PROJECTS
This section presents my current and previous research projects in botany, ecology, and natural history
Resolving the Taxonomy of Caribbean Mistletoes
The objectives of this project are to resolve the phylogenetic relationships and clarify the taxonomy of the endemic lineage of Caribbean mistletoes Dendropemon (Loranthaceae), including nomenclatural updates, a monographic treatment, and electronic identification keys
Systematics and Evolution of Tropical Mistletoes
This project focuses on studying the taxonomy, chloroplast structure, and phylogenetics of various lineages of mistletoes and to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among genera and species
Using combined molecular and morphological data, current taxonomic classification will be re-evaluated and updated
Selected publications
Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. and Acevedo-Rodríguez P. 2019. Clarifying the identity of the enigmatic mistletoe Cladocolea biflora (Loranthaceae). Harvard Papers in Botany 24(2): 119–120
Canelón D.S., Niño S.M., Dorr L.J., Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. 2023. Dendrophthora kuijtiana (Santalaceae: Visceae), a new species and additions for the genus in Venezuela. Brittonia 75(1):69–78
Tandang D.N., delos Angeles M., Buot Jr. I.E., Devkota M.P., Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. 2022. Decaisnina tomentosa (Loranthaceae), a new species of mistletoe from Samar Island, Philippines. Biodiversity Data Journal 10:e78457
Documenting the Biodiversity of Parasitic Plants from the Caribbean Islands
The focus of this long-term project is to prepare a taxonomic treatment covering all lineages of parasitic plants reported for the Caribbean region
Other objectives are to prepare interactive keys to recognize species in the field and to compile information on their natural history and reproductive biology for educational and conservation purposes
Although some species of parasitic plants in the Caribbean are widespread weeds (such as the Love Vine), there are others that are endemic to small islands and critically endangered
Selected publications
Honaas L., Caraballo-Ortiz M.A., McNeil J. and dePamphilis C.W. 2015. Cultivation of parasitic flower plants for research and teaching. AERGC Newsletter 27: 4–8
Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. and Morales-Pérez A.L. 2018. A lost Caribbean mistletoe rediscovered: new record for Antidaphne wrightii (Santalaceae) in Puerto Rico. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 12(2): 683–687
Caraballo Ortiz M.A. 2019. Parasitic plants: important components of biodiversity. The Plant Press (Botany Department, Smithsonian Institution) 22(4): 1–3
Floristic Studies in the West Indies
One of my long-term projects is to study the floristic diversity of the Caribbean islands, aiming to prepare a comprehensive taxonomic treatment for the region with interactive keys and images
Several components of this project are in collaboration with regional and international botanists, including Dr. Pedro Acevedo (Smithsonian Institution), Dr. Jackeline Salazar (Dominican Republic), Agronomist William Cinea (Haiti), Mr. Eddy Martinez (Cuba), Mr. Alcides Morales (Puerto Rico), Dr. Fred Burton (Cayman Islands), and Mr. Keron Campbell (Jamaica)
Selected publications
Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. and Carlo T.A. 2013. Resurrection of Dendropemon sintenisii (Loranthaceae): an endemic mistletoe from Puerto Rico. Phytotaxa 82(1): 1–6
Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. and Trejo-Torres J.C. 2017. Two new endemic tree species from Puerto Rico: Pisonia horneae and Pisonia roqueae (Nyctaginaceae). PhytoKeys 86: 97–115
Caraballo-Ortiz, M.A., Campbell, K.C.S.E. and Cross, S.J. 2021. A new Pisonia (Nyctaginaceae) from Jamaica, with an updated list of species in the genus and a key to the West Indian taxa. Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Geography (Webbia) 76(1): 53–63
Studies on the Flora of Puerto Rico
This long-term project aims to clarify the taxonomy of the flora of Puerto Rico, including new findings, documenting the urban flora such as cultivated and newly naturalized plants, and building interactive keys
The project also involve the collaboration with biologists and conservation agencies to identify specimens, explore botanically important areas, and propagate endangered species
Selected publications
