Wildlife at the Watering Hole - May 2025 - Samantha Ordóñez-Flores

Herping across hemispheres: from the jungle to the sea

Samantha Ordóñez-Flores

In this talk, Samantha Ordóñez-Flores shares her personal and professional journey through the world of herpetological research, tracing a path from early volunteer experiences to international fellowships and research projects. Her work has taken her across diverse ecosystems in Mexico, Uruguay, Costa Rica, the United States, and Australia, shaping her perspective on amphibian and reptile conservation. She will reflect on the challenges and opportunities faced along the way, highlight the value of interdisciplinary collaboration, and discuss how her passion for bioacoustics and fieldwork has evolved.

Meet Samantha: 

Samantha Ordóñez-Flores is a young herpetologist from Mexico with a strong interest for bioacoustics, ecology, herpetology, and conservation. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), where she is exploring innovative ways to use bioacoustics to investigate evolutionary and ecological processes, using frogs as model organisms.

She earned her undergraduate degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Biological Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where she conducted her research under the supervision of Dr. Leticia Ochoa-Ochoa.

Beyond her academic work, Samantha enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and night walks. She also has a keen interest in scientific illustration and uses art as a tool to engage the public with biodiversity research and conservation.