​

​

Rafael Alejandro Calzada Arciniega

​

Biologist from the Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, UNAM. He is interested in the ecology, taxonomy and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. He is particularly interested in Mexican salamanders. In 2016 he conducted a conservation project on the granular salamander (Ambystoma granulosum) as a fellow of the Zoological Society of London under the EDGE of Existence program. He has completed three international courses focused on biodiversity conservation. He has participated in six projects funded by the National Commission of Protected Areas in collaboration with local NGOs and researchers. He is currently collaborating in some projects on taxonomy and vulnerability due to climate change of amphibians and reptiles in the state of Oaxaca. In 2018 he obtained a grant awarded by The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund to develop a project with the southern giant salamander (Isthmura maxima), which is an endangered salamander endemic to the Sierra Madre del Sur. Recently, he has collaborated in the description of a new species of frog Charadrahyla sakbah. He is currently working with this species, to obtain basic ecological data. At LECFS he is working on the development of conservation strategies for threatened Mexican salamanders. We are especially interested in species occurring in the State of Mexico.

​

Contact: ralejandrocalzada89@gmail.com