Biogeography and conservation of Amazonian ecosystems

Abstract

Biogeography and conservation of Amazonian ecosystems: a multidisciplinary and multicultural approach

Amazonia comprises several unique ecosystems, each with a complex biogeographical history intrinsically related to the evolution of the drainage system, climate, and geomorphology. These ecosystems are also differently impacted by infrastructure development, deforestation and climate change. This heterogeneity, however, is often ignored both in studies about Amazonian ecology and evolution and in impact assessment and monitoring. Combining knowledge from different research fields, including evolutionary biology, genomics, ecology and geology, and working in partnership with local indigenous and traditional communities, we investigate the evolution of Amazonian ecosystems and their associated avifauna. We also monitor the impacts of deforestation, fire, and large dams already operating in large Amazonian tributaries, especially the Belo Monte hydroelectric complex in the Xingu River. Our research aims to provide more realistic assessments of the landscape changes affecting Amazonian ecosystems in different time scales, and provide recommendations about how to better evaluate and characterise current impacts and their consequences for local peoples’ modes of life and use of natural resources.

 

Date & Time

The talk will take place on July 15, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. at the Seminarhaus, room SH 3.104 (Campus Westend, Goethe University).

It is also possible to join the talk online via Zoom.
Meeting ID: 654 4223 4944. Passcode: 173972

 

Image by MatrixDiver from Pixabay

Bio

Camila C. Ribas

Camila Cherem Ribas holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from UNESP-Rio Claro (1996), a master’s degree (2000), and a Ph.D. (2004) in Genetics and Evolutionary Biology from the University of São Paulo. She was a Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History (2005–2007) and has been an associate researcher at the same institution since 2008. She currently works in the Biodiversity Coordination Office and the Biological Scientific Collections Program at the National Institute for Amazonian Research, where she serves as Curator of the Genetic Resources Collection and Associate Curator of the Bird Collection. She has experience in the fields of Biogeography, Genomics, Evolution, and Zoology (Ornithology), with an emphasis on Biogeography and Conservation in the Amazon. Her current research focuses on the study of patterns and processes of diversification in the Neotropical region, with an emphasis on the biogeographic history of the Amazon region, and on establishing partnerships with local indigenous and riverine communities to monitor environmental changes and their impacts. Awards: Her work has received major national recognition in Brazil. In 2025, she received the Women and Science Prize from CNPq, Brazil’s national research council, and a book she co-produced with the Baniwa people won the Jabuti Academic Award, one of Brazil’s leading prizes for academic and scientific books. She is also a member of the Science Panel for the Amazon and contributed to its 2021 and 2025 assessment reports.

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