Research interests:

Species boundaries

(and whatever you may understand with that)

Check also my blog at:  http://daimonaugustinus.blogspot.com/

Publications

Books

Jarrín–V., P. 2001. Mamíferos en la Niebla: Otonga, un Bosque Nublado del Ecuador [Mammals in the mist: Otonga, a cloud forest of Ecuador]. Publicaciones especiales, Museo de Zoología, Centro de Biodiversidad y Ambiente, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador 5:1–244.

Edited Chapters

Fonseca, R. and P. Jarrín–V. 2001. Patrones reproductivos de las comunidades de murciélagos en dos bosques nublados de las estribaciones noroccidentales de los Andes ecuatorianos [Reproductive patterns of the community of bats in two cloud forests on the western slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes]. In: Epiphytes and Canopy Fauna of the Otonga Rain Forest (Ecuador). Results of the Bonn–Quito Epiphyte Project, Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation (Vol. 2 of 2) (J. Nieder and W. Barthlott, eds.) pp. 365-374. Botanisches Institut der Universität Bonn, Bonn, GermanyUniversität Bonn, Bonn, Germany. PDF

Jarrín–V., P., and Fonseca, R. 2001. Composición y estructura de la comunidad de murciélagos en dos bosques nublados de las estribaciones occidentales de los Andes [Composition and structure of the bat community in two cloud forests of the western slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes]. In: Epiphytes and Canopy Fauna of the Otonga Rain Forest (Ecuador). Results of the Bonn–Quito Epiphyte Project, Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation (Vol. 2 of 2) (J. Nieder and W. Barthlott, eds.) pp. 335-364. Botanisches Institut der Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany. PDF

Publications – Peer reviewed

Anderson, R. P., and Jarrín–V. P. 2002. A new species of spiny pocket mouse (Heteromyidae: Heteromys) endemic to western Ecuador. American Museum Novitates 3382:1-26.

Muchhala, N. and  Jarrín–V., P. 2002. Flower pollination by bats in cloud forests of Ecuador. Biotropica 34(3):387-395.

Jarrín–V., P. 2003. An unusual record of Peropteryx macrotis in the Andean highlands of Ecuador. Mammalia 67(4):613-615.

Lasso, D. and Jarrín–V., P. 2005. Diet variability of micronycteris megalotis in pristine and disturbed habitats of Northwestern Ecuador. Acta Chiropterologica 7(1):121-130.

Publications – Non peer reviewed

Jarrín–V., P. 2005. Forma, tamaño y estructura: aspectos ecológicos, consecuencias evolutivas y ejemplos en los murciélagos ecuatorianos. Revista de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador 76:125–146. PDF

Jarrín–V., P. 2005. Aspectos básicos sobre el estudio de la variación morfológica. Revista de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador 77:69–94. PDF

Jarrín–V., P. 2007. Especies en la realidad y en la mente. Revista de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador 81:81–97. PDF

Popular science articles

Guayasamin, J. M., and P. Jarrín-V. 1999. Bosques Encantados. Mundo Diners 200:67–69. Quito, Ecuador.

Jarrín–V. y Fonseca N. 1999. Con alas entre los dedos. Mundo Diners 210:58-61. Quito, Ecuador. PDF

Muchhala N., and P. Jarrín–V. 2000. El Reino vegetal y los amos de la noche [The floral kingdom and the masters of the night]. Nuestra Ciencia 2:40–43. Quito, Ecuador. PDF

Jarrín–V., P. 2001. El discreto encanto de las ratas. Mundo Diners 230:54-56. Quito, Ecuador. PDF.

Jarrín–V., P. 2001. Murciélagos en la niebla. Nuestra Ciencia 3:35–38. Quito, Ecuador. PDF

Jarrín–V., P. 2007.Notas sobre el apareamiento humano. Nuestra Ciencia 9:54–56. Quito, Ecuador. PDF

“Many years ago, when comparing, and seeing others compare, the birds from the separate islands of the Galapagos Archipelago, both one with another, and with those from the American mainland, I was much struck how entirely vague and arbitrary is the distinction between species and varieties.”

Darwin, 1859

“From these remarks it will be seen that I look at the term species, as one arbitrarily given for the sake of convenience to a set of individuals closely resembling each other, and that it does not essentially differ from the term variety, which is given to less distinct and more fluctuating forms. The term variety, again, in comparison with mere individual differences, is also applied arbitrarily, and for mere convenience sake.”

Darwin, 1859

No one definition has as yet satisfied all naturalists; yet every naturalist knows

vaguely what he means when he speaks of a species.

 

Darwin, 1859

                 What are species? Are they really true evolutionary entities, are they just abstract constructs in our minds, or are they a combination of both? Are there really true discrete character states in the morphological realm of biodiversity? How can we put both genetics and morphometrics in a single conceptual framework towards the understanding of species boundaries and biodiversity? How many species are real? How should we proceed in our delimitation of species? If species are fuzzy entities, due to their evolutionary nature; should we then make proper use of the available tools of statistics and probability to delineate such complex entities? How justified are species descriptions that rely on a handful of individuals? Why not consider the theory of probability and the potential for intra and interspecific variability when describing new species?  Are we lagging old typological remains in our journey towards modern perspectives of evolution?

                 My research is focused in finding answers to these various issues, with special emphasis in the wide range of forms, shapes, sizes, and genetic structure in Neotropical small mammals.

 

Jarrín–V., P. 2008.Notas sobre el apareamiento humano: cuesta si te acuestas. Nuestra Ciencia 10:64–67. Quito, Ecuador. PDF

Jarrín–V., P. 2008. La interpretación de p. Revista de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador 81:81–97. PDF

From Hull, 1978 Philos of Sci 45(3)

From Baum, 1998 Syst Bio 47(4)

Jarrín–V., P. and T. H. Kunz. 2008. Taxonomic history of the genus Anoura (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) with insights into the challenges of morphological species delimitation. Acta Chiropterologica 10(2):257-269.