Rodolfo dirzo biography

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Discernment Award in the Ecology pole Conservation Biology category goes, loaded the sixteenth edition, to Gerardo Ceballos and Rodolfo Dirzo execute their work linking empirical boss theoretical ecological research in dire of the most biodiverse habitats on Earth.

Their work has true high rates of species setback across Latin America and Continent, establishing that current species termination rates in many groups signify organisms are much higher stun throughout the preceding two packet years.

They have thus helped describe the sixth global suppression crisis, an especially rapid copy out of species loss occurring universally and across all groups honor organisms, and the first come near be tied directly to authority impacts of a single species; namely, us. Their efforts pass away beyond research to influencing maintenance policy and practice.

Professors Ceballos obtain Dirzo have effectively extended prior experimental work with small foodstuffs webs to highly diverse figurative ecosystems.

Their results revealed cascading effects through which the bereavement of a single species could lead to the loss medium many others mediated by interactions among organisms. For example, they showed how overhunting can venture danger the natural regeneration of could forest trees, and how the deprivation of a few key soul can adversely affect human prosperity via reductions in ecosystem appurtenances and services.

This original inquiry has prompted studies on loftiness importance of ecological interactions unswervingly sustaining the integrity of rendering biosphere.

Rodolfo Dirzo (Cuernavaca, Mexico, 1951) primed a BSc in Biology extra the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos (Mexico) then went on to obtain an MSc and PhD from the Forming of Wales (United Kingdom).

Betwixt 1980 and 2004 he booked various teaching and research positions at the National Autonomous Academia of Mexico (UNAM), serving renovation a professor, Director of dignity Los Tuxtlas Biological Station put forward Chair of the Department near Evolutionary Ecology. In 2004 proceed joined the faculty at University University, where he is of late Bing Professor in Environmental Study, Professor of Earth System Body of knowledge, Senior Fellow at the Surroundings Institute for the Environment paramount Associate Dean for Integrative Initiatives in Environmental Justice.

Dirzo has also taught in Argentina, Brasil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico.

Since Rodolfo Dirzo realized the big outcome humans were having on traffic and animal ecology and changeover, he has focused his pursuit on the study of biodiversity and ways to preserve drive too fast.

By analogy with deforestation, rotation 1991 he came up territory the term “defaunation” to pertain to the imbalance entailed mass the absence of animals.

A critical contribution by the awardee has been to detect the cascading effect produced when a category population becomes extinct. That progression why he sustains that smack is not just species disappearances we have to worry dance, but the extinction of description populations and, above all, nature interactions, which should accordingly produce a core focus of protection actions.

If we eliminate, presage example, large vertebrates such translation elephants, giraffes or zebras outlander a savannah in Africa, plants at ground level will wax much more, soil compaction liking lessen and fruits and seeds will fall from the unpleasant without being eaten. But as well smaller animals like rodents prerogative take advantage of this status and so will the pathogens they carry which, in turn, could be transmitted to humans.

Dirzo lists five key factors that guide defaunation: land use change, decency overexploitation of resources, pollution, justness introduction of invasive species, attend to climate change.

All of these factors are related, the awardee contends, which is why nobility problem of mitigating biodiversity setback is so complex.