Niche Evolution of South American Trees and its Consequences
Lead Research Organisation:
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Department Name: Tropical Biology
Abstract
Summary (for general audience, 4000 characters)
Tropical plant communities are famed for their high diversity but we still have little knowledge about the evolutionary processes that have created wide differences in the composition and species richness of different kinds of tropical ecosystem. Understanding these processes is of fundamental and practical importance - for example, planning conservation strategies increasingly uses information on evolutionary relationships as part of prioritising decisions about individual species. However, for tropical plants communities, sufficiently large datasets based on DNA sequences are only just beginning to reveal the evolutionary relationships between species. As a result, the implications of threats, either through land-use or climate change, for the conservation of the evolutionary history of these communities remains almost entirely unknown.
Our research will take advantage of impressive existing data of tree inventories, covering more than 1000 sites in three major biomes in tropical South America: rain forests, dry forests and savannas. We will link these data with new information on the evolutionary relationships of all genera, and all species of the legume family, which is dominant in all three biomes, using DNA sequence data. A genus-level evolutionary tree will allow us to make analyses deep into evolutionary time, whereas a species-level legume tree will give a view of recent evolution. We will investigate how many times lineages of trees have switched between the different biomes, which will deliver important knowledge for conservation and future studies of evolutionary diversification. If lineages have rarely switched between biomes, then each biome will contain a distinct subset of evolutionary diversity, and destruction of a single biome could wipe out an entire part of evolutionary history.
Such scenarios of the destruction of an entire biome are not unlikely. One important aspect of this proposal is that it will not focus solely on the rain forests of the Amazon Basin, but will also consider the forgotten biomes of tree-dominated savannas and tropical dry forests. These formations deserve greater attention from scientists and conservationists because they are species-rich, and have suffered greater destruction - more than 70% of the original two million km2 of the Brazilian savannas have been destroyed, whereas c. 70% of Amazonia is intact. Tropical dry forests, of which less than 5% remain in many areas, are the most threatened tropical forest type in the world. We believe our research will highlight the importance and plight of tropical dry forests and savannas, characterised by many decision makers and commentators as worthless - fair game for destruction if this might save rain forest areas - exemplified by a recent leader in the Economist magazine (28.08.2010; Brazil's agricultural miracle: Plant the plains, save the forests; http://www.economist.com/node/16889019).
In addition to biome switching, we will also investigate how adaptations to specific climatic and soil conditions have changed during evolution in these groups. This work will enable us to understand the processes driving the biome shifts we observe. In addition, these analyses may help to understand how climate change will affect communities: for example, if changes in climatic preferences of species have occurred infrequently related species will tend to have similar climatic niches, and whole groups of related species might be vulnerable to extinction from particular trajectories of climate change.
The final stage of our study will examine the implications for loss of evolutionary diversity in different biomes under projected scenarios of climate and land-use change. Our results will be of relevance to conservation planning by national government agencies in South America and international organisations, such as the WWF, involved in setting priorities for tropical conservation.
Tropical plant communities are famed for their high diversity but we still have little knowledge about the evolutionary processes that have created wide differences in the composition and species richness of different kinds of tropical ecosystem. Understanding these processes is of fundamental and practical importance - for example, planning conservation strategies increasingly uses information on evolutionary relationships as part of prioritising decisions about individual species. However, for tropical plants communities, sufficiently large datasets based on DNA sequences are only just beginning to reveal the evolutionary relationships between species. As a result, the implications of threats, either through land-use or climate change, for the conservation of the evolutionary history of these communities remains almost entirely unknown.
Our research will take advantage of impressive existing data of tree inventories, covering more than 1000 sites in three major biomes in tropical South America: rain forests, dry forests and savannas. We will link these data with new information on the evolutionary relationships of all genera, and all species of the legume family, which is dominant in all three biomes, using DNA sequence data. A genus-level evolutionary tree will allow us to make analyses deep into evolutionary time, whereas a species-level legume tree will give a view of recent evolution. We will investigate how many times lineages of trees have switched between the different biomes, which will deliver important knowledge for conservation and future studies of evolutionary diversification. If lineages have rarely switched between biomes, then each biome will contain a distinct subset of evolutionary diversity, and destruction of a single biome could wipe out an entire part of evolutionary history.
Such scenarios of the destruction of an entire biome are not unlikely. One important aspect of this proposal is that it will not focus solely on the rain forests of the Amazon Basin, but will also consider the forgotten biomes of tree-dominated savannas and tropical dry forests. These formations deserve greater attention from scientists and conservationists because they are species-rich, and have suffered greater destruction - more than 70% of the original two million km2 of the Brazilian savannas have been destroyed, whereas c. 70% of Amazonia is intact. Tropical dry forests, of which less than 5% remain in many areas, are the most threatened tropical forest type in the world. We believe our research will highlight the importance and plight of tropical dry forests and savannas, characterised by many decision makers and commentators as worthless - fair game for destruction if this might save rain forest areas - exemplified by a recent leader in the Economist magazine (28.08.2010; Brazil's agricultural miracle: Plant the plains, save the forests; http://www.economist.com/node/16889019).
In addition to biome switching, we will also investigate how adaptations to specific climatic and soil conditions have changed during evolution in these groups. This work will enable us to understand the processes driving the biome shifts we observe. In addition, these analyses may help to understand how climate change will affect communities: for example, if changes in climatic preferences of species have occurred infrequently related species will tend to have similar climatic niches, and whole groups of related species might be vulnerable to extinction from particular trajectories of climate change.
The final stage of our study will examine the implications for loss of evolutionary diversity in different biomes under projected scenarios of climate and land-use change. Our results will be of relevance to conservation planning by national government agencies in South America and international organisations, such as the WWF, involved in setting priorities for tropical conservation.
Planned Impact
Who will benefit from this research?
National government agencies (e.g., Ministerio del Ambiente and Ministerio de Agricultura, Peru), national NGOs (e.g., Fundacion Amigos de la Naturaleza - FAN (Bolivia), Amazon Conservation Association - ACA (Peru)) and international organisations (e.g., Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Conservation International) involved in setting priorities for conservation of tropical ecosystems at a variety of scales.
Members of the general public both in the UK and internationally will benefit from a wider understanding of the diversity of tropical vegetation and the distinct threats faced by different biomes. The base of the project at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh will offer considerable opportunities to reach this wider audience.
Young scientists in Peru and Brazil will benefit from training designed to build capacity in biodiversity science.
How will they benefit from this research?
