Research Assistant Professor

Mariano Rodriguez-Cabal is a field ecologist with broad interests in factors that generate, maintain, and threaten biodiversity. His research focuses on understanding how species and ecosystems respond to the rampant loss of biodiversity, climate change, and the spread of invasive species. He has 15+ years of active research focused on mutualisms loss, the loss of native species and the gain of invasive species, global warming and the impacts of habitat fragmentation on the diversity and structure of communities, and ecosystem processes.

Mariano uses observational, experimental, meta-analytical, and theoretical approaches with the aim of understanding the indirect impacts of global change on biodiversity. Mariano has published 50 peer-reviewed articles on different questions and systems from slugs in British Columbia and ants in North Carolina to endemic marsupials and birds in Patagonia. He is a two-time winner of a Fulbright Scholarship.

Publications

Recent Publications

  • Vitali, A., Sasal, Y., Vázquez, D. P., Miguel, M. F. & Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A. (2021) The disruption of a keystone interaction erodes pollination and seed dispersal networks. Ecology (In Press).
  • Vitali, A., Vázquez, D. P., Miguel, M. F., Sasal, Y. & Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A. (2021). A keystone mutualism promotes resistance to invasion. Journal of Animal Ecology (In Press).
  • Moyano, J., Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A., & Nuñez, M. A. (2021). Invasive trees rely more on mycorrhizas, countering the ideal‐weed hypothesis. Ecology 102 (5), e03330
  • Motta, L., Vitali, A., Amico, G. C., Garcia, D. and Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A. (2021). Post-dispersal seed predation in Patagonia temperate forest depends on habitat patchiness and seed species. Plant Ecology 1-9
  • Vazquez, M. S., Zamora-Nasca, L. B., Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A. and Amico, G. C. (2021). Interactive effects of habitat attributes and predator identity explain avian nest predation patterns. Emu-Austral Ornithology 1-11
  • Motta, L., Barrios-Garcia, M. N., Ballari, S. A. and Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A. (2020). Cross-ecosystem impacts of non-native ungulates on wetland communities. Biological Invasions 22: 3283-3291
  • Moyano, J., Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A. and Nunez, M. A. (2020). Highly invasive tree species are more dependent on mutualisms. Ecology 01 (5), e02997
  • Moyano, J., Dickie, I. A., Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A and Nunez, M. A. (2020). Patterns of plant naturalization show that facultative mycorrhizal plants are more likely to succeed outside their native Eurasian ranges. Ecography 43: 648-659
  • Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A.,  Barrios-Garcia, M. N., Greyson-Gaito, C. J., Slinn, H. L., Tapella, M. P., Vitali, A., Crutsinger, G. M. (2019). Non-native ungulates indirectly impact foliar arthropods but not soil function. Biological Invasions 21: 3077-3084
  • Moyano, J., Chiuffo, M. C., Nunez, M. A. and Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A. (2019). Seed predation does not explain pine invasion success. Oecologia 189: 981-991
  • Moyano, J., Chiuffo, M. C., Policelli, N., Nunez, M. A. and Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A. (2019). The interplay between propagule pressure, seed predation and ectomycorrhizal fungi in plant invasion. NeoBiota 42: 45-58
  • Chiuffo, M. C., Moyano, J., Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A. and Nunez, M. A. (2018). Seed predation of non-native species along a precipitation gradient. Plant Ecology 219: 1307-1314
  • Vazquez, M. S., Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A., Gonzalez, D.V., Pacheco, G. S. and Amico, G. C.  (2018). Different nest predator guild associated to egg size in the Patagonian temperate forest. Bird Study/Ringing & Migration 65: 478-483
  • Torres, A., Alarcón P., Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A. and Nunez, M. A. (2018). Secondary invasions hinder the recovery of native communities after the removal of nonnative Pines along a precipitation gradient in Patagonia. Forests 9: 394
  • Chiuffo, M. C., Policelli, N.,  Moyano, J., Torres, A., Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A. and Nunez, M. A. (2018). Still no evidence that pathogen accumulation can revert the impact of invasive plant species. Biological Invasions 20: 9-10 P
  • Policelli, N., Chiuffo, M. C., Moyano, J., Torres, A., Rodriguez-Cabal, M. A. and Nunez, M. A. (2018). Pathogen accumulation cannot undo the impact of invasive species. Biological Invasions 20: 1-4 PDF

Associations and Affiliations

Editorial boards

  • Journal of Animal Ecology, Associate Editor (2016 - present)
  • Biological Invasions, Associate Editor (2020 - present)
  • Ecology, Subject-matter Editor (2021)
  • Ecological Monographs, Subject-matter Editor (2021)
Mariano Rodriguez-Cabal

Areas of Expertise and/or Research

Instructional programs: Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, Sustainability, Ecology and Policy
Research: Community ecology, global change ecology, invasive species, plant-animal interactions

Education

  • Ph.D. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, 2012
  • Master of Science, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 2008
  • Licentiate in Biological Science, Universidad Nacional del Comahue-Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina, 2003

CV

PDF icon Mariano Rodriguez-Cabal's CV (PDF)

Contact

Email:

mariano.rodriguez-cabal@uvm.edu

Phone:
  • o: 802-652-0224
  • c: 802-355-5622
Office Location:

207 Johnson House, 617 Main St

Website(s):
  1. Mariano's website