The tropical ecosystems of Latin America host astonishing biodiversity, often described by the number and types of species. However, species do not exist independently but are connected through ecological networks. These networks are crucial for the origin, maintenance, and fragility of biodiversity. In this talk, I will show how diverse ecological interactions form species-rich networks in Latin American tropical systems. I will discuss how ecological networks are shaped by ecological and evolutionary processes across spatial and temporal scales and how ecological networks influence ecosystem functioning and robustness, impacting essential ecosystem services for human populations

Paulo Guimarães is a Full Professor of Ecology at the University of São Paulo. His research explores the origin, maintenance, and fragility of interaction patterns in species-rich ecological assemblages, focusing on ecological and evolutionary processes at different scales. He combines empirical data, natural history, mathematical modeling, and network science to study ecological networks, especially plant-animal interactions in tropical ecosystems. His work has identified general patterns in these networks and their implications for coevolution and conservation. Paulo earned his biology degree, MSc, and PhD in Ecology from Unicamp (Brazil), with postdoctoral research in statistical mechanics at Unicamp and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz

Livestream: tinyurl.com/11025pglec