Exequiel Ezcurra

Between 2008 and 2019 he was director of the University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC MEXUS). He is now Professor of Plant Ecology at UC Riverside.

Ezcurra returned as head of research to the San Diego Natural History Museum, where he remained until 2008, when he assumed his current role as professor of plant ecology at UC Riverside, as well as director of UC MEXUS. Ezcurra has also served as president of the board of the Mexican National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP), and Scientific Chair for the CITES Convention.

Ezcurra was the principal researcher in charge of the Laboratory of Community Ecology at National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) from 1987 to 1998. In 1998, Ezcurra moved to San Diego, California to take on the roles of director of the Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias, and deputy director of research and collections at the San Diego Natural History Museum. In December 2000, Ezcurra was appointed president of Mexico's National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático), and independent research branch of Mexico's Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales) from 2000 to 2005.

Ezcurra received his B.S. from the University of Buenos Aires in 1973. He then received an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in plant biology from the University College of North Wales in 1978 and 1984, respectively. At Bangor, his primary mentor was Peter Greig-Smith, a renowned ecologist whose academic lineage of mentors can be traced back to Charles Darwin.

Exequiel Ezcurra (born March 21, 1950, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a Mexican plant ecologist and conservationist. His highly interdisciplinary work spans desert plant ecology, mangroves, island biogeography, sea birds, fisheries, oceanography, and deep-sea ecosystems.