2019 James L. Patton Award - Edgardo M. Rengifo Vásquez

Edgardo M. Rengifo Vásquez is a PhD student at the University of São Paulo. Edgardo is a young Peruvian biologist, interested in the study of small mammals, focusing on their taxonomy, systematics, and evolution. He has worked in several ecosystems, namely the Amazonia, Andes, and Coastal Deserts of Peru. In 2015, Edgardo received his Master in Zoology, working on the taxonomy of, and variation within, Andean populations of rodents of the genus Phyllotis, under the supervision of Dr. Victor Pacheco, at the National University of San Marcos. He is currently conducting his doctoral research under the supervision of Dr. Alexandre Reis Percequillo at University of São Paulo. His dissertation focuses on the evolutionary history of the rodent communities inhabiting the Cordillera Blanca, in northern Peruvian Andes, where he is evaluating both phenotypic and genetic variation. He is interested in evaluating the effects of Andean orogenesis (and all environmental changes associated with this process) in the rodent populations inhabiting both slopes of Cordillera Blanca and other nearby complexes of mountains, including Southern Peruvian, Bolivian, and Ecuadorean ranges. Ultimately, Edgardo aims to revise the identity of species of rodents inhabiting these areas, contributing to the knowledge on the taxonomy and systematics of a poorly known group of mammals.