Our research will be of relevance to international organisations and government agencies involved in conservation in the tropics because the evolutionary diversity in ecosystems is an acknowledged important consideration in times of global change. Our research therefore has the potential to influence the perception of the biological value of different major tropical biomes in South America by providing insight into the distribution of evolutionary diversity between different areas of rain forests, seasonally dry forests and savannas.
If the full spectrum of tropical biodiversity is to be conserved, it is important to shift, in part, public focus from rain forests, and to highlight the particular biodiversity of other biomes such as savannas and tropical dry forests. In South America, savannas such as the Brazilian cerrado and dry forests are far more threatened than the Amazon rain forest, but few people outside the region have even heard of them. Our public outreach will redress this balance and highlight the plight and importance of these forgotten formations.
Young scientists in Peru and Brazil will benefit from capacity-building in biodiversity inventory and laboratory research by participation in field, herbarium and laboratory work. We aim to teach students from these countries skills relevant to biodiversity conservation in the 21st century, including vegetation inventory, taxonomic identification and molecular systematics.
National government agencies (e.g., Ministerio del Ambiente and Ministerio de Agricultura, Peru), national NGOs (e.g., Fundacion Amigos de la Naturaleza - FAN (Bolivia), Amazon Conservation Association - ACA (Peru)) and international organisations (e.g., Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Conservation International) involved in setting priorities for conservation of tropical ecosystems at a variety of scales.
Members of the general public both in the UK and internationally will benefit from a wider understanding of the diversity of tropical vegetation and the distinct threats faced by different biomes. The base of the project at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh will offer considerable opportunities to reach this wider audience.
Young scientists in Peru and Brazil will benefit from training designed to build capacity in biodiversity science.
How will they benefit from this research?
Our research will be of relevance to international organisations and government agencies involved in conservation in the tropics because the evolutionary diversity in ecosystems is an acknowledged important consideration in times of global change. Our research therefore has the potential to influence the perception of the biological value of different major tropical biomes in South America by providing insight into the distribution of evolutionary diversity between different areas of rain forests, seasonally dry forests and savannas.
If the full spectrum of tropical biodiversity is to be conserved, it is important to shift, in part, public focus from rain forests, and to highlight the particular biodiversity of other biomes such as savannas and tropical dry forests. In South America, savannas such as the Brazilian cerrado and dry forests are far more threatened than the Amazon rain forest, but few people outside the region have even heard of them. Our public outreach will redress this balance and highlight the plight and importance of these forgotten formations.
Young scientists in Peru and Brazil will benefit from capacity-building in biodiversity inventory and laboratory research by participation in field, herbarium and laboratory work. We aim to teach students from these countries skills relevant to biodiversity conservation in the 21st century, including vegetation inventory, taxonomic identification and molecular systematics.
Organisations
- Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (Lead Research Organisation)
- Peruvian Amazon Research Institute (Collaboration)
- Federal University of Viçosa (Collaboration)
- Peruvian Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
- Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Collaboration)
- National Agrarian University (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Jardim Botanico do Rio de Janeiro (Collaboration)
- Federal University of Lavras (Collaboration)
- Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (Collaboration)
- Federal University of Minas Gerais (Collaboration)
- University of Brasilia (Collaboration)
- State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro (Collaboration)
- University of Arizona (Project Partner)
- Conservation International (Project Partner)
- Paul Sabatier University (Project Partner)
- Arizona State University (Project Partner)
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Project Partner)
- Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro (Project Partner)
- University of Queensland (Project Partner)
Publications
Azevedo L
(2024)
On the rocks: Biogeography and floristic identity of rocky ecosystems in eastern South America
in Journal of Systematics and Evolution
Baker TR
(2014)
Fast demographic traits promote high diversification rates of Amazonian trees.
in Ecology letters
Baker TR
(2016)
Consistent, small effects of treefall disturbances on the composition and diversity of four Amazonian forests.
in The Journal of ecology
Baker TR
(2017)
Maximising Synergy among Tropical Plant Systematists, Ecologists, and Evolutionary Biologists.
in Trends in ecology & evolution
Bennett A
(2023)
Sensitivity of South American tropical forests to an extreme climate anomaly
in Nature Climate Change
Bueno M
(2018)
The environmental triangle of the Cerrado Domain: Ecological factors driving shifts in tree species composition between forests and savannas
in Journal of Ecology
Bueno M
(2016)
Effects of Quaternary climatic fluctuations on the distribution of Neotropical savanna tree species
in Ecography
Cardoso D
(2015)
Filling in the gaps of the papilionoid legume phylogeny: the enigmatic Amazonian genus Petaladenium is a new branch of the early-diverging Amburaneae clade.
in Molecular phylogenetics and evolution
Coelho De Souza F
(2016)
Evolutionary heritage influences Amazon tree ecology.
