Dominique Alò

Originally from Italy, I moved to the U.S. in 1996 for my education, graduating with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from the Department of Biology of the University of New Mexico. I worked there for a few years concentrating on projects related to endangered freshwater fishes of arid lands, and in 2008 I moved to Chile and kept working on the conservation of endangered freshwater fishes of the southern hemisphere for which there is very little biological information. According to existing reports, most native freshwater fish species in Southern Chile appear to have been particularly impacted by the extensive introduction of exotic salmonids from the northern hemisphere as well as rapid anthropogenic changes leading to habitat degradation. Currently, I am working

on a particular group of galaxiid fishes native of Patagonia and Falkland Islands, the Aplochiton species complex. In particular, the objective of my research is to produce a new line of evidence on their classification, evolution, ecology, and conservation by using an array of different tools, such as phylogenetic analysis, otolith microchemistry, and niche conservatism theory. Collecting and diffusing more information on these species it is of foremost importance so that the appropriate conservation actions will be undertaken.