Major(s): Ecology and Conservation Biology, Entomology
Minor(s): Genetics
Class Year: 26
High School: A&M Consolidated High School
Advisor: Dr. Daniel Spalink; Dr. Joseph Veldman
Research Focus: Phylogenetics, Biogeography, Population Genetics, Paleoecology
Other Projects and Publications: 1) Niche divergence in bryophytes with extreme sex-based segregation 2) The nature of fire-vegetation relationships in tropical savanna-forest mosaics 3) Detecting the endangered South Llano springs moss and other plants from the South Llano River watershed using environmental DNA metabarcoding 4) Combining traditional survey methods and environmental DNA metabarcoding to assess marine intertidal biodiversity on Yellow Island, Washington 5) Predicting genomic offset in Olympia oyster populations under different climate change scenarios.
Organizations & Programs: Undergraduate Research Ambassadors, Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, Ecology and Conservation Biology Student Ambassadors, Club Tennis
Activities: Tennis, Basketball, Violin, Latin Dance
Awards: University of Washington Doris Duke Conservation Scholar, Association of Former Students Scholarship, Sigma Xi Grant in Aid of Research, W.B. Davis Endowed Scholarship, COALS Undergraduate Research Scholar, Anderson & Crum Award for Field Research in Bryology, C.R. Butler and W.J. Patrick Memorial Endowed Scholarship, Botanical Society of America Undergraduate Student Research Award, Dean's Honor Roll, Virginia Thomas Allen Endowed Scholarship, Dependent Children of Faculty and Staff Scholarship, Ecology and Conservation Biology Undergraduate Research Award, Texas A&M National Recognition Scholarship, Hispanic Forum of Bryan/College Station Scholarship, College Hills Scholars Scholarship
Experience: Fall/Spring/Summer Research, Internships, Poster Presentations, Oral Presentations, Prospective Student Outreach, Proposal Writing, Scientific Writing, Biosafety
Years Experience: 2
Howdy! My name is Luis Hurtado, and I am an Ecology & Conservation Biology and Entomology double major from College Station, TX. After graduating, I plan to work towards a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, or a related field. Eventually, I see myself working for a government agency like the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service or as an academic researcher. Much of my research has been on non-vascular plants (mosses, hornworts, and liverworts). These inconspicuous little plants have not received the same attention as their flashy vascular counterparts, and much is left to learn about them. My initial work focused on the evolution and biogeography of bryophytes, but my most recent research has involved using environmental DNA to detect aquatic mosses in the field. My work with bryophytes opened the doors for me to pursue research in paleoecology (the study of past ecosystems), and I work as a laboratory assistant on a project that uses phytoliths (silicified plant microfossils) to predict historical vegetation patterns in the Bolivian Amazon River Basin. Plant communities are shaped by fire regimes, so learning what they were like can tell us about historic fire frequencies over the past few millennia. In summer 2024, I spent two months in the San Juan Islands Archipelago in Washington. Here, I investigated marine intertidal invertebrate and algal communities through extensive field surveys and environmental DNA metabarcoding. Additionally, I built a potential distribution model for the native Olympia oyster and projected this model into the future under different climate change scenarios to predict how the species may be affected by our rapidly changing world.
Undergraduate research has been invaluable to my development as a budding scientist and a person. I have met like-minded people, improved my hard and soft skills, and achieved more than I ever thought possible. I am incredibly grateful for all it has given me, and I cannot wait to guide future Aggies through their journeys as undergraduate researchers. My email address is listed above, so please reach out if you have any questions!