/03obhummingbird.html. 
  5. ↑ Gorman, James (2015-09-08). "The Hummingbird's Tongue:How It Works" (in en-US). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/science/the-hummingbirds-tongue-how-it-works.html. 
  6. ↑ "Animal Slander! Debunking 'Birdbrained' And 'Eat Like A Bird' : Short Wave" (in en). https://www.npr.org/2020/04/21/840338275/animal-slander-debunking-birdbrained-and-eat-like-a-bird. 
  7. ↑ Tabin, Sara. "Not Bird Brains: Research Suggests Hummingbirds Use Numbers To Find Flowers" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/saratabin/2020/07/15/not-bird-brains-research-suggests-hummingbirds-use-numbers-to-find-flowers/. 
  8. ↑ "The surprising secrets of hummingbird flight - Kristiina J. Hurme and Alejandro Rico-Guevara" (in en). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lt3nd4QKy4. 
  9. ↑ "Nature Season 35 Episodes | PBS" (in en). https://www.pbs.org/show/nature/episodes/season/35/. 
  10. ↑ Higham, Timothy E.; Ferry, Lara A.; Schmitz, Lars; Irschick, Duncan J.; Starko, Samuel; Anderson, Philip S.L.; Bergmann, Philip J.; Jamniczky, Heather A. et al. (2021-07-01). "Linking ecomechanical models and functional traits to understand phenotypic diversity" (in en). Trends in Ecology & Evolution 36 (9): 860–873. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2021.05.009. ISSN 0169-5347. PMID 34218955. 
  11. ↑ Green, P A; McHenry, M J; Rico-Guevara, A (2021-06-14). "Mechanoethology: the physical mechanisms of behavior". Integrative and Comparative Biology 61 (2): 613–623. doi:10.1093/icb/icab133. ISSN 1540-7063. PMID 34124767. PMC 8427180. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icab133. 
  12. ↑ Rico-Guevara, Alejandro; Hurme, Kristiina J. (2019). "Intrasexually selected weapons" (in en). Biological Reviews 94 (1): 60–101. doi:10.1111/brv.12436. ISSN 1469-185X. PMID 29924496. 
  13. ↑ Rico-Guevara, Alejandro; Araya-Salas, Marcelo J. (2014-10-18). "Bills as daggers? A test for sexually dimorphic weapons in a lekking hummingbird" (in en). Behavioral Ecology 26: 21–29. doi:10.1093/beheco/aru182. ISSN 1465-7279. https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/26/1/21/2262689?login=true. 
  14. ↑ Rico-Guevara, Alejandro; Hurme, Kristiina J. (2019). "Intrasexually selected weapons" (in en). Biological Reviews 94 (1): 60–101. doi:10.1111/brv.12436. ISSN 1469-185X. PMID 29924496. 
  15. ↑ Kingsolver, Joel G.; Daniel, Thomas L. (1983-11-01). "Mechanical determinants of nectar feeding strategy in hummingbirds: energetics, tongue morphology, and licking behavior" (in en). Oecologia 60 (2): 214–226. doi:10.1007/BF00379523. PMID 28310488. Bibcode: 1983Oecol..60..214K. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00379523. 
  16. ↑ Heyneman, Amy J. (1983). "Optimal Sugar Concentrations of Floral Nectars. Dependence on Sugar Intake Efficiency and Foraging Costs" (in en). Oecologia 60 (2): 198–213. doi:10.1007/BF00379522. PMID 28310487. Bibcode: 1983Oecol..60..198H. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4217158. 
  17. ↑ Rico-Guevara, Alejandro; Rubega, Margaret A. (2012-04-10). "Hummingbird feeding mechanics: Comments on the capillarity model" (in en). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109 (15): E867; author reply E868. doi:10.1073/pnas.1119750109. PMID 22460801. Bibcode: 2012PNAS..109E.867R. 
  18. ↑ Rico-Guevara, Alejandro; Rubega, Margaret A. (2011-06-07). "The hummingbird tongue is a fluid trap, not a capillary tube" (in en). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108 (23): 9356–9360. doi:10.1073/pnas.1016944108. PMID 21536916. 
  19. ↑ Rico-Guevara, Alejandro; Hurme, Kristiina J. (2015-08-18). "Hummingbird tongues are tiny pumps that spring open to draw in nectar" (in en-US). https://theconversation.com/hummingbird-tongues-are-tiny-pumps-that-spring-open-to-draw-in-nectar-46167. 
  20. ↑ "The surprising secrets of hummingbird flight - Kristiina J. Hurme & Alejandro Rico-Guevara" (in en-US). https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-surprising-secrets-of-hummingbird-flight-kristiina-j-hurme-alejandro-rico-guevara. 
  21. ↑ Rico-Guevara, Alejandro; Fan, Tai-Hsi; Rubega, Margaret A. (2015-08-22). "Hummingbird tongues are elastic micropumps" (in en). Proceedings of the Royal Society B 282 (1813). doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.1014. PMID 26290074. 
  22. ↑ Smith, K.N. (2015-08-18). "VIDEO: Hummingbird Tongues Act Like Tiny Pumps". Discover Magazine. https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/video-hummingbird-tongues-act-like-tiny-pumps#.Ve7z2bxVikp. 
  23. ↑ Feltman, Rachel (2015-08-19). "Hummingbird tongues are way weirder than we thought" (in en-US). The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/08/19/hummingbird-tongues-are-way-weirder-than-we-thought. 
  24. ↑ VibeThemes (27 January 2016). "Exbecario Fulbright recibe Beca Miller de University of California – Fulbright Colombia" (in en-US). https://www.fulbright.edu.co/exbecario-fulbright-recibe-beca-miller-de-university-of-california/. 
  25. ↑ "The Pitelka Award". http://www.behavecol.com/awards-1. 
  26. ↑ "Walt Halperin Endowed Professorship Celebration | UW Biology". https://www.biology.washington.edu/news/events/seminars/walt-halperin-endowed-professorship-celebration. 

External links



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