Research Interests: Alfonso graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. He is primarily interested in nomenclature, systematics, and pollination biology of the Neotropical orchid subtribe Pleurothallidinae. His work relies on molecular and ecological data to test taxonomic systems and character significance used in taxon circumscription with an aim of exploring how species as taxa vs. species as functional units structure information in real groups. He is supported at UW by a NSF Predoctoral Graduate Research Fellowship.
Dissertation: “Explosive radiation in the Pleurothallidinae(Orchidaceae): Why are some clades more species rich than others?”