in Proceedings. Biological sciences
Description | 1. Integration of plot and community data from seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF), savanna and rain forest in South America We have compiled a dataset based upon inventories covering 2300 sites across SDTF, savanna and rain forest biomes in South America, of which 900 sites have quantitative plot-based abundance data. This includes establishing 9 new 0.5Ha permanent plots in SDTF across Peru. Our fieldwork across Peru, Bolivia and Brazil has generated 2,603 herbarium vouchers with associated silica-gel dried leaf samples for DNA extraction, mostly of the legume family (Leguminosae), which is the focus of our evolutionary research. By collaboration with our extensive network of project partners we accumulated a total of 5,023 silica-gel dried leaf samples that will be archived in the RBGE collection. We have synthesised taxonomic determinations across our plot database with focus on legumes. Part of this taxonomic standardisation has included re-design of the ForestPlots.net database to incorporate photos of herbarium vouchers and more extensive taxonomic information. 2. Quantification of climatic and edaphic niches Quantification of climatic niches for all our sites is relatively straightforward using remote-sensed and interpolation-based data layers. What has been lacking is data for key soil variables, especially in non-rain forest biomes, which may hold the key to understanding the control of floristic composition. During fieldwork we collected 204 soil samples from inventory sites in diverse biomes, which have been analysed for total P, N, exchangeable Al, K, Mg, Ca. For central Brazilian savannas we have also organised unpublished data held at RBGE for 50 sites and have access to data from a further 77 sites from collaborators in Brazil. In total, including RAINFOR sites for which soil data were already available, we have soil data to enable analyses of the evolution of edaphic niches for 506 sites. 3. Reconstruction of evolutionary relationships of angiosperm genera and legume species We have generated a phylogeny (evolutionary tree) based upon chloroplast matK and rbcL DNA sequences that covers 1121 of 1235 tree genera found in our plot database. This angiosperm-wide phylogeny has been dated using fossil constraints and has already been used in our study of phylogenetic diversity across the Amazon (Honorio et al., 2015). We have DNA sequence data from our own new sequences and from Genbank for 931 of 1452 legume tree species found in our plots, which are being used to construct our legume phylogeny. Our new sequence data are being used by the Legume Phylogeny Working Group to generate the most comprehensive global legume phylogeny to date, which will cover c. 5000 species. We are confident of meeting all six objectives laid out in the proposal. We have to date met our first three objectives (1. integration of plot and community survey data across biomes; 2. quantification of climatic and edaphic niches; 3. reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships of angiosperm genera and legume species). We are currently working on analyses that will lead to publications addressing objectives 4 to 6 of our proposal: 4. Evaluating frequency of biome shifts across lineages and through evolutionary time in South America; 5. Assessing the importance of climatic and edaphic niche evolution; 6) Estimation of the loss of phylogenetic diversity caused by climate and land-use change. |
Exploitation Route | Our work has highlighted the need to develop a better network of quantitative forest inventory plots in Latin American dry biomes to monitor biodiversity, carbon stock, carbon balance, tree growth, and tree mortality beyond rain forests, and into tropical dry forests. This was a conclusion of a conference that we organised in Brazil in 2015 (Beyond the Amazon: conservation and biodiversity of dry biomes); most of the data we have for sites outside of Amazonia come from floristic lists). We are addressing this in a NERC-CONFAP Brazil Newton Fund grant (NE/N000587/1; 2015-17) and a NERC FAPESP Newton Fund grant (NE/N01247X/1), which build directly on our project. These Newton grants are reaching out to Brazilian researchers who have established monitoring plots in dry biomes, with the goal that they may store their data in the ForestPlots.net database hosted by the University of Leeds, and that they may wish to join UK-led forest monitoring efforts in Latin America. They are therefore helping to consolidate the ForestPlots system as a leading global resource for plot data of all the world's tropical forests and is helping to expand the RAINFOR network beyond the Amazon. Our work has also highlighted that there is much to be gained by closer collaboration in future between ecologists, evolutionary biologists and systematists working in tropical forests via mutual studies in long-term permanent inventory plots and we are working to encourage such interdisciplinary work. This was the theme of a symposium organised by PIs Pennington and Baker in Oxford in 2015, which gathered together taxonomists, ecologists and evolutionary biologists. The key theme to emerge, which is discussed in a paper published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, is the precise taxonomic identifications of species, especially rare ones, holds the key to: (i) increasing the pace of species discovery in tropical forests; (ii) understanding spatial and temporal patterns of beta diversity; (iii) linking trait databases, plot data and vegetation models to understand the resilience of tropical forests to environmental change; (iv) understanding how ecology has influenced evolutionary history. |
Sectors | Environment |
Description | The plots from dry forest that were established as a result of this project are now helping to inform conservation policy in South America. Plot data from dry forest that we manage has contributed to the proposal of the new protected area of dry forest - a regional conservation area of 13,929 ha - in the Marañón valley in northern Peru. Our data was used to highlight the worldwide uniqueness of the tree composition of these forests, and therefore their significance as a conservation priority. |
First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
Sector | Environment |
Impact Types | Societal |
Description | BioResilience: Biodiversity resilience and ecosystem services in post-conflict socio-ecological systems in Colombia |
Amount | £1,133,174 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/R017980/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2018 |
End | 07/2022 |
Description | Brazilian PhD scholarship |
Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Brazil |
Start | 03/2015 |
End | 04/2019 |
Description | Brazilian PhD scholarship |
Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Brazil |
Start | 01/2014 |
End | 12/2017 |
Description | Brazilian PhD scholarship |
Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Brazil |
Start | 08/2014 |
End | 09/2017 |
Description | Ecological limits of plant diversity in terrestrial biomes |
Amount | R$ 60,000 (BRL) |
Funding ID | APQ-02666-21 |
Organisation | FAPEMIG |
Sector | Private |
Country | Brazil |
Start | 04/2022 |
End | 11/2023 |
Description | Ecological limits of plant diversity in terrestrial biomes |
Amount | R$ 100,000 (BRL) |
Funding ID | Serra-1912-32082 |
Organisation | Instituto Serrapilheira, Brazil |
Sector | Private |
Country | Brazil |
Start | 06/2019 |
End | 01/2021 |
Description | Ecological limits of plant diversity in terrestrial biomes |
Amount | R$ 1,000,000 (BRL) |
Funding ID | Serra-1912-32082 |
Organisation | Instituto Serrapilheira, Brazil |
Sector | Private |
Country | Brazil |
Start | 03/2022 |
End | 03/2025 |
Description | FAPESP - Restoring Neotropical dry ecosystems - is plant functional composition the key to success? |
Amount | £669,278 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/S000011/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2019 |
End | 12/2025 |
Description | Global patterns of evolutionary diversity in tropical tree communities |
Amount | £13,290 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 88887.474387/2020-00 |
Organisation | Ministry of Education (Brazil) |
Department | Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Brazil |
Start | 03/2020 |
End | 09/2020 |
Description | Leverhulme Research Fellowship |
Amount | £49,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2015 |
End | 06/2017 |
Description | Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Grant |
Amount | £9,800 (GBP) |
Organisation | Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Arab Emirates |
Start | 07/2012 |
End | 08/2014 |
Description | Newton Fund |
Amount | £81,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2015 |
End | 12/2016 |
Description | Newton Fund Regional Latin America Biodiversity Programme |
Amount | £63,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | British Council |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2018 |
End | 07/2018 |
Description | Newton Fund Travel Award |
Amount | R$ 6,450 (BRL) |
Organisation | British Council |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2016 |
End | 07/2016 |
Description | Newton Fund Travel Award |
Amount | R$ 2,500 (BRL) |
Organisation | British Council |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2016 |
End | 04/2016 |
Description | PCI-BEV Travel Award |
Amount | R$ 23,558 (BRL) |
Funding ID | 170082/2017-2 |
Organisation | National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Brazil |
Start | 07/2017 |
End | 09/2017 |
Description | RBG Kew Pilot Fund |
Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2016 |
End | 06/2016 |
Description | Resolving the current and future carbon dynamics of the dry tropics |
Amount | £128,847 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/T012471/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2021 |
End | 10/2025 |
Description | Standard Grant |
Amount | R$ 130,000 (BRL) |
Organisation | National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) |
Sector | Public |
