Daniela Franco-Mena

Researcher, Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ)

Focus regions: Neotropical

Daniela Franco-Mena currently works at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), in the Evolutionary Biology Laboratory and at the Tandayapa Station. Her education has given her a deep connection to nature, fueling her commitment to ecosystem conservation through scientific research and engagement with the community, particularly with children. Her current research focuses on understanding the evolution, taxonomy, and biogeography of amphibians in the Tropical Andes to promote conservation strategies based on sustainable development.

ORCID

Contributions

Articles

Evolutionary Conservation Hotspots: Key Areas for Threatened Neotropical Glassfrogs Under Climate Change Scenarios

Issue 2 — June 2026·June 16, 2026

From the journals

Evolutionary conservation hotspots: key areas for threatened Neotropical glassfrogs under climate change scenarios

Vega-Yánez, M. A., Velasco, J. A., Hutter, C. R., Franco-Mena, D., Amador, L., & Guayasamin, J. M. · PeerJ · April 2026

A continental-scale analysis combining species distribution models, phylogenetic diversity metrics, and EDGE evolutionary risk scores for 69 threatened Neotropical glassfrog species. Projects future ranges under two global circulation models and two SSP scenarios, identifies the northwest Andean montane forests of Ecuador and Colombia as critical climate refugia, and shows that less than 36% of those projected ranges overlap existing protected areas. Six species are projected to lose all suitable climatic habitat by 2080, and global phylogenetic diversity is projected to decline by 30%.

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