Trejo-Torres J.C., Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. and Marcano-Vega H. 2011. Handbook of rare plants from the northern karstic region of Puerto Rico. Final Research Report. International Institute of Tropical Forestry, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and Ciudadanos del Karso, San Juan, Puerto Rico. 290 pp
Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. 2013. Rediscovery of Arrabidaea chica (Bignoniaceae) and Entada polystachya var. polyphylla (Fabaceae) in Puerto Rico. Phytotaxa 125(1): 53–58
Trejo-Torres J.C., Caraballo-Ortiz M.A., Vives-Heyliger M.A., Torres-Santana C.W., Cetzal-Ix W., Mercado-Díaz J.A. and Carlo T.A. 2014. Rediscovery of Eugenia fajardensis (Myrtaceae), a rare tree from the Puerto Rican Bank. Phytotaxa 191(1): 154–164
Investigating the Diversity and Ecology of Birdcatcher Trees
This collaborative project with Mr. Felipe Rossetto from the Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Dr. Camille Truong from the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria in Australia aims to understand the diversity and ecological interactions of Pisonia Birdcatcher trees and related genera in the Caribbean and across the globe
Selected publications
Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. and Trejo-Torres J.C. 2017. Two new endemic tree species from Puerto Rico: Pisonia horneae and Pisonia roqueae (Nyctaginaceae). PhytoKeys 86: 97–115
Rossetto E.F.S. and Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. 2020. Splitting the Pisonia birdcatcher trees: reestablishment of Ceodes and Rockia (Nyctaginaceae: Pisonieae). PhytoKeys 152: 121–136
Caraballo-Ortiz, M.A., Campbell, K.C.S.E. and Cross, S.J. 2021. A new Pisonia (Nyctaginaceae) from Jamaica, with an updated list of species in the genus and a key to the West Indian taxa. Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Geography (Webbia) 76(1): 53–63
Assessing the Diversity of Neotropical Wild Cinnamon Trees
This project, leaded by Dr. Jackeline Salazar (National Autonomous University of Santo Domingo and Grupo Jaragua, Dominican Republic), is focused on redefining the current genera of Wild Cinnamon Trees (Canellaceae) in tropical America, describing new species, and evaluating populations for conservation efforts
Understanding the Ecology and Population Genetics of the Hemiparasitic Scarlet Paintbrush, Castilleja coccinea (Orobanchaceae), in Eastern North America
In collaboration with Dr. Claude dePamphilis and Dr. Uma Venkatesh from Penn State University and other national and international researchers, we are evaluating the factors involved in the overall decrease of the iconic Scarlet Paintbrush, Castilleja coccinea, across eastern North America
This project also contemplate developing critical information to propagate this species and to promote the long-term conservation of extant populations
Studies on the Structure and Evolution of Organelles
I am interested in comparative studies on the structure and genome evolution of organelles using genomic data from high-throughput sequencing
Selected publications
Zheng C., Fan J., Caraballo-Ortiz M.A., Liu Y., Liu T., Fu G., Zhang Y., Yang P., Su X. 2022. The complete chloroplast genome and phylogenetic relationship of Apocynum pictum (Apocynaceae), a Central Asian shrub and second-class national protection species in Western China. Gene 830:146517
Yu Q.F., Tan Y.H., Yu W.B., Yang S.T., Huang J.P., Caraballo-Ortiz M.A., Liu C., Song Y. 2023. Comparative analyses of eight complete plastid genomes of two hemiparasitic Cassytha vines in the family Lauraceae. Frontiers in Genetics 14:1192170
Edlund M., Anderson B.M., Su H.J., Robison T., Caraballo-Ortiz M.A., Der J.P., Nickrent D.L., Petersen G. 2024. Evolution of parasitism in Santalales is coupled with loss of plastid ndh genes and major range shifts of the inverted repeat. Annals of Botany mcae145
Ecology of Mistletoes and Tropical Plants
I have participated in several projects focused on the ecology of forest dynamics, seed predation in tropical plants, and seed dispersal of mistletoes, many of them in collaboration with Dr. Tomás Carlo from Penn State University
We conducted experimental seed plantings on several host trees with fruits dispersed by frugivorous birds and measure the survival and performance of mistletoe seedlings
Mistletoes can grow well in more species of trees than is usually observed in nature, but their seeds do not usually arrive to them because birds decide where to “plant” them
