Falklands Symposium: Q&A with Dr Cesar Perez Tejada (Mexico)

Following in the footsteps of Charles Darwin, the first ever Pan–American Science Delegation to the Falkland Islands is participating in a week-long mission to showcase the beauty of the UK South Atlantic Overseas Territories and immense opportunities for scientific research and collaboration in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.

Scientists from the US, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Columbia have the opportunity to form partnerships and collaborate with the South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI) with the aim of establishing the Falklands and the wider South Atlantic as a place for groundbreaking scientific research.

Follow the delegation at #FalklandSci

Q: The Falkland Islands are a largely un-researched, pristine environment for scientific exploration but also due to its remote location not much is known about life on the island.  What did you expect the Falklands to be like in terms of culture and heritage? How is the reality different to your expectations?  

Before I came here I had a completely misguided perception of the history, culture and heritage of the Falklands. Now that I have had the opportunity of reading the history and talking with the Falkland people, my perspective have changed. The Falklands’ people are friendly and proud of their heritage, live in an equalitarian and democratic society, care about the environment, and seem to be worried about the challenges development represents.

Q: SAERI and the Falkland Islands Government highlight that environmental stewardship is vital to establishment of home for scientific expertise on the Islands as well as its long term sustainability. What have you observed in this regard on the Island?

I think that both scientists and members of the Assembly are concerned and committed to the environment. In my opinion, Falklands have a contrasting situation with what I have seen in other Countries. An accelerated growth in fisheries, tourism and oil drilling is expected, but there is still an opportunity to plan a sustainable development of the islands, both in the marine as well in the terrestrial environments.

Q: As a scientist and expert in your field, what are you hoping to get out of this delegation?

I would be delighted to establish long-term collaboration with SAERI scientists. The Falkland Islands maintain many (almost) pristine places and thus offers a unique opportunity to develop scientific research in island ecology and evolution. I have also had the opportunity to meet the other delegates, and I am hoping to establish scientific collaborations with some of them.

Q: The UK places a great deal of value on excellence in Science and the importance of the internationalisation of Science. Do you have international collaborations in place with the UK?  If so, please describe

No, I don’t, but I think we should strengthen the scientific links between UK and Mexico.

Q: Global environmental challenges require international cooperation to achieve effective solutions. SAERI is a world class research institute working in the South Atlantic. What ways do you see SAERI contributing now and in the future

This symposium is a clear example of the initiatives SAERI is taking to improve international scientific collaboration. I was glad to see they invited scientists form several disciplines and countries, thus showing the interest to foster opportunities for scientific interaction. I think this is the right strategy, especially because SAERI is still a small institute mainly focused on marine sciences that would benefit from attracting scientist from other disciplines.

Q: Describe what you do and how the Falklands Islands provide an environment for scientific study. What are the broader applications of your work?

I am an evolutionary ecologist working on the study of adaptation, particularly on the understanding of the patterns, processes and mechanisms underlying the different forms in which plants express their sexuality. Plants inhabiting oceanic islands are generally derived from continental species that were able to reach and colonize these new habitats. Once there, these species experience a whole set of different biotic and abiotic conditions promoting independent evolution. The Falkland Islands are inhabited by several species of Orchids (the most diverse family in the Angiosperms and the one showing the highest levels of pollinator specialization) and by 17 endemic species (they only occur in the Falkland Islands), all them posing very interesting biological questions. A thorough study of the reproductive biology of these species would contribute to highlight the natural heritage of the Falklands and would constitute basic information for conservations programs.

Q: This delegation was designed to bring together delegates from a diverse range of countries and academic backgrounds in order to build a network of people who know about and use the Island as a scientific resource. What role do you think this scientific delegation will play in creating links between countries and disciplines?

I think this depends on the ability of the different parties on maintaining long-term relationships and on the real possibilities of financial funding. As far as I can see, there is a genuine interest of the delegates to work on the Falklands. A small group of projects could serve as a seed for attracting more people from abroad, and thus strength the relationships with other countries-disciplines. A balance between reinforcement of on-going research issues and new themes is necessary.

Dr Cesar Dominguez Perez Tejada is an expert in evolutionary biology with a particualr interest in adaptation evolution.  With this goal he has specialised in the study of the evolution of sexuality in plants, evolutionary ecology of biotic interactions and conflicts of interest that underlie the complex dynamics of natural selection such as denso-dependence and dependence of frequencies. He has published more than 50 articles, a dozen chapters of books.  He is a regular arbitrator for 14 scientific magazines and copy-editor of the Fondo de Cultura Economica and the Cambridge University Press.