Daniel Montesinos Torres ~ Senior Research Fellow

I am based at the Australian Tropical Herbarium and I am broadly interested in the evolutionary ecology of plants.  My main focus of research is on the rapid evolution of locally adapted traits of invasive species across broad biogeographical scales, with a special focus on reproduction and reproductive systems.  Biogeographic comparisons of closely related invasive and non-invasive species provide novel insights into invasive ecology. My work exemplifies how even non-invasive exotic species are adapting constantly to their non-native ranges, and that many of the trait-shifts detected between native and non-native ranges of invasive species are frequently found also for less successful non-invasive exotics. Our results suggest that local adaptation and reproductive isolation can occur at fastest rates than it was previously thought, and might have broad biogeographic implications for the understanding of allopatry and speciation processes.  I am the Editor-in-Chief of Web Ecology and a Coordinating Editor of the Nordic Journal of Botany. Follow me on Twitter @plant_ecology

Interests

Research

• Plant evolutionary ecology
• Biosecurity
• Biogeography
• Reproductive biology
• Seed ecology

Experience

• 2019 to present - Invited Professor, University of Coimbra - Centre for Functional Ecology (Coimbra, Portugal)
• 2019 to present - Senior Research Fellow, James Cook University - Australian Tropical Herbarium (Cairns, Australia)
• 2013 to 2018 - Assistant Researcher, University of Coimbra - Centre for Functional Ecology (Coimbra, Portugal)
• 2011 to 2013 - Post-doctoral Researcher, University of Coimbra - Centre for Functional Ecology (Coimbra, Portugal)
• 2009 to 2011 - Post-doctoral Fellow, The University of Montana (Missoula, Montana , USA)
• 2007 to 2009 - Natural Park Technician, Generalitat Valenciana - Vaersa (Ballestar, Castelló, Spain)
• 2002 to 2007 - Ph.D. Student, CSIC (Albal, Valencia, Spain)
• 1999 to 2001 - Research Technical Assistant, CSIC (Albal, Valencia, Spain)

Research Disciplines

• Ecology (0602)
• Evolutionary Biology (0603)
• Environmental Science and Management (0502)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity (9608)
• Ecosystem Assessment and Management (9605)

Fellowships

• 2012 to 2016 - Marie Curie Fellowship - Career Integration Grant, by the European Commission
• 2011 to 2013 - Post-doctoral Fellowship, by the Portuguese Government
• 2009 to 2011 - Post-doctoral Fellowship, by the Spanish Government
• 2002 to 2006 - Ph. D. scholarship, by the Spanish Government

Memberships

• 2019 - Ecological Society of Australia - ESA
• 2018 - Iberian Ecological Society - SIBECOL. Founding member.
• 2014 - Portuguese Ecological Society - SPECO. Former Board member (2017-18).
• 2003 - Spanish Terrestrial Ecology Society - AEET

Other

• 2019 - Coordinating Editor, Nordic Journal of Botany, www.nordicjbotany.org
• 2013 - Editor in Chief, Web Ecology, www.web-ecology.net

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Ferreira B, Montesinos D and Sales F (in press) Mucilage in Portuguese Lamiaceae. Botany Letters, , DOI:10.1080/23818107.2020.1790035.
• Hierro J, Eren Ö, Montesinos D, Andonian K, Kethsuriani L, Özkan R, Diaconu A, Török K, Cavieres L and French K (2020) Increments in weed seed size track global range expansion and contribute to colonization in a non-native region. Biological Invasions, 22 (3), pp. 969-982, DOI:10.1007/s10530-019-02137-z.
• Montesinos D and Callaway R (in press) Soil origin corresponds with variation in growth of an invasive Centaurea, but not of non-invasive congeners. Ecology, , Article: e03141, DOI:10.1002/ecy.3141.
• Irimia R, Lopes S, Sotes G, Cavieres L, Eren Ö, Lortie C, French K, Hierro J, Rosche C, Callaway R, Pinho e Melo T and Montesinos D (2019) Biogeographic differences in the allelopathy of leaf surface extracts of an invasive weed. Biological Invasions, 21 (10), pp. 3151-3168, DOI:10.1007/s10530-019-02038-1.
• Montesinos D, Graebner R and Callaway R (2019) Evidence for evolution of increased competitive ability for invasive Centaurea solstitialis, but not for naturalized C. calcitrapa. Biological Invasions, 21 (1), pp. 99-110, DOI:10.1007/s10530-018-1807-z.
• Becerra P, Catford J, Inderjit , McLeod M, Andonian K, Aschehoug E, Montesinos D and Callaway R (2018) Inhibitory effects of Eucalyptus globulus on understorey plant growth and species richness are greater in non‐native regions. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 27 (1), pp. 68-76, DOI:10.1111/geb.12676.
• Montesinos D and Callaway R (2018) Traits correlate with invasive success more than plasticity: a comparison of three Centaurea congeners. Ecology and Evolution, 8 (15), pp. 7378-7385, DOI:10.1002/ece3.4080.
• Montesinos D, Correia M, Castro S, French K and Rodríguez-Echeverría S (2018) Diminishing importance of elaiosomes for acacia seed removal in non-native ranges. Evolutionary Ecology, 32 (6), pp. 601-621, DOI:10.1007/s10682-018-9959-y.
• Elena-Irimia R, Montesinos Torres D, Eren O, Lortie C, French K, Cavieres L, Sotes G, Hierro J, Jorge A and Loureiro J (2017) Extensive analysis of native and non-native Centaurea solstitialis L. populations across the world shows no traces of polyploidization. PeerJ, 5, Article: e3531, DOI:10.7717/peerj.3531.
• Montesinos D and Callaway R (2017) Inter-regional hybrids of native and invasive Centaurea solstitialis display intermediate competitive ability. Ecography, 40 (7), pp. 801-802, DOI:10.1111/ecog.02653.
• Filipe J and Montesinos Torres D (2016) Inter-regional hybrids of native and non-native Centaurea sulphurea inherit increased competitive ability from the non-natives. Plant Ecology & Diversity, 9 (4), pp. 381-386, DOI:10.1080/17550874.2016.1261950.

Other research outputs

• Montesinos D (2019) Forest ecological intensification. Trends in Plant Science, 24 (6), pp. 485-486, DOI:10.1016/j.tplants.2019.03.009.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• The Contribution of Polyploidy to Weed Invasiveness and Control (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
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