The 2025 Harry Smith Prize, which recognizes the best paper published in Molecular Ecology or Molecular Ecology Resources in the previous year by an early career scholar, has been awarded to Óscar Romero-Báez, a doctoral student at the Institute of Ecology at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and his co-authors for their paper “Environmental and anthropogenic factors mediating the functional connectivity of the mesquite lizard along the eastern Trans-Mexican Volcanic”.
The Harry Smith Prize Committee, which included previous Harry Smith Prize winners or runners-up Antonino Malacrinò, Angel Rivera-Colon, and Jana Wold, wrote in their decision announcement:
Romero-Báez et al. investigated how human-altered landscapes affect the functional connectivity of a widely distributed lizard, Sceloporus grammicus, in Mexico’s eastern Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Using genomic data and landscape analysis, the study found significant genetic differentiation across the region but also evidence of gene flow over long distances, despite the species’ low mobility. Key environmental factors influencing connectivity included air and substrate temperature, humidity, and aspect. Agricultural areas surprisingly supported connectivity, while forest cover and roads had mixed effects depending on scale. More broadly, the authors’ rigorous use of gravity models, spatial statistics, and ecological data sets a new standard for landscape genetics in reptiles, and offers important insights for biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes.
The winning article is available Open Access at the Molecular Ecology website.
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