Martin A. Nunez

Dr. Martin A. Nunez giving a seminar on invasive species at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague

Martín Andrés Nuñez is an Argentine ecologist and academic specializing in biological invasions and plant-fungal interactions.[1] He obtained several awards and he is currently a Professor in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Houston, where he focuses on ecology, evolution, and the impacts of invasive species on ecosystems.[2] He is now Editor-in-Chief of Academia Environmental Sciences and Sustainability,[3] Senior Editor for the Journal of Applied Ecology,[4] and he is also on the advisory board of Trends in Ecology and Evolution[5]

Early life and education

Nuñez earned his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2008, under the supervision of noted ecologist Daniel Simberloff.[6] He completed his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Argentina in 2002.

Academic career

Núñez has held various academic and research positions in Argentina and the United States, including professorships at Universidad Nacional del Comahue from 2013 and principal investigator roles at CONICET.[7] He joined the University of Houston faculty in 2021.

He has a career as editor of scientific journals. He is now Editor-in-Chief of Academia Environmental Sciences and Sustainability,[8] Senior Editor for the Journal of Applied Ecology,[4] and Associate Editor for Biological Invasions. He is also on the advisory board of Trends in Ecology and Evolution.[5] He has been on the board of Plant Ecology, Ecologia Austral and other journals.

Research and publications

Núñez has published ca. 200 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Ecology & Evolution, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Biological Invasions, and Journal of Applied Ecology.[9] His research examines invasive tree dynamics, mutualisms in invasion processes, and the global ecology of non-native species.[10] He was a lead author on the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Invasive Alien Species Assessment [11][12]

He has found that that lack of mycorrhizal mutualists can halt their invasions.[13] This is now an example found on textbooks, such as Ecology in Action (Cambridge University press).[14] His research has also highlighted the challenges of using trees for carbon sequestration.[15][16] He is also lately very active on the topic of geographical biases in where science is done, with the aim of helping make science more global[17][18][19]

Awards and honors

Nuñez has received awards for his contributions to invasion ecology, including recognition from the Ecological Society of America (ESA 2018 W.S. Cooper Award),[20]  The American Society of Ecological Restoration Annual Award (excellence in restoration research),[21] the Lorenzo Parodi award in 2014 of the national academy of sciences of Argentina for best biologist under 40.[22] He was also invited to contribute to high-level global assessments such as IPBES [23] and has been highlighted in the “Best researcher” list and “leader in Ecology and Evolution” in research.com[24]

Books

In 2025, based on this editorial career, Nuñez published “A Pocket Guide to Scientific Writing and Publishing” [25] with MNRD publishing, a resource for early-career researchers and scientists from the Global South (as him).

Selected publications

  • Nuñez, M. A., T. R. Horton, and D. Simberloff. 2009. Lack of belowground mutualisms hinders Pinaceae invasions. Ecology 90:2352–2359.
  • Zenni, R. D., and M. A. Nuñez. 2013. The elephant in the room: The role of failed invasions in understanding invasion biology. Oikos 122:801–815.
  • Kuebbing, S. E., and M. A. Nuñez. 2016. Invasive non-native plants have a greater effect on neighbouring natives than other non-natives. Nature Plants 2.
  • Nuñez, M. A., M. C. Chiuffo, A. Torres, T. Paul, R. D. Dimarco, P. Raal, N. Policelli, J. Moyano, R. A. García, B. W. van Wilgen, A. Pauchard, and D. M. Richardson. 2017. Ecology and management of invasive Pinaceae around the world: progress and challenges. Biological Invasions 19:3099–3120.
  • Nuñez, M. A., and T. Amano. 2021. Monolingual searches can limit and bias results in global literature reviews. Nature Ecology and Evolution 5:264.
  • Nuñez, M. A., M. C. Chiuffo, A. Pauchard, and R. D. Zenni. 2021. Making ecology really global. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 36:766–769.
  • Nuñez, M. A., T. August, S. Bacher, B. S. Galil, P. E. Hulme, T. Ikeda, M. A. McGeoch, A. Ordonez, S. Rahlao, T. R. Truong, A. Pauchard, H. E. Roy, K. V. Sankaran, E. Schwindt, H. Seebens, A. W. Sheppard, P. Stoett, V. Vandvik, and L. A. Meyerson. 2024. Including a diverse set of voices to address biological invasions. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 39:409–412.
  • Lembrechts, J. J., A. Pauchard, J. Lenoir, M. A. Nuñez, C. Geron, A. Ven, P. Bravo-Monasterio, E. Teneb, I. Nijs, and A. Milbau. 2016. Disturbance is the key to plant invasions in cold environments. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113:14061-14066. (Ecological Society of America 2018 W.S. Cooper Award)
  • Torres, A., T. Morán-López, M. A. Rodriguez-Cabal, and M. A. Núñez. 2024. Inverse priority effects: The order and timing of removal of invasive species influence community reassembly. Journal of Applied Ecology 61:51–62. (British ecological Society 2025 Southwood Prize)
  • Policelli, N., T. D. Bruns, R. Vilgalys, and M. A. Nuñez. 2019. Suilloid fungi as global drivers of pine invasions. New Phytologist 222:714–725.
  • Moyano, J., R. D. Dimarco, J. Paritsis, T. Peterson, D. A. Peltzer, K. M. Crawford, M. A. McCary, K. T. Davis, A. Pauchard, and M. A. Nuñez. 2024. Unintended consequences of planting native and non-native trees in treeless ecosystems to mitigate climate change. Journal of Ecology 112:2480–2491.