Country | Brazil |
Start | 07/2017 |
End | 11/2018 |
Description | UK NERC - Brazil FAPESB Newton Fund |
Amount | £2,000,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/N01247X/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2016 |
End | 04/2019 |
Title | ForestPlots.net - unlocking the power of forest inventory data |
Description | As part of our NERC funded research, we have re-designed access to the database that underlies the RAINFOR project (www.rainfor.org) - a large, collaborative project to understand the structure and composition of Amazonian forests. This database comprises a large amount of data on the location, identity and size of stems in hundreds of forest plots across Amazonia. Previously, the database did not allow you to compare and standardise botanical identifications, and access to the data was difficult, requiring the writing of sql code. The database now incorporates photos of herbarium vouchers and extensive taxonomic information, and further, the data can be accessed in a straightforward online GUI interface. This is facilitating the standardization of taxonomic names across the RAINFOR network as new data comes in from numerous RAINFOR collaborators (>100), and allowing rapid - and accurate - analyses of the structure, dynamics and composition of these ecosystems. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2013 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | We are currently standardising the botanical identifications of a network of plots in some of the most diverse forests in the world - in the northern Peruvian Amazon - using the developments funded by this project. As a result, for the first time we can track accurately changes in diversity over space and time, opening up the possibility of addressing fundamental questions about the processes that determine the composition of these remarkable forests, and how they might be affected by environmental change. |
URL | http://www.forestplots.net |
Description | Research permits for Brazil |
Organisation | Jardim Botanico do Rio de Janeiro |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | We have negotiated the complex process of gaining research permission to work in Brazil. This first involved agreeing a formal Memorandum of Understanding between the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden (Brazil's foremost botanical garden, where project collaborator Dr Haroldo de Lima is based). This Memorandum was signed in January 2012 at the opening project planning workshop at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. We then worked closely with Dr de Lima to develop our field itinerary for Brazil, which will involve visiting established forest inventory sites right across the country in Amazonia, northeast, central, eastern and southern Brazil. |
Collaborator Contribution | The Brazilian team had to negotiate, for every area we wished to visit, agreements with local researchers with whom we will collaborate, and who will facilitate local logistics. These include Luciano Queiroz, Haroldo de Lima, Ary Oliveira Filho, João Ignacio, Marcelo Simon, Beatriz and Ben Hur Marimon, Flavia Costa, Niro Higuchi, Marcelo Nascimento, and Danilo Neves. In order to gain the permission from the Brazilian government, we had to submit full details of the entire itinerary, plus all participants (~20, foreign and Brazilian). |
Impact | This research permission is fundamental to all aspects of this research project as it grants permission to colelct plant and soil specimens |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | Research permits for Brazil (renewal) |
Organisation | Jardim Botanico do Rio de Janeiro |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Our initial permission to carry out field research in Brazil expired after 12 months, and in order to complete the field element of our research, we needed to renew the permission. The role of the UK team was the determine the areas in Brazil that we were still required to visit. |
Collaborator Contribution | The main project partner in Rio, Haroldo de Lima, assisted by project postdoc Danilo Neves, has to prepare a report on our field research in Brazil, in addition to the paperwork for the permission extension. They had to respond to reviewer comments on the report before the new permission was granted. |
Impact | All outcomes of our research depend on this permission as it underlies the ability to collect plant and soil samples in Brazil |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Taught course in Field Botany |
Organisation | Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | 2-week course taught by Dr Danilo Neves (ex-NERC funded post-doc, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh), attended by MSc students plus researchers from the local university (UFMS). |
Collaborator Contribution | Provided all required facilities. |
Impact | Students and researchers using techniques taught in their research. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Taught course in community phylogenetics |
Organisation | Federal University of Lavras |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | 5-day course taught by Dr Danilo Neves (ex-NERC funded post-doc, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh), attended by MSc, PhD students plus researchers from the local university (UFLA). |
Collaborator Contribution | Provided all required facilities. |
Impact | Students and researchers using techniques taught in their research. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Taught course in species distribution modelling, Universidade Estadual Norte Fluminense |
Organisation | State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | 3 day course taught by Dr Danilo Neves (ex-NERC funded post doc, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh) and Dr Marcelo Bueno (spent one year training at RBGE during PhD), attended by MSc, PhD students plus researchers, most from the local university (UENF), plus from other insitutions in Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian States. |
Collaborator Contribution | Provided all required facilities |
Impact | Students and researchers using techniques taught in their research |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Taught course, postgraduate school of Rio de Janiero Botanical Garden |
Organisation | Jardim Botanico do Rio de Janeiro |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Taught course to postgraduate programme at Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, plus some students from elsewhere in Brazil given by Toby Pennington and Kyle Dexter. The course was three full days and covered phylogenetics (Pennington) and phylogenetic approaches to ecology (Dexter). it also included formally assessed assignments after the course. All teaching was done in Poruguese. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners provided all teaching facilities and fully administered the course. |
Impact | Students are using teachniques taught (e.g., community phylogenetics using R) in theor doctoral research |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Training of Latin American Colleague/Student 1 |
Organisation | Federal University of Rio de Janeiro |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Lidiany Carvalho, a PhD student at the Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro, spent 6 months at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on a sandwich program. She studied the impact of monodominance on phylogenetic structure in tropical forests. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Training of Latin American Colleague/Student 2 |
Organisation | Federal University of Rio de Janeiro |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Marcelo Nascimento, a professor at the Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro, spent 1 year at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on sabattical. He worked on a study comparing phylogenetic diversity in wet versus dry forests in the Mata Atlantica. |
Collaborator Contribution | Considerable contribution of forest plot data plus regional expertise |
Impact | This research visit led to the writing of our NERC/CONFAP Grant, 'Dry forest biomes in Brazil: Biodiversity and ecosystem services' |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Training of Latin American Colleague/Student 3 |
Organisation | Federal University of Viçosa |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Flavia Garcia, a professor at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, spent 1 year at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on sabattical. She studied the phylogeny of the important legume genus Zygia. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Training of Latin American Colleague/Student 4 |
Organisation | University of Brasilia |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Renata Françoso, a PhD student at the Universidade de Brasilia, spent 6 months at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on a sandwich program. She studied biogeographic patterns in the cerrado. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Training of Latin American Scientists and Students (Brazil) |
Organisation | Federal University of Minas Gerais |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Danilo Neves, a Brazilian student successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis in 2012, which involved 1 year in the U.K. and extensive interaction with PIs on this grant. Danilo investigated beta diversity patterns in seasonally dry tropical forests in Brazil, a topic closely related to the grant objectives. |
Collaborator Contribution | Danilo became PDRA on our project, making key contributions to its success |
Impact | Currently (2016) two peer review publications plus several research talks and media activity |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | Training of Latin American Scientists and Students (Peru 1) |
Organisation | National Agrarian University |
