Generales

History

The Antioquia Herpetological Group (GHA, or Grupo Herpetológico de Antioquia in Spanish) was created in February 1997 with the opening of a research program in Herpetology in the undergraduate and graduate Biology programs of the Universidad de Antioquia (Medellín, Colombia), under the direction of Drs. Vivian P. Páez and Brian C. Bock. The directors, along with students in the Institute of Biology, began working to establish a functional laboratory and museum for depositing specimens of the outstanding herpetological richness of the Antioquia Department. The Institute of Biology assigned them a deteriorated lab classroom in the first floor of the Biology building (Bloque 7-121). Without resources and with many skeptics, the members of the insipient GHA relied on a shared passion for herpetology to successfully create a research program in herpetology and a well-curated herpetological museum, to fill the need for both in the university and Antioquia Department. In 2010, one of the GHA’s first Master’s students, Juan Manuel Daza, returned with a recent Ph.D. degree to join the staff of the Instituto de Biología and take his place with the other two directors of the GHA in the task of leading the continued development of the GHA.

goals

General:

The GHA seeks to increase basic and applied knowledge of the different aspects of the biology of amphibians and reptiles, especially those that occur within the Antioquia Department.· To that end, the GHA develops ecological, biogeographic, behavioral, taxonomic, systematic, and genetic studies, as well as investigations focused on demographic status, causes of declines, and possible management strategies for herp species that face conservation problems.

Specific:

Prepare students in the field of Herpetology, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, so that they may obtain the theoretical and applied knowledge needed to prepare fundable research proposals capable of generating publishable data.· The directors of the GHA seek to form students with the bases to design and conduct not only descriptive, but also experimental studies that employ rigorous statistical analyses.· By means of the seminars and courses they offer, they hope to stimulate their students to be capable of conducting critical scientific inquiry in the area of Herpetology, always exhibiting the willingness to conduct self-critical reflection concerning their assumptions.

Strengthen the reference collection of the Museum de Herpetología of the Universidad de Antioquia, that currently meets all requirements for a functioning natural history museum and serves as a resource for studies of the diversity of amphibians and reptiles in the Antioquia Department and neighboring areas, as well as contributing to the education of students and new herpetologists in Colombia.

Instill in the general public a positive and empathetic attitude towards amphibian and reptile species.

  Juan Manuel Daza
 (57+4) 219 5620 - 219 5629
 mariac.lopez@udea.edu.co
 Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales