In the high Andes of northern South America, the treeline of elfin forests rises to about 3,000 m above sea level, transitioning into wet open ecosystems known as páramos. These ecosystems are a hotspot for biodiversity on Earth, with high endemism due to their geological and evolutionary history. High-Andean ecosystems and habitat connectivity have been at risk ever since prehispanic and colonial cities were built in the mountains to benefit from fertile lands and benevolent climates. Our vision is to integrate international expertise to understand the origin, maintenance and future of the high-Andean ecosystems. By combining modelling, experimentation, and genomics we will be able to address questions such as: How do the spatial and temporal dynamics of species interaction networks influence assemblages across habitats? How do plant-pollinator interactions drive microevolutionary change within the páramo complexes? And, how will these unique systems be impacted by rapid environmental changes?
Our Projects
Plant - Pollinator - Microbiome interactions
We are interested in how interactions between different flower-visitors define the flower - flower visitor network, and what the consequences of this visitation network are for spatio-temporal floral microbiome dynamics.
Paramo climate change adaptation genomics through time
This project develops genomic and phenotypic data along with the signatures of climate in the marcescent leaves of the páramo’s emblematic Frailejones (genus Espeletia) to understand climate-mediated selection through the past several hundred years.
Restoration efforts creating efficient movement corridors.
This focus here is co-development of projects with local stakeholders involved in plant restoration projects and nursery networks aiming to bolster the wild populations of frailejones (Espeletia spp.) and puya (Puya spp) species which are key species to maintain ecological corridors for the high-Andean fauna.