Staff until 2015

Vascular epiphytes are a particularly interesting group of plants; they have developed numerous and diverse features to cope with their environment. A great deal of research has been carried out in the last decades, since access to the canopy was facilitated by different techniques. Nevertheless, conceptualization and definition of such an interesting group, is still lacking. My previous work with vascular epiphytes was focused on diversity, biogeography and ecology. At the moment I am focus in the study of the mechanisms underlying the dynamics of vascular epiphyte assemblages, their diversity and abundance patterns in a spatio-temporal scale.

2007

by ITEC (Institute for Tropical Ecology and conservation), to attend the course: "Canopy ecology and rainforest", Panama.

2003

by ACCA-CICRA (the Amazon Conservation Association) to attend the course: : "Tropical ecology and experimental design", Peru.

2012

6th International Canopy Conference, Oaxaca, Mexico. Talk: Long term dynamics of vascular epiphyte assemblies: a ten years study.

2011

41^st Annual meeting of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Oldenburg, Germany. Talk and poster: Long term dynamics of an epiphyte community in a lowland rainforest in Panama.

Annual Conference of the Society for Tropical Ecology (gtö): Status and Future of Tropical Biodiversity. Frankfurt, Germany. Talk and poster: Long term dynamics of an epiphyte community in a lowland rainforest in Panama.

2009

Impacts of Global Change on Tropical Ecosystems: Cross-cutting the abiotic, biotic and human spheres. Germany. Poster: Río Changuinola, Panama: The locality with the highest alpha-diversity of vascular epiphytes in the tropical lowlands.

2007

Tropical Diversity in the Anthropocene. 20th Annual meeting of the Society for tropical Ecology. Germany. Poster: Beta diversity of epiphyte communities in a montane moist forest of S-Ecuador.

Mendieta Leiva G & Zotz G. 2015. A conceptual framework for the analysis of vascular epiphyte assemblages. Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics 17: 510-521.

Cabral JS, Petter G, Mendieta Leiva G, Wagner K, Zotz G & Kreft H. 2015. Branchfall as a demographic filter for epiphyte communities: Lessons from forest floor-based sampling. PLoS One 10, e0128019.

Wagner K, Mendieta-Leiva G & Zotz G. 2015. Host specificity in vascular epiphytes: a review of methodology, empirical evidence and potential mechanisms. AoB PLANTS, doi: 10.1093/aobpla/plu092.

Zotz G, Mendieta Leiva G & Wagner K. 2014. Vascular epiphytes at the treeline – composition of species assemblages and population biology. Flora, 209: 385-390.

Mendieta-Leiva G, Werner FA & Gradstein R. (in prep). Overlap of epiphyte communities along vertical and topographical gradients in a montane forest in South Ecuador.

Werner FA & Mendieta-Leiva G. 2011. Epiphytic ferns and allies of Podocarpus Biosphere Reserve. Rapid Color Guides. The Field Museum, Chicago, IL, USA.

Wester S, Mendieta-Leiva G, Nauheimer L, Wanek W, Kreft H & Zotz G. 2010. Physiological diversity and biogeography of vascular epiphytes at Río Changuinola, Panama. Flora 206: 66-79.

Laube S, Mendieta-Leiva G, Nauheimer L & Croat T. 2008. Vascular epiphytes of the Rio Changuinola valley. Color Guide Series. The Field Museum, Chicago, IL, USA.

Sepúlveda B, Mendieta-Leiva G, Morgan M & Tume P. 2008. Capparis scabrida (Capparaceae, Sapote) woodland characterization in northern Peru. Geographia Technica 2:122-131.