Country | Peru |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | During our fieldwork in Peru, we worked extensively with Peruvian colleagues and students, training them in the arts of field botany and ecology. |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | Training of Latin American colleagues and students (Peru 2) |
Organisation | Peruvian Amazon Research Institute |
Country | Peru |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Euridice Honorio, a Ph.D. student at the University of Leeds, gained her PhD in July 2013. Part of her work was conducted in collaboration with P.I.s on this grant and involved examining the distribution of phylogenetic diversity across the Amazon basin. Publication of her work continues. |
Collaborator Contribution | No contribution |
Impact | Publications |
Start Year | 2010 |
Description | Training of Latin American student (Brazil) |
Organisation | Federal University of Minas Gerais |
Department | Institute of Biological Sciences |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Vanessa Rezende spent 1 year of her PhD (2015) as a sandwich student at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Her research benefited greatly from research conducted as part of this grant. |
Collaborator Contribution | The project has benefited enormously from Rezende's knowledge of the flora of southern South America. |
Impact | Manuscripts are in preparation. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Training of Latin American student (Brazil) |
Organisation | Federal University of Minas Gerais |
Department | Institute of Biological Sciences |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Marcelo Bueno spent 1 year of his PhD (2012) as a sandwich student at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, supervised by Toby Pennington and Kyle Dexter. The PhD research of Marcelo Bueno benefited greatly from the research conducted as part of this grant. He successfully defended his PhD in 2015. |
Collaborator Contribution | Marcelo Bueno contributed knowledge on statistical approaches to niche modelling (a core part of this grant) and on the Quaternary history of the cearrado. |
Impact | Bueno ML, Pennington RT, Dexter KG, Yoshino Kamino LH, Pontara V, Neves DRM, Ratter JA, Oliveira-Filho AT. 2016. Effects of quaternary climatic fluctuations on the distribution of Neotropical savanna species. Ecography. DOI: 10.1111/ecog.01860 More publications in preparation. |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | Training of Latin American student (Chile) |
Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Sergio Ibanez received his MSc from the University of Edinburgh in 2015, under the supervision of Danilo Neves, Toby Pennington and Kyle Dexter. The progress of his MSc benefited greatly from the research conducted as part of this NERC grant. |
Collaborator Contribution | MSc. Sergio Ibanez contributed extensive knowledge on community phylogenetics analyses to the project. |
Impact | Publications in preparation |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Training of Latin American student (Peru) |
Organisation | Peruvian Center for Biodiversity and Conservation |
Country | Peru |
Sector | Learned Society |
PI Contribution | Roosevelt Garcia Villacorta received his Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in 2015, under the supervision of Toby Pennington and Kyle Dexter. The progress of his PhD benefited greatly from the research conducted as part of this NERC grant. |
Collaborator Contribution | Dr. Garcia Villacorta contributed extensive knowledge on white-sand forests and collections from Peru to the project. |
Impact | Garcia-Villacorta R†, Dexter KG, Pennington RT. 2016. Amazonian white-sand forests show strong floristic links with surrounding oligotrophic habitats and the Guiana Shield. Biotropica 48(1): 47-57. More publications in preparation. |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | 1. Conference, El estudio y conservación de los bosques secos de Latinoamérica, FESIztacala-UNAM, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Mexico. Opening plenary speaker: "Los trópicos secos: ciencia, conservación y restauración" ("The dry tropics: science, conservation and restoration") |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Plenary opening talk at an international online conference about tropical dry forests. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | 10th Biennial Conference of the Systematics Association, University of Oxford |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Plenary talk "Maximising synergy between systematics and ecology in the tropics via long-term monitoring plots", which was part of a symposium organised by co-PI Tim Baker. The symposium stimulated animated audience discussion and will result in an opinion article to be submitted to Trends in Ecology and Evolution |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | 2. Conference, 50 years of research in the Chamela biological station Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Plenary speaker: "The dry tropics: plant diversity, biogeography and conservation". |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Plenary talk in a conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Chamela Biological Station (the world's leading tropical dry forest research station) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | http://www.ibiologia.unam.mx/chamela50.html |
Description | 21st International Symposium of the German Botanical Society "Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology", Mainz, Germany |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Conference invited plenary talk: Phylogeny, ecology and the historical assembly of tropical forests Increased awareness with Europe of this research project, including new collaborative contacts |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | 64th National Botanical Congress, Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited plenary conference presentation: Floristic diversity, phylogenetic biogeography and conservation of neotropical seasonally dry forests (given in Portuguese) Followed by open discussion with audience Plenary address to audience of c 1000 delegates. Impacts include establishment of new collaborations and attraction of an excellent Brazilian student to apply for a PhD in Edinburgh |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | 64th National Botanical Congress, Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited Conference talk: What controls the biogeography of legumes? After the talk, several Brazilian workers offered collaboration |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | 6th International Legume Conference. Johannesburg, South Africa. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Made lots of connections. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | 6th International Legume Conference. Johannesburg, South Africa. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Meeting of Global Legume Diversity Assessment Team: Biome switching in South American legumes This linked our project to wider work globally on legumes as indicators of ecosystem health |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Beyond the Amazon: Biodiversity and Conservation of Dry Biomes, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This was a two day symposium covering the plant diversity, biogeography and conservation of dry biomes in Latin America. It was organised by PI Toby Pennington, and talks were given by him, PDRA Danilo Neves, co-I Kyle Dexter and Brazilian project collaborators Luciano Queiroz and Ary Oliveira Filho The conference attracted 116 delegates, mostly from Brazil but also from right across Latin America |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.dryflor.info/page/Symposium |
Description | Botanical Society of America Annual Meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | paper presentation |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Contributed talk entitled: Biomes shifts and niche evolution in South American woody legumes. Increased awareness of colleagues in USA of this research project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Cafe scientifique |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | As part of the Edinburgh Café Scientifique programme Toby Pennington led a discussion about the causes of deforestation in the world's most biodiverse forests in Latin America. These include increased demand for meat and the cultivation of soy bean, much of which is exported and used in animal feed. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.cafescientifique.org/index.php?option=com_contentbuilder&title=uk-edinburgh&controller=de... |
Description | Conference talk, Regional Meeting of Botanists, Brazil (Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Espirito Santo states): "The adaptive challenge of extreme conditions shapes evolutionary diversity of plant assemblages at continental scales." |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | See below. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | DRYFLOR network meeting, Piura, Peru |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Toby Pennington and Peter Moonlight participated in an invited workshop by the DRYFLOR network in Piura, Peru. Topics discussed included finalising the publication of the forest monitoring protocol developed by the NordEste project as a paper, in collaboration with the DRYFLOR and RainFor networks. This paper was recently submitted and includes >10 NordEste authors. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | DRYFLOR network meeting, Quito, Ecuador |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Toby Pennington and Peter Moonlight participated in an invited workshop by the DRYFLOR network in Quito, Ecuador. Topics discussed included the publication of the forest monitoring protocol developed by the NordEste project as a paper, in collaboration with the DRYFLOR and RainFor networks. This paper was recently submitted and includes >10 NordEste authors. