Academic Work

• ORCID
• Google scholar
• ResearchGate
• Scopus

Sustainable Development Goals

Research interests

• Conservation biology
• Disease ecology
• Mammals ecology and conservation
• Landscape ecology
• Macroecology

Profile

Professor Heliot Zarza Villanueva was born in Mexico City in March 1973. He received his B.Sc. in Biology, M.Sc. in Biological Sciences, and Ph.D. in Sciences from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

In the last 25 years, his projects have focused on managing and conserving wild mammals, with more than 20 years of experience in studying jaguar ecology. He has published 30 articles in indexed journals, five books (co-author), 18 book chapters, and 24 popular articles. He has directed ten research projects in the last five years. He has directed five undergraduate theses and three master's theses, in addition to participating in more than 14 graduate committees at UNAM and UAM. He has more than ten years of teaching experience at UNAM and UAM, teaching courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, his teaching work has been recognized with the Teaching Award by the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) Lerma Campus in 2015 and 2017.

He belongs to scientific organizations including the Society of Conservation Biology, American Society of Mammalogy, Wildlife Disease Association, Asociación Mexicana de Mastozoología and Asociación Mexicana de Medicina de la Conservación KALAANKAB. He is also a founding member and vice-president of the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation. He is a member of the National System of Researchers, Level I. He has a PRODEP profile.

His research interests focus on conservation biology, mammal ecology, landscape ecology, disease ecology, and the effects of climate change on natural ecosystems. He is Professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana and is currently the Head of the Department of Environmental Sciences at the Lerma Campus.

Information provided by the academic staff

Research interests

• Conservation biology
• Disease ecology
• Mammals ecology and conservation
• Landscape ecology
• Macroecology

Academic Work

On the following pages you can consult the research work:

• Google scholar

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• ResearchGate

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• Scopus

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• ORCID

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Some examples of publications

Select the bibliographic reference to consult each publication:

Open Access	References	UN SDGs
OA	Alvarenga, G.C., Sartor, C.C., Cushman, S.A. and 35 more (...) (2026).Range-wide assessment of habitat suitability for jaguars using multiscale species distribution modelling. Scientific Reports,16(1)
OA	Zarza, H., Esteban, M., Acosta, R. (2025).Diversity of fleas (Siphonaptera) on small mammals within a subalpine ecosystem in the Nevado de Toluca Protected Area, State of Mexico. Zootaxa,5693(3) 405-413	\| 14 \|
OA	Suárez-Varón, G., Tovar-Alva, I., Granados-González, G. and 3 more (...) (2025).AMELY IN A FEMALE OF PHRYNOSOMA ORBICULARE (SQUAMATA: PHRYNOSOMATIDAE). Revista Latinoamericana de Herpetologia,8(2) 286-289
OA	González-Morales, J.C., Rivera-Rea, J., Suárez-Varón, G. and 2 more (...) (2025).Bluer in the city: urban male lizards exhibit more intense sexual coloration and lower parasite loads than non-urban males. Integrative Zoology,20(4) 894-908
OA	Méndez-Rodríguez, A., Horta, P., Zarza, H. and 4 more (...) (2024).Surveying Bat-Hosted Adenoviruses and Herpesviruses: A Comprehensive Analysis. Diversity,16(1)
	López-Pérez, A.M., López-Fernández, O., Backus, L. and 12 more (...) (2022).Spatial distribution patterns of tick community structure in sympatric jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) from three ecoregions in Mexico. Medical and Veterinary Entomology,36(3) 371-380	\| 15 \|
OA	Van de Vuurst, P., Díaz, M.M., Rodríguez-San Pedro, A. and 8 more (...) (2022).A database of common vampire bat reports. Scientific Data,9(1)
OA	Lopez-Apodaca, L.I., Zarza, H., Zamudio-Moreno, E. and 9 more (...) (2022).Molecular survey of Zika virus in the animal-human interface in traditional farming. Frontiers in Veterinary Science,9	\| 2\| 3 \|
	Orozco, L., López-Pérez, A.M., Zarza, H. and 2 more (...) (2022).Dog demography and husbandry practices facilitate dog-wildlife conflict in a suburban-forest interface. Urban Ecosystems,25(6) 1725-1734	\| 3\| 15 \|
	Mateus-Anzola, J., Gaytan-Cruz, L., Montoya-Carrillo, C. and 4 more (...) (2021).Molecular identification and phylogenetic characterization of influenza A virus at a wildlife–livestock interface in Mexico. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases,68(6) 3563-3573	\| 3 \|
OA	Cruz, C., Zarza, H., Vidal-Mateo, J. and 2 more (...) (2021).Top predator ecology and conservation: Lesson from jaguars in southeastern Mexico. Conservation Science and Practice,3(2)	\| 15 \|
OA	Ceballos, G., Zarza, H., González-Maya, J.F. and 17 more (...) (2021).Beyond words: From jaguar population trends to conservation and public policy in Mexico. PLoS ONE,16(10)	\| 11\| 15 \|
	Ceballos, G., de la Torre, J.A., Zarza, H. and 14 more (...) (2021).Jaguar distribution, biological corridors and protected areas in Mexico: from science to public policies. Landscape Ecology,36(11) 3287-3309	\| 9\| 15 \|
	Gaytan-Cruz, L., Mateus-Anzola, J., Montoya-Carrillo, C. and 3 more (...) (2020).Phylogenetic characterization of a reassortant H5N2 influenza A virus from a resident Mexican duck (Anas diazi). Infection, Genetics and Evolution,84	\| 3 \|
OA	Ojeda-Robertos, N.F., González-Garduño, R., Cornelio-Cruz, S. and 8 more (...) (2020).Factors associated with the seizure of livers positive to Fasciola sp. in an endemic area of southeastern Mexico. Revista Mexicana De Ciencias Pecuarias,11(2) 565-575
OA	Padilla-Aguilar, P., Romero-Callejas, E., Ramírez-Lezama, J. and 5 more (...) (2020).Gastrointestinal helminths of waterfowl (Anatidae: Anatinae) in the Lerma marshes of central Mexico: Some pathological aspects. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife,1372-79

