Research areas

Research projects of graduate students, as well as the research interests of the program’s faculty are inserted in the following general research areas: 

Community ecology – Studies on the composition and structure of animal and plant species assemblages, and the factors that influence their variation in space and time. 

Ecosystem ecology - Studies on the biogeochemical functioning of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, specially regarding carbon cycling and environmental services, as well as on the factors that determine landscape structure, including anthropic impacts and the evaluation of the effects of climate change on Amazonian environments. 

Population ecology - Studies on the biology, behaviour, demography and spatial and temporal dynamics of populations of a species.  

Ecology of organisms - Studies on the physiological and molecular adaptations of organisms to environmental characteristics and variability, including anthropic impacts.

Human ecology - Studies on the adaptation of humans to and their impact on Amazonian environments, the carrying capacity of Amazonian ecosystems, the traditional use of natural resources and the prospect of the economically viable and environmentaly sustainable exploitation of Amazonian resources.

Biogeography and evolutionary ecology - Studies the distribuiton patterns of species or groups of species, and the geological, paleoenvironmental and molecular factors that shape these distributions. 

Conservation and management of Amazonian natural resources - Studies on integrated biodiversity surveys and their use for the rational management of Amazonian habitats and biological resources.