The Basin of Mexico: Critical Environmental Issues and Sustainability

Whitmore, Thomas M.; Ezcurra, Exequiel; Mazarí-Hiriart, Marisa; Pisanty, Irene; Aguilar, Adrián Guillermo

doi:10.2307/3250792

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 34 publications

(33 reference statements)

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“…Later, there was accelerated growth in the middle of the 20th century (Narchi 2014;Voss et al 2015), until it became the fifth largest urban area in the world with more than 22 million people, concentrating a large part of México's industrial, commercial, and political activity (Manley et al 2022;UN 2018). This rapid urban growth has multiple consequences at different scales, including: 1) Reduction of the original vegetation cover area, substituted by urban areas or cultivated fields (Ezcurra et al 1999;Merlín-Uribe et al 2013). 2) Alteration of precipitation patterns, changes in groundwater levels and drying (Bojorquez Tapia et al 1998;Tortajada and Castelán 2003), and 3) Decrease in biodiversity (Rodríguez-Franco 2001;Ezcurra et al 2001;Narchi 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rediscovery of Oryzomys fulgens: implications for the taxonomy of Oryzomys

González-Ruiz,

Ramírez-Pulido,

Jiménez-Gutiérrez

et al. 2024

Therya

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The rodents belonging to the genus Oryzomys are among the most widely distributed groups inhabiting North America. Currently, 13 species with continental, peninsular, or insular distributions are known. However, this genus also faces significant conservation challenges, primarily due to climate change and other human-related activities. One such enigmatic species is Oryzomys fulgens. Its main challenge lies in the fact that it was originally described from an imprecise type locality, simply labeled as "Mexico." Fortunately, recent research has delimited its range to the Basin of México. Nonetheless, the lack of comparison between its holotype and other specimens of the genus in México has hindered the accurate assignment of its name to any known taxon, despite being one of the oldest names within the genus, O. fulgens has rarely been used since its original description. During our research, we collected two specimens of O. fulgens from Xochimilco, México City, a remnant wetland situated within the Basin of México, nestled within one of the largest and most urbanized cities globally. To properly assess its taxonomic status, we compared our specimens with the holotype of O. fulgens, as well as with other species from southern and western México. The considerable morphological differences we observed in O. fulgens, coupled with its distinct and unique habitat as the sole species of the genus occupying temperate regions at high elevations, lead us to propose that it is indeed a distinct species, separate from O. mexicanus and O. albiventer. Historically, its distribution was likely limited to the Basin of México. Today, O. fulgens faces serious conservation problems, mainly due to the restriction of its current distribution, as far as we know, confined to Xochimilco. Although the ancestral agricultural system known as "chinampas" might provide an ideal environment for sustaining populations of this species, it remains under significant pressure from various human activities, predators, and competition with invasive species like the black rat. Urgent conservation efforts are needed to safeguard the unique habitat of O. fulgens and protect this enigmatic species from further decline.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rediscovery of Oryzomys fulgens: implications for the taxonomy of Oryzomys

González-Ruiz,

Ramírez-Pulido,

Jiménez-Gutiérrez

et al. 2024

Therya

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Mazarí-Hiriart¹,

Cifuentes

Velázquez³

et al. 2000

Urban Ecosystems

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Water Management for a Megacity: Mexico City Metropolitan Area

Tortajada¹,

Castelán²

2003

AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment

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The paper presents an overview of the present situation of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA). The analysis indicates an urgent need to radically improve the current water supply and wastewater management practices, to become sustainable. The MCMA is one of the most rapidly growing urban centers of the world, with a population of about 21 million people, a very high rate of immigration and numerous illegal settlements. In order to meet the increasing water demand, successive governments have focused almost exclusively on supply management and engineering solutions, which have resulted in investments of hundreds of millions of USD and the construction of major infrastructure projects for interbasin water transfer. Environmental, economic and social policies associated with water management are mostly inadequate and insufficient, which is resulting in increasing deterioration in the environment, health and socioeconomic conditions of a population living in one of the largest urban agglomerations of the world. Surprisingly, however, no long-term strategies on demand-management, reuse, conservation, and improved water-management practices have been developed so far.

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The Basin of Mexico: Critical Environmental Issues and Sustainability

Cited by 4 publications

References 34 publications

Rediscovery of Oryzomys fulgens: implications for the taxonomy of Oryzomys

Rediscovery of Oryzomys fulgens: implications for the taxonomy of Oryzomys

Untitled

Water Management for a Megacity: Mexico City Metropolitan Area

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