Ecologist, born in Caracas, Venezuela, with Colombian roots. She got her undergrad degree in Biology at Universidad del Valle (Cali, Colombia) and a Master's degree in Ecology from Universidad Central de Venezuela (Caracas, Venezuela). Her passion for lichens started during her undergraduate studies, after visiting Puracé National Park in Colombia, an astonishing páramo (unique tropical high mountain ecosystem), whose lichen diversity was as fascinating as the Andean landscape.
During her master's, Mariana studied the biotic interactions between vascular plants and lichens in the desert páramos of Sierra de la Culata (Mérida, Venezuela), and in 2019 was selected to participate as the lichen specialist in the project "Last Venezuelan Glacier", which initiated her in the study of post-glacial systems. Currently, she is a PhD candidate in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota, focusing on the role of lichens and bryophytes in post-glacial primary succession in Colombia and Ecuador, and in secondary post-agriculture succession in Minnesota grasslands.
