From landscapes to continents through epochs

Abstract

From landscapes to continents through epochs: simulation models to integrate across scales and disciplines

South America is the most biodiverse continent on Earth. Its relative geographic isolation and striking environmental contrasts—from the driest desert to the largest rainforest—make it an exceptional natural laboratory for testing ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that drive biodiversity. In this talk, Prof. Rangel will present the ongoing research project SABER (South American Biodiversity Evolutionary Reconstruction)—an interdisciplinary initiative aimed at explaining vertebrate and arboreal biodiversity in South America across landscapes and epochs. Within the project’s simulation framework, populations act as fundamental agents shaped by the dynamics of reconstructed environments over the past 30 million years. Shifts in topography, hydrography, and climate alter the suitability of landscapes for different populations, thereby influencing distribution and gene flow. By tracking these processes across time and space, SABER seeks to disentangle the multiple drivers of diversification and reveal how they may operate simultaneously or alternate in response to environmental change.

 

Date & Time

The talk will take place on November 14, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. online via Zoom.
Meeting ID: 653 1184 3274. Passcode: 930419

 

Image by jkdvmim from Pixabay

Bio

Thiago F. Rangel

Thiago Rangel is a professor of Ecology at the Federal University of Goiás (Brazil). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Goiás, a Master’s degree in Ecology and Evolution from the Federal University of Goiás, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from the University of Connecticut.

Thiago has experience in the fields of Ecology, Statistics, and Computing, with an emphasis on Macroecology, Geographic Ecology, and Biogeography. He investigates the causes of the distribution of life on earth, or the biodiversity patterns. He employs modern computer simulation to recreate the past biological history of continents.