User:Hagsater/Miguel Ángel Soto Arenas

MIGUEL ÁNGEL SOTO ARENAS is

Miguel Angel Soto Arenas (July 12, 1963 – August 27, 2009, Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico) developed an interest in plants since an early age, especially orchids; studied biology and ecology at National University in Mexico City (UNAM). Produced a first list of orchids for Bonampak in the Lacandon jungle in Chiapas (Soto, 1986). Together with Gerardo Salazar produced a revision of Lepanthes (Orchidaceae) for Mexico, describing 32 species new to science. Worked out of the Institute of Ecology/UNAM and Herbario AMO, revising Laelia with Federico Halbinger, the systematics of Vanilla though most of this work was unpublished at the time of his sudden death. New species are described in the December 2009 issue of Lankesteriana.

Published over 160 new species or new combinations, and over 70 articles in peer reviewed journals. Directed numerous students for their thesis, including Rodolfo Solano Gómez whose thesis “The Genus Stelis Sw. (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) in México” (E.N.E.P. Iztacala, UNAM, written in 1993 in co-direction with E. Hágsater, AMO Herbarium) earned an Honors Mention in the Undergraduate Thesis Contest of the Botanical Society of Mexico. Similarly, Mariana Hernández Apolinar received First Place in the Undergraduate Thesis Contest of the Botanical Society of Mexico with the thesis “Population Dyanmics of Laelia speciosa (HBK) Schltr. (Orchidaceae)” (Faculty of Sciences, UNAM, written in 1992 with the co-direction of Irene Pisanty). In October of 1993 he organized very successfully the 5th Latin American Meeting of Orchideology in Xalapa, Veracruz, with the participation of the best known specialists and scholars of orchids of tropical America and Exporquídea Xalapa ’93. He was Vice-President of the Latin American Orchideology Commission (C.L.O., 1991-1993) and President in 1993.

Miguel Ángel collected more than 11,000 different samples (collection numbers) of plants, mostly orchids, in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama and Brazil, which include almost 150 type collections. The main set of his collections as well as his collecting notebooks and personal notes are deposited in the AMO Herbarium (Chinoin Institute, Mexico City). Miguel was a tireless traveler and few people knew the natural habitats of orchids like he did. One of the authors of “The Orchids of Mexico” (2005), he personally supervised its design and edition; the work describes a journey through the ecosystems of Mexico and its orchids, including cultural and conservation chapters. Together with the digital Catalogue (CD) of The Orchids of Mexico it is the most complete popular work there is on Mexican orchids.

One of his already classic works was the publication: Updated Listing of the Orchids of Mexico. Orquídea (Mexico City.) 11: 231-275 (1989); this list is the basis of the most recent lists about the orchids of Mexico. Together with Federico Halbinger he coauthored the book Laelias of Mexico, which is one of the most widely cultivated genera by those fond of orchids. Miguel Angel was executive editor of the journal Orquídea (Mexico City.) from 1985 to 2009. He was also executive editor of some volumes of the Icones Orchidacearum (Mexico), which is probably the best technical reference of the Mexican orchids. Also, Miguel Ángel collaborated with several of the great current orchideologists including Robert Dressler, Gerardo Salazar, Eric Hágsater, Germán Carnevali, Mark Chase, Cássio van den Berg, Mark Whitten, Phil Cribb, and Ed Greenwood, among many others. Miguel´s publications are a mandatory reference for orchid scholars, but are also very useful for bio-geographers and evolutionists of the flora of the Neotropics. Due to his great work as a botanist, several species have been dedicated in his honor like: Lepanthes sotoi Archila, Maxillaria sotoana Carnevali et Gómez-Juárez, Mormodes sotoana Salazar, Stelis sotoana R. Solano, and some others that are in press in Lankesteriana.

Miguel Ángel was a conservationist since an early age; for example, he was one of the most participative students in the creation of the Reserve of the Pedregal of San Angel in Mexico City. More recently, he published one of the most complete works on the current situation of orchid conservation in Mexico and participated in many forums related with the conservation of orchids. He was a prominent member of the “Orchid Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission, IUCN” (1993-1997; 1998-2009) and a member of the “Conservation ex-situ Committee” of the same commission (2000-2003). He also participated as counselor of various government agencies like SARH (Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources), SEDESOL (Ministry of Social Development), SEMARNAT (Ministry of Natural Resources), CONABIO (National Comission of Biodiversity), establishing the most important criteria for the national orchid conservation strategies of Mexico.

He stood out for his attitude, always cooperating with hobbyists and other biologists, which led him to share his knowledge in his field trips, in numerous sessions of the Mexican Orchid Association, and with farmers, particularly those that cultivate vanilla in the states of Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas. He was a proficient lecturer at conferences and scientific seminars, he delivered more than 150 conferences in universities, in botanical gardens, and in botanical and horticultural associations worldwide.

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