We are based at ETH Zürich, Switzerland and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
We study tropical forest landscapes in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Malaysia, and Panama.
Principal Investigator
Daisy Dent
Senior Scientist:
ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Research Associate:
Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Germany
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
I currently lead the Restoration Ecology group in Global Ecosystem Ecology at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and I am a long-term Research Associate at Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, where much of my research is based. I complete my PhD at the University of Aberdeen with field research in Sabah, Malaysia and my research group have work in tropical forests in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Malaysia, and Panama.
I work in tropical forest landscapes to understand complex problems in coupled natural and human systems, including biodiversity loss, climate change, and supporting human livelihoods. With collaborators, students and local communities we aim to develop sustainable solutions to these challenges.
My research focuses on tropical forest regeneration, restoration and conservation to 1) test ecological theories of community assembly, and 2) evaluate how to effectively restore degraded tropical landscapes to benefit climate, biodiversity and people. My research expands ecological theories while supporting positive restoration outcomes and has evolved from a purely ecological perspective to a transdisciplinary approach that aims to understand how we can best restore degraded landscapes.
Senior Scientist:
ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Research Associate:
Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Germany
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
I currently lead the Restoration Ecology group in Global Ecosystem Ecology at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and I am a long-term Research Associate at Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, where much of my research is based. I complete my PhD at the University of Aberdeen with field research in Sabah, Malaysia and my research group have work in tropical forests in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Malaysia, and Panama.
I work in tropical forest landscapes to understand complex problems in coupled natural and human systems, including biodiversity loss, climate change, and supporting human livelihoods. With collaborators, students and local communities we aim to develop sustainable solutions to these challenges.
My research focuses on tropical forest regeneration, restoration and conservation to 1) test ecological theories of community assembly, and 2) evaluate how to effectively restore degraded tropical landscapes to benefit climate, biodiversity and people. My research expands ecological theories while supporting positive restoration outcomes and has evolved from a purely ecological perspective to a transdisciplinary approach that aims to understand how we can best restore degraded landscapes.
PhD Students
Matilde Bragadini
Project: The role of plant-pathogen interactions in shaping tropical secondary forest succession
Cosupervised by Prof. Thomas Crowther and Camille Delavaux, ETH Zurich
Email: [email protected]
Project: The role of plant-pathogen interactions in shaping tropical secondary forest succession
Cosupervised by Prof. Thomas Crowther and Camille Delavaux, ETH Zurich
Email: [email protected]
Giacomo Delgado
Project: A multidisciplinary exploration of biodiversity and economic equity in restoration
Cosupervised by Prof. Thomas Crowther, ETH Zurich
Email: [email protected]
Project: A multidisciplinary exploration of biodiversity and economic equity in restoration
Cosupervised by Prof. Thomas Crowther, ETH Zurich
Email: [email protected]
Co-supervised PhD students:
Lester Fox Rosales with Meg Crofoot and Roland Kays (MPI-AB, University of Konstanz, Germany and North Carolina State University, USA)
Gustavo Alarcon Nieto with Kamran Safi (MPI-AB and University of Konstanz, Germany)
Claudio Manuel Monteza with Meg Crofoot and Mark Grote (MPI-AB, University of Konstanz, Germany and UC Davis, USA)
Lester Fox Rosales with Meg Crofoot and Roland Kays (MPI-AB, University of Konstanz, Germany and North Carolina State University, USA)
Gustavo Alarcon Nieto with Kamran Safi (MPI-AB and University of Konstanz, Germany)
Claudio Manuel Monteza with Meg Crofoot and Mark Grote (MPI-AB, University of Konstanz, Germany and UC Davis, USA)
Postdocs
Alex Elsy
ETH Zurich
Email: [email protected]
Secondary forests are increasingly common across large areas of the tropics. These forests are incredibly valuable for biodiversity and ecosystem function, and thus far much research has been focused on how secondary forests grow and recover from previous land uses over the early stages of succession. However, far fewer studies have examined how forest communities continue to change in mid-to-late succession. Our research aims to address this gap by investigating community and functional composition changes, in both liana and tree communities, across a secondary forest chronosequence (40 – 120 years old) in the Barro Colorado Nature Monument, Central Panama. This research furthers our understanding on how long late-successional forest communities take to recover to old growth levels (Elsy et al. 2023) and adds to the body of literature around liana communities in late succession.
ETH Zurich
Email: [email protected]
Secondary forests are increasingly common across large areas of the tropics. These forests are incredibly valuable for biodiversity and ecosystem function, and thus far much research has been focused on how secondary forests grow and recover from previous land uses over the early stages of succession. However, far fewer studies have examined how forest communities continue to change in mid-to-late succession. Our research aims to address this gap by investigating community and functional composition changes, in both liana and tree communities, across a secondary forest chronosequence (40 – 120 years old) in the Barro Colorado Nature Monument, Central Panama. This research furthers our understanding on how long late-successional forest communities take to recover to old growth levels (Elsy et al. 2023) and adds to the body of literature around liana communities in late succession.