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Departmental Seminar at EMBRAPA/CENARGEN |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Discussion afterwards Interest on future collaborations |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Departmental Seminar at Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, Uni Edinburgh |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Ties in Edinburgh strengthened. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Departmental Seminar at Jardim Botanico Rio de Janeiro |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Collaborations deepened. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Departmental Seminar at Jardim Botanico do Rio de Janeiro |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Discussion afterwards Interest on future collaborations |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Departmental Seminar at Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Discussion afterwards Interest on future collaborations |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Departmental Seminar at Universidad Gabriel Moreno in Santa Cruz, Bolivia |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Seminar given at main university in Santa Cruz, Bolivia to inform students about various approaches to studying biodiversity. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Departmental Seminar at Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Discussion afterwards Interest on future collaborations |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Departmental Seminar at Universidade Estatual Feira de Santana |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Collaborations deepened. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Departmental Seminar at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Collaborations deepened. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Departmental Seminar at University of Gothenburg |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Departmental Research Seminar. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Departmental seminar at Oxford University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Departmental seminar to share research ideas with University of Oxford. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Global Change Seminar, University of Edinburgh. Edinburgh, U.K. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Ideas stimulated. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | III Bolivian Botanical Congress, Sucre, Bolivia |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited plenary conference presentation: Spatial conservation prioritization for South American forgotten forests (given in Spanish) Followed by open discussion with audience |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | https://sites.google.com/site/congresobolivianobotanica2015/ |
Description | Invited academic seminar, Universidad del Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid "Tropical Plant Diversity, Biogeography and Conservation: a Multi Biome Approach" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited academic talk. Discussion afterwards may lead to new academic collaboration |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Invited conference talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited talk at International Congress for Conservation Biology, Cartagena, Colombia: "Plant diversity, biogeography and conservation of neotropical seasonally dry forests" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Invited conference talk, International Conference of the French Society of Ecology and Evolution |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Dora Villela was invited to give a presentation "Influence of fragmentation and climate on biomass dynamics of seasonally dry tropical Atlantic forests in Brazil". She received several questions and requests for further information and collaboration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Invited conference talk, International Conference of the French Society of Ecology and Evolution |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Marcelo Nascimento was invited to give a talk, "Environment not phylogeny drives herbivory and leaf attributes in trees from two contrasting forest formations of the Brazilian Atlantic Coastal forest". The talk generated debate and new research contacts |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Invited opening seminar, V Simpósio de Ecologia e Sustentabilidade [5th symposium of ecology and sustainability], Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros: "Os trópicos secos: ciência, conservação e restauração" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Online seminar followed by "round table" Q&A for an hour, all in Portuguese. The aim was to raise awareness of the importance of science and conservation in the dry biomes of the tropics and the challenges of restoring them. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Invited plenary address, Sympsoium "Los bosques secos latinoamericanos: entenderlos para conservarlos" (Latin American dry forests - understanding for conservation", University of Piura, Peru |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk by Toby Pennington, "Los trópicos secos: ciencia, conservación y restauración" (The dry tropics, conservation and restoration) to a mostly Peruvian audience, but also international participants. The goal was to increase awareness of the importance of conservation and restoration in the dry tropics. Questions focused on the viability of restoration. There was a subsequent interview based on the presentation (see url) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://udep.edu.pe/hoy/2019/las-personas-deben-conocer-los-bosques-secos-para-que-puedan-cuidarlos/ |
Description | Invited plenary talk, Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (STDF ) in Northeastern Brazil symposium, Fortaleza, Brazil |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited plenary talk, "Seasonally dry biomes: a global and Latin American view". The goal was to raise awareness of the importance of dry biomes in the tropics for biodiversity and ecosystem services. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Invited presentation, Latin American Botanical Congress, Quito, Ecuador: "Greater spatial turnover in species composition in tropical dry forests than tropical savannas" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited presentation, allowing presentation of outcomes from three NERC funded grants. The major impact was increasing the size of the collaborative network that is now monitoring forests beyond Amazonia. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Invited presentation, Plants, People, Planet Symposium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited presentation "The dry tropics: science, conservation and restoration". This generated considerable questions and discussions, especially around the validity of planting trees in the dry tropics as a means of C sequestration. The talk is available online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYagysOIvT8 so can potentially reach a very borad audience |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYagysOIvT8 |
Description | Invited presentation, University of St Andrews and Botnaical Society of Scotland: "The Forgotten Forests of Latin America" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public lecture that raised awareness of the threats to tropical dry forests and savannas and of how patterns of consumption in the UK are driving habitat destruction in Latin America |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.botanical-society-scotland.org.uk/node/469 |
Description | Invited presentation, WWF UK, "Why is the cerrado amazing?" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Prof Toby Pennington was invited to speak to WWF UK at their headquarters in Woking. They are initiating a major campaign on conservation of the savannas of the Brazilian cerrado in 2019, and wish to link this to ongoing science in this biome. This was a great opportunity to develop plans to increase future impact of NERC funded research |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Invited public event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interactive discussion about the environmental costs of soy cultivation in the tropics as part of the Power of Food Festival, Edinburgh: "The real price of food" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://poweroffoodfestival.wordpress.com/ |
Description | Invited seminar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited seminat, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, "A diversidade florística, biogeografía filogenética e conservação das florestas estacionalmente secas neotropicais (SDTF)" (given in Portuguese) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Invited seminar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited seminar, University of Exeter, "Tropical plant diversity: 19th- 21st century approaches to biogeography and conservation" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Invited seminar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited seminar, Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, "Maximising synergy between systematics and ecology in the tropics via long-term monitoring plots" (given in Portuguese) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Invited seminar [online], Círculo de Investigación de Bosques Secos del Perú [Society for Investigation of Peruvian Dry Forest], Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, "Los trópicos secos: ciencia, conservación y restauración" (The dry tropics, science, conservation and restoration) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Online seminar followed by hour long Q&A (all in Spanish). This focused on raising the profile of science and conservation in the dry tropics, and how we might restored degraded areas. The reach of the event was amazing - almost 300 attendees from across Latin America (mostly Peru and Andean countries) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Invited seminar, Biodiversity and Conservation Symposium, Federal University of Maranhao, Brazil: "(Unexpected) Patterns of plant diversity in tropical South America" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | A graduate student (Marla Arouche) sent an e-mail requesting information about increasing collaboration between researcher at the Federal University of Maranhao, Federal University of Minas Gerais and UK Universities (Exeter, Edinburgh). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.even3.com.br/biocons2020/ |
