Species Responses to Climate Change in the Amazon To Andes region

2026-07-22

Tropical forests face an extinction crisis. Increasing temperatures and drought events jeopardize the survival of thousands of plant species, and the response of tropical forests and their species to climate change is one of the most pressing current questions in Ecology. The Andes and the Amazon are among the most important ecosystems on Earth in terms of carbon storage, biodiversity, and climate regulation. However, despite being adjacent and contiguous ecosystems, they have been studied as distinct entities and thus, our knowledge on regional ecosystem processes and species-level distribution and dynamics is truncated, limiting our ability to understand the effects of climate change in these forests. In RESCATA, I will combine ¬– for the first time– the world’s largest networks of Andean and Amazonian vegetation monitoring plots (RAINFOR and sANDES) and perform innovative species-level analyses. The goal is to identify the drivers behind plant species survival or extinction under climate change conditions in the Amazon-Andes region and to reveal ongoing and future macroecological changes in these forests. We will test the role of initial species abundance, distribution range, functional traits, and phylogeny on species success or failure. In addition, we will pioneer the standardization of Andean and Amazonian data in order to increase usage, collaboration and accuracy. Fadrique will work alongside world-leading researchers Prof. Phillips and Prof. Cayuela in order to gain macroecological knowledge, alongside new skills in big-data analysis and individual-based modelling as well as multidisciplinary connections to establish herself as a leading climate-change scientist in Europe. The results of this project will be of high interest far beyond the scientific community including government entities, policy makers, conservation agencies and the general public and I will engage them via different activities such as publications, policy reports, webinars and workshops

United Kingdom (UK)

2026-02-15