Instead, birds take mistletoe seeds to the trees they feed the most, and even when they are difficult hosts to get established, the high intensity of seeds received helps the mistletoe to get a chance to reach the right branch and thrive
Selected publications
Flynn D.F.B., Uriarte M., Crk T., Pascarella J.B., Zimmerman J.K., Aide T.M. and Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. 2010. Hurricane disturbance alters secondary forest recovery in Puerto Rico. Biotropica 42(2): 149–157
Caraballo-Ortiz M.A., González-Castro A., Yang S., dePamphilis C.W. and Carlo T.A. 2017. Dissecting the contributions of dispersal and host properties to the local abundance of a tropical mistletoe. Journal of Ecology 105(6): 1657–1667
Boyer B.W., Morán-López T., Amico G., Arana C., Espíndola W.D., Caraballo-Ortiz M.A., Morales J.M., Carlo T.A. 2021. Effects of latitude and plant relative abundance on predispersal granivory. Biotropica 53:1007–1012
Pollination Biology and Fecundity of the Caribbean Tree Goetzea elegans (Solanaceae)
This project was focused on Goetzea elegans, an endangered tree endemic to Puerto Rico and member of a basal lineage of the Nightshade family (Solanaceae)
This study, in collaboration with Dr. Eugenio Santiago (University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras), explored two components: the species’s breeding system using cultivated plants, and the fecundity of the largest known wild population. In the first component, pollen crossings were performed to test for fruit set, seed number and seed viability
Also, the pollination efficiency between a native bird (Coereba flaveola) and the introduced honey bees (Apis mellifera) was compared
For the second component, I explored how the distance to the nearest flowering neighbor and nearby flowers in the community influenced the fruit production, seed number, and seedling viability of these rare trees
Selected publications
Caraballo Ortiz M.A. 2008. Biology and natural history of the Matabuey (Goetzea elegans), an endemic and endangered tree of Puerto Rico. In Joglar, R. (editor) Biodiversity of Puerto Rico: Agustín Stahl, Flora, Fungi. La Editorial, Universidad de Puerto Rico. pp. 175–178
Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. and Santiago-Valentín E. 2011. The breeding system and effectiveness of introduced and native pollinators of the endangered tropical tree Goetzea elegans (Solanaceae). Journal of Pollination Ecology 4(4): 26–33
Caraballo-Ortiz M.A., Santiago-Valentín E. and Carlo T.A. 2011. Flower number and distance to neighbours affect the fecundity of Goetzea elegans (Solanaceae). Journal of Tropical Ecology 27(5): 521–528
Interdisciplinary Collaborations
I have been involved in multiple inter-disciplinary projects, including studies on paleobotany, phytochemistry, genetic structure, ornithology, and genomic analyses of viruses
These studies include the description of a new species of fossilized Kauri tree from about 64 million years ago (Agathis immortalis), a new species of mistletoe-specialist bird from Borneo (the Spectacled Flowerpecker, Dicaeum dayakorum), a new species of aroid herb from the Philippines, and inferring the first genome and resolving the phylogeny of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus
Selected publications
Escapa I., Iglesias A., Wilf P., Catalano S., Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. and Cuneo N. 2018. Agathis trees of Patagonia’s Cretaceous-Paleogene death landscapes and their evolutionary significance. American Journal of Botany 105(8): 1345–1368
Saucier J.R., Milensky C.M., Caraballo-Ortiz M.A., Ragai R., Dahlan N.F. and Edwards D.P. 2019. A distinctive new species of Flowerpecker (Passeriformes: Dicaeidae) from Borneo. Zootaxa 4686(4): 451–464
Caraballo-Ortiz M.A., Miura S., Sanderford M., Dolker T., Tao Q., Weaver S., Pond S.L.K., Kumar S. 2022. TopHap: rapid inference of key phylogenetic structures from common haplotypes in large genome collections with limited diversity. Bioinformatics 38(10):2719–2726
delos Angeles M.D., Tandang D.N., Medecilo-Guiang M.M.P., Buot Jr. I.E., Schneider H., Caraballo-Ortiz M.A. 2023. A new diminutive species of Schismatoglottis (Araceae) from Samar Island, Philippines. Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Geography (Webbia) 78(1):21–28
For a complete list of my scientific publications, please visit
Google Scholar or Research Gate
If interested in obtaining printed or electronic copies of these publications, please contact me
