Mexican botanist specialising in cacti, particularly epiphytic and viviparous species. Born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa state, Hugo Cota-Sánchez developed an interest in nature while at high school and was particularly fascinated by plants, marvelling at the morphology and adaptations of the cacti. His interest in botany developed as an undergraduate at the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico when he undertook extensive fieldwork, collecting plants and creating floristic inventories. In 1984 he graduated as a biologist with a thesis on the germination of Ferocactus latispinus before moving to California to attend the Claremont Graduate University, gaining a master's degree in 1992 with the study of karyotype evolution in the cactus genus Echinocereus.
During his time as a student Cota-Sánchez also worked as a conservation consultant for both Mexican governmental organisations and several botanic gardens. Remaining in the United States he received his PhD from the Iowa State University with a thesis on another Mexican-American Cactaceae genus, Ferocactus (1997). Following this Cota-Sánchez became a research associate at the Missouri Botanic Garden (1998-2000) while simultaneously supervising the DNA sequencing and plant molecular systematics labs at the University of Missouri St. Louis. Since 2000 he has worked in Canada as a biology lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan, becoming an associate professor in 2004 and has directed the W. P. Fraser herbarium (SASK) since 2000.
As a researcher Cota Sánchez continued to focus on the Cactaceae family, including their taxonomy and phylogeny (particularly within the subfamily Cactoideae), their cytology and chromosome evolution and the taxonomy, biology and evolution of vivipary within this family, along with its agricultural implications. His research program in the cactus family has been sponsored by several Canadian and international agencies. He has also studied the evolution and taxonomy of the Poaceae family as well as working in the field of museum collection development and biodiversity informatics. Travelling all over the world for conferences and meetings he has published extensively, including his book chapter Evolución de Cactáceas en la region del Golfo de California, México (2008).
Cota-Sánchez has been collecting in Mexico since the 1980s; particularly enjoying field trips in tropical areas to study and collect epiphytic cacti in tree canopies, as well as the opportunity it gives him to interact with local people in his areas of study. He has undertaken many administrative roles as a member of the Cactaceae Specialist Group for the World Conservation Union (1996-), a member of the board of directors for the Canadian Botanical Association (2004-2007) and on the editorial committee for the journals Polibotanica, Cactaceas y Suculentas Mexicanas and Scientific Journals. During his life Cota-Sánchez has worked in the herbaria ISC, RSA/POM and ENCB and has received several awards for excellence in teaching. He was made a Kenan fellow of the National Tropical Botanic Garden of Kauai, Hawaii, a visiting professor at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and is due to become a Canadian citizen in 2010.
Sources:
Personal communication, September 2009
University of Saskatchewan. Hugo Cota Sánchez, Plant Systematics Lab:
http://www.usask.ca/biology/cota-sanchez/lab/.