Description | Invited seminar, Brazilian Botany Congress: "Climatic niche evolution in South American legumes and its consequences" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | See below. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://70cnbot.botanica.org.br/ |
Description | Invited seminar, Duke University, U.S.A. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. The faculty at Duke were excited by the talk. It potentially led to one collaboration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Invited seminar, Ecology and Biodiversity Symposium, Federal University of Ouro Preto, Brazil: The adaptive challenge of extreme conditions shapes evolutionary diversity of plant assemblages at continental scales |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | See below. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Invited seminar, Forest Research, Edinburgh |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited seminar: "Seasonally dry tropical forests in Latin America: diversity, biogeography and conservation" The talk sparked questions and discussion |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Invited seminar, German Institute for Integrative Biodviersity Research iDiv (Leipzig): "Tropical dry forests and savannas: diversity, biogeography and conservation" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited seminar that aimed to raise awareness of science, conservation and sustainable us of seasonally dry biomes in the tropics |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Invited seminar, Havard University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited seminar by Kyle Dexter at Harvard University Herbaria, which raised awareness of our work in diverse biomes in Latin America |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Invited seminar, Kew Botanic Gardens, U.K. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Collaborations deepened. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Invited seminar, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: "Neotropical dry forests and savannas: diversity, biogeography and conservation" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited research seminar at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in which I was able to present outcomes from three NERC funded projects that have increased ecosystem monitoring and understanding of dry biomes in Latin America |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Invited seminar, Universidade Estadual de Rio de Janeiro |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited seminar: "Plant diversity, biogeography and conservation of seasonally dry biomes in the Neotropics", given in Portuguese The talk stimulated questions and debate and was designed to increase awareness of the regional importance of local dry forest vegetation |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Invited seminar, University of Aarhus, Denmark |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited seminar "The forgotten forests of Latin America" given to MSc students on a "management of tropical ecosystems" course. The talk stimulated several questions and some feedback from the class indicated that it had created better awareness of the importance of conserving dry biomes in the tropics. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Invited seminar, University of Aberdeen, U.K. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Collaborations deepened. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Invited seminar, University of Montreal and Montreal Botanical Garden, "Tropical dry forests and savannas: diversity, biogeography and conservation" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited academic seminar |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Invited seminar, University of Oxford: "Tropical Plant Diversity and Conservation: a multibiome approach" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Research seminar, both in person and online with considerable discussion afterwards about importance of non-rain forest biomes |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.tropicalforests.ox.ac.uk/event/toby-pennington/ |
Description | Invited seminar, University of Stellenbosch. Cape Town, South Africa. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Collaborations deepened. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Invited seminar, University of Yale |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited seminar by Kyle Dexter, which raised awaremess of our work across diverse biomes in Latin America |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Invited seminar, University of Zurich |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | invited seminar "Species-level phylogenetics of tropical plants: illuminating the evolutionary process and taxonomy" The talk resulted in questions and discussion |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Invited speaker, 67º Congresso Nacional de Botânica |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited talk 'Áreas (potencialmente) prioritárias para a conservação de florestas negligenciadas na América do Sul' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://67cnbot.com.br/cnb/programacao/ |
Description | Invited speaker, II Conferência Nacional de Biologia da Conservação |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited talk 'A importância da macroecologia para a biologia da conservação' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://cnbc.com.br/ |
Description | Invited speaker, Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Invited public talk: "The Forgotten Forests of Latin America" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Invited talk, 53rd Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited talk 'Environmental harshness determines macroscale patterns of floristic turnover across South American woody plant communities' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Invited talk, Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited talk: "Patterns of niche evolution across the legume phylogeny and their relevance for understanding the assembly of neotropical biomes" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Invited talk, Congresso Brasileiro de Ecologia |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited talk, 'Drough-stress structures evolutionary diversity in tropical tree commmunities' (in Portuguese). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Invited talk, Ecological Society of America meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited talk 'Drought-stress structures evolutionary diversity in tropical tree communities'. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Invited talk, International Biogeography Society meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited talk 'Drought-stress structures evolutionary diversity in tropical tree communities' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.xcdsystem.com/ibs/program/XQ1rjsf/ |
Description | Invited talk, International Legume Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Invited talk 'Niche evolution, ecological limits and the macroecology of Dalbergioid biodiversity' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://7ilc.info/ |
Description | Invited talk, International Legume Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Invited talk 'Climatic niche evolution of South American legumes and its consequences' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://7ilc.info/ |
Description | Invited talk, VAluing biodiversity and developing ecosystem service delivery models in densely inhabited Latin American dry and montane forests workshop, Lima, Peru, July 2018 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited workshop talk, "Forest Plot networks in seasonally dry forests in Brazil". The aim of this Newton Funded workshop was to build a new collaborative network across Latin America to value biodviersity and ecosystem services in neglected ecosystems such as dry forests, the focus of our original grant. The main outcome in the long term will be a larger network that can deliver more ambitious projects. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Media coverage of diversification paper |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Our 2014 paper on how short lifetimes have promoted high diversification of Amazonian trees was headline news on the BBC Online, Science and Environment webpage on 4/3/2014 ('Live fast, die young strategy spawned Amazon tree boom'; http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26434264) The story was picked up and reported worldwide, including news outlets in Namibia (http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?archive_id=120627&page_type=archive_story_detail&page=201) and India (https://in.news.yahoo.com/live-fast-die-young-strategy-could-behind-amazons-082203977.html) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26434264 |
Description | Media coverage of the project |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Article has been recently published, but we expect that the message will reach people interested on conservation and evolutionary history of South American biomes. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2014/11/brazil-meat-cerrado-deforestation |
Description | Media interest - field research in the Brazilian cerrado |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Science journalist accompanied the field team in Brazil, resulting in an article published in The Daily Climate, and also on the Scientific American website Just published (10th Nov 2014), so too early to tell, but it should increase awareness that there are key conservation issues in Brazil beyond the Amazon. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2014/11/brazil-meat-cerrado-deforestation |