Carolina Bello
ETH Zurich
Email: [email protected]
My current research project explores the effects of animals on tropical forest restoration, with a focus on seed dispersal. I aim to understand how frugivorous birds drive forest recovery in open areas by integrating data from different stages of the frugivory process (i.e., diet, movement, gut passage time). In this way we can predict the potential contribution of birds
to forest regeneration and carbon stock potential in degraded tropical landscapes. More broadly, I study the process of seed dispersal and its impact on potential forest carbon
stocks using frugivore interactions. I have shown that the loss of large frugivores reduces potential carbon storage in tropical forests due to reduced dispersal of large-seeded trees (Bello et al. 2017). In addition, I found that the potential of restoration projects to mitigate climate change is compromised when they do not incorporate animal dispersed tree species with high carbon storage potential (Brancalion et al. 2018).
ETH Zurich
Email: [email protected]
My current research project explores the effects of animals on tropical forest restoration, with a focus on seed dispersal. I aim to understand how frugivorous birds drive forest recovery in open areas by integrating data from different stages of the frugivory process (i.e., diet, movement, gut passage time). In this way we can predict the potential contribution of birds
to forest regeneration and carbon stock potential in degraded tropical landscapes. More broadly, I study the process of seed dispersal and its impact on potential forest carbon
stocks using frugivore interactions. I have shown that the loss of large frugivores reduces potential carbon storage in tropical forests due to reduced dispersal of large-seeded trees (Bello et al. 2017). In addition, I found that the potential of restoration projects to mitigate climate change is compromised when they do not incorporate animal dispersed tree species with high carbon storage potential (Brancalion et al. 2018).
Field Team
Our team of botanists lead the tree and seedling censuses
in our forest plots in Panama. From left to right:
Bianco Castro
Roni Saenz
Marlenys Aguilar
Luis Aguilar
Guillermo Aguilar
in our forest plots in Panama. From left to right:
Bianco Castro
Roni Saenz
Marlenys Aguilar
Luis Aguilar
Guillermo Aguilar
Past PhD Students
Adam Fell
Project: Maintenance of tropical forest bird communities in human-modified landscapes
Cosupervised by Dr Brad Duthie, University of Stirling and Prof Steve Willis, University of Durham
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Stirling,UK
Project: The Impact of Liana Proliferation on Recovery of Biomass in Secondary Tropical Forests.
Cosupervised by Dr Marion Pfeifer, Newcastle University
Email: [email protected]
Project: Maintenance of tropical forest bird communities in human-modified landscapes
Cosupervised by Dr Brad Duthie, University of Stirling and Prof Steve Willis, University of Durham
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Stirling,UK
Project: The Impact of Liana Proliferation on Recovery of Biomass in Secondary Tropical Forests.
Cosupervised by Dr Marion Pfeifer, Newcastle University
Email: [email protected]
Robin Hayward
Project: Long-term recovery of species diversity and community composition in selectively-logged tropical forests.
Cosupervised by Prof David Burslem, University of Aberdeen and Dr Lindsay Banin, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh
Current Position: Communications and Engagement Officer, Leeds Ecosystem, Atmosphere and Forest Centre (LEAF), University of Leeds
Project: Long-term recovery of species diversity and community composition in selectively-logged tropical forests.
Cosupervised by Prof David Burslem, University of Aberdeen and Dr Lindsay Banin, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh
Current Position: Communications and Engagement Officer, Leeds Ecosystem, Atmosphere and Forest Centre (LEAF), University of Leeds
Tom Bradfer-Lawrence
Project: The maintenance of tropical bird communities in human-modified landscapes
Cosupervised by Prof. Steve Willis, Durham University and Prof. Nils Bunnefeld, University of Stirling
Current Position: Senior Conservation Scientist at RSPB
Project: The maintenance of tropical bird communities in human-modified landscapes
Cosupervised by Prof. Steve Willis, Durham University and Prof. Nils Bunnefeld, University of Stirling
Current Position: Senior Conservation Scientist at RSPB
Rebekah Mayhew
Project: The species and functional composition of bird communities in regenerating tropical forests.
Cosupervised by Dr Joe Tobias, Imperial College London and Prof. Kirsty Park, University of Stirling.
Current Position: Land Management Adviser at Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park
Project: The species and functional composition of bird communities in regenerating tropical forests.
Cosupervised by Dr Joe Tobias, Imperial College London and Prof. Kirsty Park, University of Stirling.
Current Position: Land Management Adviser at Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park
Isabel Jones
Project: Impacts of landscape-scale habitat fragmentation and dynamics of regenerating tropical forests.
Cosupervised by Prof Carlos Peres, University of East Anglia.
Current Position: UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, University of Stirling, UK
Project: Impacts of landscape-scale habitat fragmentation and dynamics of regenerating tropical forests.
Cosupervised by Prof Carlos Peres, University of East Anglia.
Current Position: UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, University of Stirling, UK
Past co-supervised PhD students:
Abby Wallwork with Lindsay Banin and Emma Sayer (CEH Edinburgh and University of Lancaster)
Emma Bush with Nils Bunnefeld, Alistair Jump and Kate Abernethy (University of Stirling and Gabon National Parks Agency)
Kirsten Hazelwood with Tim Paine (University of Stirling)
Luci Kirkpatrick with Kirsty Park and Sallie Bailey (University of Stirling and Forestry Commission)
Abby Wallwork with Lindsay Banin and Emma Sayer (CEH Edinburgh and University of Lancaster)
Emma Bush with Nils Bunnefeld, Alistair Jump and Kate Abernethy (University of Stirling and Gabon National Parks Agency)
Kirsten Hazelwood with Tim Paine (University of Stirling)
Luci Kirkpatrick with Kirsty Park and Sallie Bailey (University of Stirling and Forestry Commission)