Forest Ecology and Conservation Group

Juan Pablo is a Colombian botanist studying the biogeography of woody climbing plants in Tropical America. In particular, his work aims to find out how climate is related to patterns of distribution and endemism of lianas by using environmental niche modelling and quantitative approaches in biogeography. As a study case, he uses the plant tribe Bignonieae, the biggest group of lianas in the tropical rain forests of South America. In his spare time he dedicates himself to develop public engagement activities to foster the public understanding of evolutionary biology. He is completing his PhD at the Institute of Biosciences of the University of São Paulo in Brazil while collaborating with Professor David Coomes at the University of Cambridge to model woody species distributions in the Brazilian Cerrado.