Research Lines
Characterization of Biodiversity
This line of research involves the observation and characterization of the main units of biodiversity (e.g. genes, species, communities and ecosystems), and the quantification of variation between them (e.g. genetic distances, phylogenetic relationships, geographic variation patterns of diversity). This line includes integrated studies of systematics, phylogeny, biogeography, ecology of organisms, community ecology, landscape ecology, and ecosystem ecology.
Management and Conservation of Biodiversity
This line of research includes all applied research aimed at developing efficient systems for the management and conservation of tropical biodiversity at various spatial scales. The research topics range from environmental planning using modern spatial analysis tools, to research aimed at quantifying and minimizing the environmental impact of human activities on biodiversity. This line is truly multidisciplinary, as it involves the integration of information from disciplines associated with the biological sciences (ecology, zoology and botany), the exact and natural sciences (geology, meteorology, mathematics and physics), and the human sciences (anthropology, sociology and economics).
Sustainable Use of Biodiversity
This line of research also involves multidisciplinary applied research aimed at identifying and promoting the economic use of the various units of biodiversity. It includes multidisciplinary studies on the ecological foundations of animal and vegetable extractivism, sustainable management of forests and other tropical ecosystems, biological control with native species, development of agroforestry systems, and identification of the chemical and pharmacological potential of regional plants.