Ivan Castro-Arellano

Courses

Wildlife Management (BIO 4423/5423)
Ecology of Infectious Diseases in Wildlife (BIO 5424B)
Population and Conservation Biology Seminar (BIO 7120)

Research Interests

Disease Ecology (Zoonotic diseases, Hantavirus ecology), Community Ecology (Temporal Niche Overlap, Metacommunity Theory), Mammal Ecology, Invasive Species

I use my background and training as an ecologist to address questions to understand the ecology of zoonotic diseases and invasive species.  Since mammals are natural reservoirs for many zoonotic diseases most of my work has been devoted to this taxonomic group, especially rodents and bats.  Beyond my interest in disease ecology I also have done research on theoretical aspects of community ecology, specifically on the analysis of assemblage-wide temporal niche overlap and elements of metacommunity structure.  I address these questions using a variety of approaches that include modelling, null models, and analyses of both published and empirically data generated at my lab.  Although my research interests are wide they are intertwined and my goal is to integrate the study of community level dynamics in mammalian hosts to understand the dynamics of pathogen transmission.

Selected Publications

Arriaga-Flores, J. C., E. R. Rodríguez-Ruíz, J. P. Gallo-Reynoso, and I. Castro-Arellano. 2016. Total leucism in Neotropical otters (Lontra longicaudis annectens) from northern Mexico. Southwestern Naturalist 61: 63-68.

Esteve-Gassent, M. D., I. Castro-Arellano, T. P. Feria-Arroyo, R. Patino, A. Li, R. F. Medina, A. A. Pérez de León, and R. I. Rodríguez-Vivas. 2016. Translating ecology, physiology, biochemistry and population genetics research to meet the challenge of tick and tick-borne diseases in North America. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, 92:38-64. doi: 10.1002/arch.21327

Donaldson, T. G., A. A. Perez de Leon, I. Castro-Arellano, E. Wozniak, W. K. Boyle, R. Hargrove, H. K. Wilder, H. J. Kim, P. D. Teel, and J. E. Lopez. 2016. Geographic distribution of Ornithodoros turicata: Assessments based upon climate variation and host diversity. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 10(2):e0004383. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004383

Meng, H., A. Y. Li, L. M. C. Junior, I. Castro-Arellano, and J. Liu. 2016. Evaluation of DEET and eight essential oils for repellency against nymphs of the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae). Experimental and Applied Acarology, 68:241-9. doi: 10.1007/s10493-015-9994-0

Esteve-Gassent, M. D., A. Grover, T. P. Feria-Arroyo, I. Castro-Arellano, R. F. Medina, G. Gordillo-Pérez, and A. A Pérez de León. 2015. Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected ticks from wildlife hosts, a response to Norris et al. Parasites and Vectors 8:129. doi:10.1186/s13071-015-0739-z

Suzán, G., G. E. García-Peña, I. Castro-Arellano, O. Rico, A. V. Rubio, M. J. Tolsá, B. Roche, P. R. Hosseini, A. Rizzoli, K. A. Murray, C. Zambrana-Torrelio, A. Alonso Aguirre, P. Daszak, A. Prieur-Richard, J. N. Mills, and J. Guégan. 2015. Metacommunity and phylogenetic structure determine wildlife and zoonotic infectious disease patterns in time and space. Ecology and Evolution, 5:865-873.

Esteve-Gassent, M. D., A. Pérez de Leon, D. Romero-Salas, T. P. Feria-Arroyo, R. Patino, I. Castro-Arellano, G. Gordillo-Perez, A. Auclair, J. Goolsby, R. I. Rodriguez-Vivas, and J. G. Estrada-Franco. 2014. Pathogenic landscape of transboundary zoonotic diseases in the Mexico-US border along the Rio Grande. Frontiers in Public Health, 2:177. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2014.00177.

Teresa P. F. A., I. Castro-Arellano, G. Gordillo-Perez, A. L. Cavazos, M. Vargas-Sandoval, A. Grover, J. Torres, R. Medina, A. Pérez de Leon, and M.D. Esteve-Gassent. 2014. Implications of climate change on the distribution of the tick vector Ixodes scapularis and risk for Lyme Disease in the Texas-Mexico transboundary region. Parasites and Vectors 7:199. doi:10.1186/1756-3305-7-199 This contribution was classified in the journal as a “highly accessed” paper. Equal contribution for first 3 authors.

Mancina, C. and I. Castro-Arellano. 2013. Unusual overlap in a phytophagous bat ensemble of Western Cuba. Journal of Tropical Ecology 29:511-521.

Almazán, C., I. Castro-Arellano, and E. Camacho-Puga. 2013. First record of Ixodes scapularis in jaguars (Panthera onca). Southwestern Naturalist 58:126-127.

Rodríguez-Ruíz, E. R., I. Castro-Arellano, J. Garcia-Jiménez, A. Moreno-Valdez, E. Camacho-Puga, and F. J. Yeberino-González. 2013. First specimens of the collared anteater (Tamandua mexicana) for Tamaulipas, Mexico. Southwestern Naturalist 58:124-125.

Please see faculty member’s CV or website for a complete list of publications and additional information.