Understanding the diversity of life on Earth
From biodiversity to human cultures, we investigate the processes that shape life across space, time and environmental change.
An integrated research program
Our research seeks to understand how ecological, evolutionary, environmental and cultural processes interact to shape biological and human diversity from local to global scales.
Biodiversity
Macroecology and Macroevolution
Broad patterns of diversity, distribution and evolutionary history across continental and global scales.
Associated projects
Related publications
Macroecology and Macroevolution
Why is biodiversity not evenly distributed across the planet?
We investigate the ecological and evolutionary processes responsible for global biodiversity patterns. Our goal is to understand how species arise, persist and disappear through time and space.
Evidence and contributions from this research line
The Clade Replacement Theory: a framework to study age-dependent extinction
Carlos Calderon Del Cid, Fabricio Villalobos, Ricardo Dobrovolski, Juan D. Carrillo, Daniele Silvestro, Bruno Vilela
Conceptual contribution to understanding species age-dependent extinction and clade replacement.
Abundant-core thinking clarifies exceptions to the abundant-center distribution pattern
Trevor Fristoe, Bruno Vilela, James Brown, Carlos A. Botero
Refines interpretations of abundance, range centers and macroecological exceptions.
Effects of phenotypic plasticity on diversification rates and adaptive evolution in simulated environments with different climatic and cost contexts
Emerson Campos Barbosa Junior, Pavel Dodonov, Hilton F. Japyassu, Bruno Vilela
Uses simulations to evaluate how phenotypic plasticity can alter adaptation, diversification and evolutionary trajectories.
Ecological Niche Studies
How do species respond to the environments in which they live?
We seek to understand how organisms interact with environmental conditions and how these relationships change through evolution and global change.
Evidence and contributions from this research line
Age-related trends in niche position and specialization in Neotropical vertebrates
Carlos Calderon Del Cid, Fabricio Villalobos, Ricardo Dobrovolski, Bruno Vilela
Links evolutionary age, niche position and specialization in Neotropical vertebrates.
Using fossil records to predict changes in niche and spatial dynamics in a broadly distributed coral reef: Niche conservatism and adaptation
Umberto Diego Rodrigues de Oliveira, Ricardo Dobrovolski, Francisco Barros, Carlos Daniel Perez, Bruno Vilela
Combines fossils and modelling to study niche conservatism and adaptation in reefs.
Niche analyses and the potential distribution of four invasive bumblebees worldwide
Tania Paola Lopez Aguilar, Jose Montalva, Bruno Vilela, Mariana Arbetman, Marcelo Adrian Aizen, Carolina Morales, Daniel de Paiva Silva
Evaluates niche dynamics and potential distributions of invasive bumblebees worldwide.
Climate Change
How will life respond to climate change?
We use ecological and climate models to understand how species, ecosystems and entire regions may be affected by ongoing environmental change.
Evidence and contributions from this research line
The potential effects of climate change on medicinal plants from the Brazilian Cerrado in South America
Leonardo Almeida Guerra dos Santos, Bruno Vilela, Fernanda Goncalves de Sousa, Washington Soares Ferreira Junior, Daniel de Paiva Silva
Projects potential climate-change impacts on medicinal plants from the Brazilian Cerrado.
Are reptiles toast? A worldwide evaluation of Lepidosauria vulnerability to climate change
L. M. Diele-Viegas, R. T. Figueroa, Bruno Vilela, C. F. D. Rocha, collaborators
Evaluates biogeographic and phylogenetic patterns of Lepidosauria vulnerability to climate change.
Impacts of climate change on small-ranged amphibians of the Northern Atlantic Forest
Bruno Vilela, Filipe Augusto Nascimento, Marcos Vinicius Carneiro Vital
Evaluates how future climate scenarios may affect range-restricted amphibians from the northern Atlantic Forest.
Conservation
Transforming scientific knowledge into conservation action
Our research aims to provide scientific evidence to support decisions for biodiversity protection and conservation planning.
Evidence and contributions from this research line
The role of protected areas in maintaining natural vegetation in Brazil
Daniel Goncalves-Souza, Bruno Vilela, Benjamin Phalan, Ricardo Dobrovolski
Evaluates the contribution of protected areas to maintaining natural vegetation at national scale.
Assessing the evolutionary distinctiveness of a highly threatened plant group: The urgency to preserve a unique lineage of evolution in Brazil
Najla Bastos Scheidegger, Raquel C. Pizzardo, Bruno Vilela, Thuane Bochorny, Juliana Gastaldello Rando
Highlights the importance of conserving an evolutionarily distinct and threatened plant lineage.
Social and Environmental Drivers of Birdwatching in Brazil: Implications for Conservation Planning
Rafael Felix, Bruno Vilela, Sidnei Santos, Alexandre Igari, Blandina Viana, Charbel El-Hani
Connects social and environmental data to conservation planning based on birdwatching.
Cultural Evolution
Understanding cultural diversity through the lenses of ecology and evolution
We apply concepts originally developed to study biodiversity to understand global patterns of cultural, linguistic and human diversity.
Evidence and contributions from this research line
Cultural transmission and ecological opportunity jointly shaped global patterns of reliance on agriculture
International collaboration, Bruno Vilela
Investigates how cultural transmission and ecological opportunity contributed to global patterns of reliance on agriculture.
The biogeography and evolution of land ownership
Hannah Haynie, Geoff Kushnick, Patrick Kavanagh, Carol Ember, Claire Bowern, Bobbi Low, Ty Tuff, Bruno Vilela
Investigates biogeographic and evolutionary patterns associated with land ownership.
Hindcasting global population densities reveals forces enabling the origin of agriculture
International collaboration, Bruno Vilela
Integrates human macroecology, population density and environmental conditions associated with the origin of agriculture.
Methodological Development
Developing tools to expand the frontiers of science
We create methods, algorithms and software that help researchers worldwide investigate questions related to biodiversity, conservation and evolution.
Evidence and contributions from this research line
letsR: a new R package for data handling and analysis in macroecology
Bruno Vilela, Fabricio Villalobos
Introduces an R package for handling distribution data and conducting macroecological analyses.
expowo: An R package for mining global plant diversity and distribution data
Debora C. Zuanny, Bruno Vilela, Peter W. Moonlight, Tiina E. Sarkinen, Domingos Cardoso
Open tool for mining global plant diversity and distribution data.
The Challenges and Nuances of Teaching the R Programming Language to Ecologists
Mauricio Humberto Vancine, Pavel Dodonov, Bruno Vilela, collaborators
Discusses training in R and data science for ecologists.
Big questions, multiple scales
From species evolution to human cultural diversity, our research seeks to understand how complex systems emerge, change and persist over time.