This page supplies information about the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) hub of the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA). The LAC hub is one of the regional branches of GMBA whose role is to create a close-knit inter- and transdisciplinary community of researchers who study various aspects of biodiversity in the mountains of LAC.
Post-graduate positions (Ph.D. and M.Sc.) - advertised 25 May 2026
South American Synthesis Initiative for Tropical Mountain Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services - TROMBIOS
The TROMBIOS project is an international collaboration between researchers and experts from Brazil, the Andean countries, as well as Switzerland, Germany and Australia with the objective to synthesize current knowledge about mountain biodiversity and related ecosystem services in the tropical mountains of South America. We seek to recruit post-graduate students with a keen interest in mountain biodiversity to carry out research within the scope of the project, at the University of Campinas, Brazil. The students will work in close collaboration with international scientists of the Project, including those of the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment and the Andean Network of Socio-ecological Observatories.
Contact: Laszlo Nagy lnagy@unicamp.br
The TROMBIOS project
Background: Mountains concentrate biodiversity and provide important ecosystem services for much of the lowland population in the tropical mountain regions of South America. However, no synthesis effort has been undertaken so far to identify the geographic, taxonomic, and thematic knowledge gaps that are required to effectively safeguard / manage South American tropical mountain ecosystems and their biodiversity. A systematic synthesis is required to detect spatio-temporal trends and patterns in tropical mountain biodiversity to help the formulation of effective environmental policies and a coordinated design and implementation of ecosystem management strategies. The TROMBIOS project will address this gap by (i) assembling, analysing, and synthesising data and knowledge on tropical mountain biodiversity and social-ecological systems, and (ii) the use of existing data and knowledge to develop models and scenarios for the future of biodiversity and ecosystem services according to different management strategies.
Aims: The project will answer the following questions: (a) What is the status of knowledge and data on mountain biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services in Brazil and South America and what critical gaps exist for management planning and implementation, in particular in the transition zones between expanding (urban) settlements and mountains? (b) What are the environmental and anthropogenic drivers of change in mountain biodiversity in tropical mountain regions? and (c) What are the trends in and predicted trajectories of mountain biodiversity in Brazil, South America, and in tropical mountains generally?
Methods: To answer the above questions, the use of a variety of methods will be required. Data and information extraction from existing sources will be followed by scaling and standardising data, quality checking, establishing temporal series at various spatial resolutions, from plot to satellite image scene scales. A variety of statistical tools will be used to establish relationships, analyse change and trends in biodiversity and ecosystem services and environmental variables, using uni- and multivariate data and remote-sensing data products. Various modelling exercises (e.g., species distribution, ecosystem services, land use change) will complete the analyses, to project potential trajectories of future changes in biodiversity and potential ecosystem services as a result of changes in their drivers.
Expected results: By answering the proposed research questions, the project will produce state-of-the art and to date missing knowledge on the state and trends in mountain biodiversity and ecosystem services and their drivers of change, thereby enabling science-based decision making and management. The project is expected to generate at the minimum three high-impact scientific publications led by the PDRF, and several additional ones led by PRs. The PDRA will make presentations at international conferences, and as part of our extension programme, at the local level. The PDRF will be encouraged to contribute to a post-graduate summer school at the end of the project.
Expected impacts of findings include new understanding of problems associated with mountain biodiversity and its management, contributing to improvements in policy and practice. TROMBIOS aims to leave a long-lasting legacy by establishing and consolidating a new mountain biodiversity synthesis centre in South America as part of the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment Latin America and the Caribbean hub.