Courses taught by the professor in recent trimesters

*Courses are conducted in spanish

Num.	Trim.	Course Name	Level
1	25O	Introducción a la Geomática	Licenciatura
2	25O	Política y Legislación Ambiental	Licenciatura
3	25O	Trabajo de Redacción de Tesis III	Posgrado
4	25O	Trabajo de Investigación III	Posgrado
5	25O	Trabajo de Investigación I	Posgrado
6	25O	Seminario I	Posgrado
7	25O	Seminario III	Posgrado
8	25P	Restauración y Rehabilitación de Ecosistemas	Licenciatura
9	25P	Desarrollo, Sustentabilidad y Manejo de Socioecosistemas	Licenciatura
10	25P	Seminario II	Posgrado
11	25P	Trabajo de Investigación II	Posgrado
12	25P	Trabajo de Redacción de Tesis II	Posgrado
13	25I	Trabajo de Redacción de Tesis I	Posgrado
14	25I	Trabajo de Investigación I	Posgrado
15	25I	Seminario I	Posgrado
16	25I	Mastozoología	Licenciatura
17	25I	Biología de la Conservación	Licenciatura
18	25I	Eje Integrador: Ordenamiento e Impacto Ambiental	Licenciatura
19	25I	Taller de Técnicas Básicas de Exploración de Campo	Licenciatura
20	24O	Seminario VII	Posgrado
21	24O	Trabajo de Investigación IX	Posgrado
22	24O	Trabajo de Investigación IV	Posgrado
23	24O	Seminario IV	Posgrado
24	24O	Introducción a la Geomática	Licenciatura
25	24O	Política y Legislación Ambiental	Licenciatura
26	24P	Mastozoología	Licenciatura
27	24P	Desarrollo, Sustentabilidad y Manejo de Socioecosistemas	Licenciatura
28	24P	Seminario III	Posgrado
29	24P	Trabajo de Investigación III	Posgrado
30	24P	Trabajo de Investigación VIII	Posgrado
31	24I	Trabajo de Investigación VII	Posgrado
32	24I	Trabajo de Investigación II	Posgrado
33	24I	Seminario II	Posgrado
34	24I	Ordenamiento Territorial	Licenciatura
35	24I	Eje Integrador: Ordenamiento e Impacto Ambiental	Licenciatura
36	23O	Política y Legislación Ambiental	Licenciatura
37	23O	Introducción a la Geomática	Licenciatura
38	23O	Mastozoología	Licenciatura
39	23O	Seminario I	Posgrado
40	23O	Trabajo de Investigación I	Posgrado
41	23O	Seminario VI	Posgrado
42	23O	Trabajo de Investigación VI	Posgrado
43	23P	Eje Integrador: Ecosistemas	Licenciatura
44	23P	Temas Selectos II	Posgrado
45	23P	Trabajo de Investigación V	Posgrado
46	23P	Seminario V	Posgrado
47	23P	Desarrollo, Sustentabilidad y Manejo de Socioecosistemas	Licenciatura
48	23P	Restauración y Rehabilitación de Ecosistemas	Licenciatura
49	23I	Temas Selectos I	Posgrado
50	23I	Eje Integrador: Ordenamiento e Impacto Ambiental	Licenciatura
51	23I	Trabajo de Investigación IV	Posgrado
52	23I	Seminario IV	Posgrado
53	23I	Introducción a la Geomática	Licenciatura
54	22O	Introducción a la Geomática	Licenciatura
55	22O	Eje Integrador: Problemáticas Ambientales	Licenciatura
56	22O	Seminario III	Posgrado
57	22O	Trabajo de Investigación III	Posgrado
58	22P	Restauración y Rehabilitación de Ecosistemas	Licenciatura
59	22P	Desarrollo, Sustentabilidad y Manejo de Socioecosistemas	Licenciatura
60	22P	Seminario II	Posgrado

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