References

  1. ^ Martin, Nunez (2025). "Dr. Nunez Profile".
  2. ^ Nunez, Martin (2025). "google schollar page".
  3. ^ Academia (2025). "Martin A. Nunez Editor in Chief".
  4. ^ a b "Journal of Applied Ecology". besjournals. doi:10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2664. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  5. ^ a b "Advisory board: Trends in Ecology & Evolution". www.cell.com. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  6. ^ Nunez, Martin (2008). Experiments on Multiple Factors Affecting Pinaceae Invasions on Isla Victoria, Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina (1st ed.). Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee.
  7. ^ CONICET (2025). "Martin A. Nunez, Principal investigator".
  8. ^ Nunez, Martin; Neenan, James. "A vision for Academia Environmental Sciences and Sustainability". Academia Environmental Sciences and Sustainability. 1 (3): 7463.
  9. ^ SCOPUS. "Martin Nunez SCOPUS profile".
  10. ^ "Científicos estudian el impacto de especies exóticas de pinos en la Patagonia" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-02-05. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  11. ^ "Científicos del CONICET representarán al país en el primer informe mundial sobre especies exóticas invasoras". Archived from the original on 2025-04-17. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  12. ^ Bacher, S., Galil, B. S., & Nuñez, M. A. (Coordinating Lead Authors), Ansong, M., Cassey, P., Dehnen-Schmutz, K., Fayvush, G., Hiremath, A. J., Ikegami, M., Martinou, A. F., McDermott, S. M., Preda, C., Vilà, M., & Weyl, O. L. F. (Lead Authors), Fernandez, R. D., & Ryan-Colton, E. (Fellows). (2023). Chapter 4 Impacts of invasive alien species on nature, nature's contributions to people, and good quality of life IPBES (Ed). Bonn, Germany: IPBES. ISBN 978-1138121256.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Nuñez, M. A., T. R. Horton, and D. Simberloff (2009). "Lack of belowground mutualisms hinders Pinaceae invasions". Ecology. 90 (9): 2352–2359. Bibcode:2009Ecol...90.2352N. doi:10.1890/08-2139.1. PMID 19769113.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Singer, Fred (2022). Ecology in Action. UK: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge & New York. ISBN 978-1-108-92722-2.
  15. ^ Kimbrough, Liz (2021-06-21). "When it comes to carbon capture, tree invasions can do more harm than good". Mongabay Environmental News. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  16. ^ Nuñez, M. A., M. C. Chiuffo, A. Pauchard, and R. D. Zenni. (2021). "Making ecology really global". Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 36 (9): 766–769. Bibcode:2021TEcoE..36..766N. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2021.06.004. PMID 34256986.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Varma, Juhi (2023-07-17). "These invasive trees can cause millions of dollars worth of damage. Here's what to know". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  18. ^ "Martin Nuñez – Thu 8 Apr – BES". British Ecological Society. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  19. ^ "Nuñez Authors Three Studies on Academic Journal's Diversity and Inclusion". www.uh.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  20. ^ Mize, A. (2018). "Ecological Society of America announces 2018 award recipients".
  21. ^ "Martin Nuñez Honored with Award for Promoting Equity in Restoration Science Research". www.uh.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  22. ^ National Academy of Sciences (2014). "National Academy of science of Argentina Award 2014" (PDF).
  23. ^ "CONICET scientists will represent the country in the first world report on invasive alien species" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-04-18. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  24. ^ "Martin A. Nuñez: Ecology and Evolution H-index & Awards – Academic Profile". Research.com. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  25. ^ Nunez, Martin (2025). A Pocket Guide to Scientific Writing and Publishing. MNRD. ISBN 979-8-9991705-0-7.
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