Our Lab

Flavia Montaño-Centellas (PI)

Born and raised in the Tropical Andes, I am an interdisciplinary ecologist broadly interested in tropical ecology and conservation. My research explores the patterns and processes behind biodiversity across spatial scales in different taxa, and the role of species traits and species interactions (mainly positive interactions) in shaping diversity. I hold a PhD in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida.

I was a postdoctoral researcher at LSU where I mostly focused on macroecological patterns of biodiversity. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University and an Associate Researcher at the Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz, Bolivia.

Our Members

Maria Isabel Loza

Research Associate

Isabel is a conservation ecologist with extensive experience in tropical ecosystems. Her research focuses on unraveling the processes and factors that drive species rarity and using this knowledge to inform effective conservation practices in tropical regions. She worked for several years in the Andes region, where she studied the dimensions of species rarity and explored how these dimensions interact and how this can be used to inform conservation practices.

Rounak Patra

PHD Student

Rounak is an aspiring ecologist, interested in understanding how bird species interact with each other within different communities and how these relationships are evolving in a rapidly changing world. In particular, he is fascinated by large frugivores, mixed-species flocks and just birds in general. When Rounak is not busy with his research work, he enjoys wildlife photography, writing, and supporting his favorite soccer team- Arsenal.

Rhayza Cortes-Romay

Member-at-large

Rhayza is a biologist interested in the structuring of mountain forest bird communities and their variation along ecological gradients. She is particularly interested in the evolution of bird songs and acoustic adaptive responses to elevation. She has also investigated rare ecological interactions in the tropics, and its effects on the behavior of birds and insects. Co-founder of Ciencia Molotov, in Bolivia, she works intensively in scientific communication and dissemination. She loves photography and in her free time she writes poems.

Felicity Newell

Postdoctoral Researcher

Felicity is an integrative ecologist interested in tropical ecology and conservation, global change biology, ecosystem and forest ecology. She has a PhD in Zoology from the University of Florida and an MS in Wildlife Ecology from Ohio State University. She is interested in how micro- and macro- climate regulate food webs and structure multi-taxa ecological communities. She is a scientific collaborator with the German-Ecuadorean Reassembly research unit and a visiting scientist at the University of Bern.

You

Future Lab member

Explore community ecology with us, focusing on species interactions and community assembly in tropical ecosystems. Join our team and contribute to impactful ecological research.

You

Future Lab member

Explore community ecology with us, focusing on species interactions and community assembly in tropical ecosystems. Join our team and contribute to impactful ecological research.