science

Gabriela Parra-Olea

Gabriela Parra-Olea is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gabriela Parra-Olea rather than just read about it. In short: Gabriela Parra-Olea (born 1967) is a Mexican herpetologist and researcher in the Department of Zoology at the Institute of Biology at National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She has collaborated on the description of numerous new species of salamanders.

Key takeaways

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Reproduce the core statement of Gabriela Parra-Olea from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gabriela Parra-Olea (born 1967) is a Mexican herpetologist and researcher in the Department of Zoology at the Institute of Biology at National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She has collaborated on the description of numerous new species of salamanders.

Biography

Born in Mexico City, she earned her bachelor's degree in hydrobiology in 1989 from the Metropolitan Autonomous University and a PhD in Science in 1999 from the University of California at Berkeley, with her dissertation, Molecular Evolution and Systematics of Neotropical Salamanders (Caudata: Plethodontidae: Bolitoglossini), directed by David B. Wake. In 2000 and 2001, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, continuing her research into the molecular systematics of neotropical salamanders, working under the supervision of James Hanken, director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. In August 2001, she joined the Institute of Biology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where she leads her own laboratory. She has also volunteered with the Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG).

Research Parra-Olea specializes in systematics, evolutionary biology, and amphibian conservation, with a special focus on salamanders. According to one source in 2011, "The phylogenetic hypotheses proposed by Dr. Parra have utilized the most modern methods of systematic analysis, including not only the use of morphological characters but also, importantly, molecular markers. The combination of both types of characters has even led her to recognize the existence of at least 30 other salamander species that are currently being described." Her additional research concerns the conservation of Mexican amphibians. To do so, she created population genetics studies to lay the groundwork for the establishment of practical conservation policies. Then she added the goal of discovering why infectious diseases have caused a significant global decline in the amphibian population. She is working on disease detection measures.

Selected awards 2010 National Prize in Natural Sciences

Selected publications Parra Olea G, Garcia-Castillo MG, Rovito SM, Maisano JA, Hanken J, Wake DB. 2020. Descriptions of five new species of the salamander genus Chiropterotriton (Caudata: Plethodontidae) from eastern Mexico and the status of three currently recognized taxa. PeerJ 8:e8800 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8800 Basanta, MD, Byrne, AQ, Rosenblum, EB, Piovia‐Scott, J., & Parra‐Olea, G. (2020). Early presence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Mexico with a contemporary dominance of the global panzootic lineage. Molecular Ecology. Scheele, BC, Pasmans, F., Skerratt, L.F., Berger, L., Martel, A., Beukema, W., ... & De la Riva, I. (2020). Response to Comment on “Amphibian fungal panzootic causes catastrophic and ongoing loss of biodiversity.” Science, 367 (6484). Mendoza-Henao, AM, Arias, E., Townsend, JH, & Parra-Olea, G. (2020). Phylogeny-based species delimitation and integrative taxonomic revision of the Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni species complex, with resurrection of H. viridissimum (Taylor, 1942). Systematics and Biodiversity, 18 (5), 464–484.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gabriela Parra-Olea

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gabriela Parra-Olea claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gabriela Parra-Olea before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gabriela Parra-Olea ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gabriela Parra-Olea

In research: Gabriela Parra-Olea appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gabriela Parra-Olea in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gabriela Parra-Olea is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1967 births, 20th-century Mexican scientists, 21st-century Mexican scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gabriela Parra-Olea outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gabriela Parra-Olea in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gabriela Parra-Olea means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gabriela Parra-Olea out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gabriela Parra-Olea in simple terms?

Why does Gabriela Parra-Olea matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gabriela Parra-Olea?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gabriela Parra-Olea.