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Associate Professor of Biology, University of Hawaii

I grew up in rural Colombia, and thanks to a wonderful mother and father, I managed to get a higher education that very few achieve in a country that lives in poverty and is constantly touched by violence; this is to say that as a country we have very critical things to worry about. As a peasant in the country side, I observed the massive transformation of the natural world and I myself might have added to it. However, it was only until I finished my PhD that I truly understood the magnitude of the damage to the natural world and that we were all responsible for it. Unfortunately, we cannot expect everyone to do a PhD to better appreciate and be sensible about biodiversity loss, which is why I dedicated my life to bring scientifically based awareness to this problem and its solutions.

My lab focuses on interconnected lines of research aimed to understand how biodiversity patterns are generated and modified by human activities and in the process identifying the conditions where suitable conditions for both, humans and biodiversity, are met.

Experience

  • –present
    Associate Professor of Biology, University of Hawaii