Description | Media intervew: Radio 5 Live and "In Short" podcast |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Media interview covering the potential problems in tree planting as a climate change solution, especially in dry biomes of the tropics |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/short/why-planting-trees-isnt-always-good-idea |
Description | Media interview, UFMG Radio (Brazil) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Media interview covering the published paper 'Evolutionary diversity in tropical tree communities peaks at intermediate precipitation' (Scientific Reports 2020). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://ufmg.br/comunicacao/noticias/pesquisa-identifica-maior-diversidade-de-plantas-em-areas-secas |
Description | Newspaper article, Folha de Sao Paulo (Brazil) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Article in Portuguese "Climate change will create new ecosystems". |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/blogs/ciencia-fundamental/2022/08/mudancas-climaticas-vao-criar-novos-... |
Description | Podcast Dragoes de Garagem, Brazil: "Tropical Ecotones" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | See below. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://open.spotify.com/episode/6337vmuOoKA8OmlMmZSUaJ?si=TtwUHwyuSwG84GGZytY9Gw&utm_source=copy-li... |
Description | Poster Presentation at Workshop, College de France |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | poster presentation |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. At the conference, I learned a lot about methods for studying diversification, which will be useful to achieving the outcomes of the grant. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Presentation at UK/Brazil workshop to plan the Newton Fund |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Toby Pennington gave a talk and participated in discussions that contributed to shaping ideas for possible research focus for the Newton fund in Brazil Possible influence on direction of Newton fund priorities for Brazil |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Press release, UFMG Bulletin (Brazil) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Press release of published paper 'Freezing and water availability structure the evolutionary diversity of trees across the Americas' (Science Advances 2020). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://ufmg.br/comunicacao/noticias/florestas-secas-abrigam-30-da-diversidade-evolutiva-de-arvores |
Description | Press release, UFMG Bulletin (Brazil) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Press release of published paper 'Evolutionary diversity in tropical tree communities peaks at intermediate precipitation' (Scientific Reports 2020). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://ufmg.br/comunicacao/publicacoes/boletim/edicao/2085/diversidade-na-transicao |
Description | Press release, UFMG Press Office (Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Press release of funding granted to the project "The ecological limits of plant diversity in terrestrial biomes". |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://ufmg.br/comunicacao/noticias/professores-da-ufmg-receberao-do-instituto-serrapilheira-ate-r-... |
Description | Public Lecure, Royal Geographical Society with IBG, University of Exeter, "The forgotten forests of Latin America" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Invited public talk by Toby Pennington that aimed to raise public awareness of the conservation importance and plight of tropical dry forests. Numerous questions afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Savannas in the Anthropocene conference, University of Edinburgh |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited presentation: "Legumes in African Savannas" to a working group of savanna ecologists at a workshop geared to developing collaborations for inter-disciplinary grant proposals |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Scottish Phylogeny Discussion Group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. Collaborations were developed. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Scottish Tropical Ecology and Biology Conference; University of Glasgow |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited plenary conference presentation: Continental-scale patterns of tree composition across South America Followed by open discussion with audience |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Seminar at Joint Research Centre of European Union |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | We delivered a seminar on seasonally dry tropical forests to the EU JRC Institute for Environment and Sustainability in Ispra, Italy. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Seminar at Naturalis Biodiversity Centre (Leiden, Netherlands) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Seminar with aim to develop collaborations to researchers working at large spatial scales in South America. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Seminar, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited seminar, 'Drough-stress structures evolutionary diversity in tropical tree commmunities' (in Portuguese). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Seminar, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited talk 'Mapping diversity in South America: from communities to phylogenies' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Seminar, Universidade Federal de Bahia |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited seminar: "Species-level phylogenetics of tropical plants: illuminating the evolutionary process and taxonomy" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Seminar, University of Arizona |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited talk 'Drought-stress structures evolutionary diversity in tropical tree communities' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Seminar: Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited seminar at Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden: A diversidade florística, biogeografía filogenética e conservação das florestas estacionalmente secas neotropicais (SDTF) [Floristic diversity, phylogenetic biogeography and conservation of seasonally dry neotropical forests] Talk resulted in numerous questions and discussion The main aim was to raise awareness in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil of our project. One impact would be facilitation of processes of gainign research permissions in Brazil |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Symposium Talk, Association for Tropical Biology and Consrvation meeting: "Niche evolution of South American trees and its consequences". |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | See "the most significant outcome/impact of this activity" below. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Symposium talk, Macroecology Meeting of the British Ecological Society: "The adaptive challenge of extreme conditions shapes evolutionary diversity of plant assemblages at continental scales.The adaptive challenge of extreme conditions shapes evolutionary diversity of plant assemblages at continental scales" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | See "the most significant outcome/impact of this activity" below. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | The Prince's Charities' International Sustainability Unit, Critical Challenges and Opportunities for Tropical Forest Science |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Workshop participant and speaker; presentation: Genes and genomics: new views of tropical forest plant diversity in the 21st Century One of 18 invited speakers; closed meeting to draft a memorandum on priorities for tropical forest science subsequently presented by the Prince of Wales to UK Government ministers and approximately 100 guests from the worlds of policy, advocacy, philanthropy |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | UK Plant Evolution Conference, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion regarding the nature of species in different tropical biomes The talk resulted in discussions of collaboration |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | UK Plant Sciences 2013 Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited talk: A Molecular Spotlight on the Forgotten Forests of South America Talked resulted in questions and discussion Increased awareness of relevance of our work to balancing destrcution of tropical habitat to produce food, and conservation |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Visits of trainee teachers and Advanced Higher students from schools across Scotland to Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | This comprised visits over three days from trainee high school biology teachers and then from two groups of advanced higher students from across Scotland. The purpose was to cover elements of the national curriculum relating to evolutiona and taxonomy. I was the concluding speaker and my presentation hihglighted the amount of fundamental inventory and taxonomic research that remains to be done in the tropics. It drew heavily on work done as part of this research grant. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Workshop Matas secas no Brasil: biodiversidade e serviços ecossistêmicos |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | As part of the workshop 'Matas Secas no Brasil' programme, Danilo Neves led a discussion about the importance of combining datasets to assess diversity patterns in dry forests. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Workshop at National Institute for Research in the Amazon (Manaus, Brazil) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Project participant Dexter ran a 2-day workshop to teach students at this research institute to make phylogenies for tropical plants and use them in ecological studies. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |