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Martin A. Nunez

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 Ecolgy and Evolution” in research.com[24]

Books

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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

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  • 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

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  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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