Germán Avila Sakar
Associate Professor
Contact Information
Department:
Biology
Fields:
- Biodiversity
- Biology
- Ecology
- Evolution
- Plant Sciences
Areas of Expertise:
- Defence in Plants
- Herbivory
- Plant-Animal Interactions
- Plant Reproduction
- Plant Sexual Systems
- Pollination
- Resource Allocation
Languages Spoken:
- English
- Spanish
Available To:
- Appear on radio or TV
- Appear as a public speaker
- Provide comment to media
- Write articles
- Discuss research with industry, government, and others
About:
Born in Mexico City, and growing up near the southwest mountains of the Valley of Mexico, from a young age Dr. Germán Avila Sakar became curious about the structure of organisms and the functions of their parts. Avila Sakar studied biology at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, where plants quickly became his fascination. He was amazed by botanists that could identify many different kinds of plants.
Avila Sakar also became enthralled by experimental studies with plants in natural settings as it was the perfect combination of his interests: outdoors, plants, experiments. He spent his first long stint at a tropical biology station in the Chamela region, on the Pacific coast between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo. After that experience he was hooked on the tropical seasonal forest ecosystem.
Avila Sakar's desire to be trained as a scientist took him to Pennsylvania for doctoral studies, after which I spent several years as a researcher at UNAM in Mexico. Coming to Canada he lived in Nova Scotia before settling in Manitoba. Currently he splits his time between his family, teaching and learning about ecology, evolution, and botany. He conducts research in both greenhouses and tropical habitats.
Media and Research Expert