Grants

PI Cristian Román-Palacios

A seed grant was awarded to our team as a new member of the UA's vertically integrated projects program. This will help fund a team of undergraduate students focusing on "Historical Biogeography and Extinction Risk Assessment of Recently Extinct Animals"

PI Cristian Román-Palacios

Decades of research have uncovered extensive variation in lifespans across the tree of life, yet the degree of variability in aging across organisms remains largely unquantified (Medawar, 1952). Similarly, there has not been a comprehensive analysis of the drivers of such variation across species (Li et al. 2023). In addition to the intrinsic importance of quantifying the variation and sources of variance in lifespan at different taxonomic levels, research around aging has been a central topic in medicine and related disciplines (e.g. Ruby et al. 2018). For instance, the extent to which aging can be modified in humans is still a matter of strong debate (Yamamoto et al. 2022). Yet a broader perspective on the evolution of aging is largely lacking. Is lifespan conserved across groups of organisms, or is it more labile? Do environmental and ecological features explain a significant fraction of the variance in lifespan across organisms? These and other questions could provide insights into the potential malleability of lifespan at smaller taxonomic scales.

PI Cristian Román-Palacios

We will collect information on the natural history and geographic distribution of recently animal extinct species (based on criteria from The International Union for Conservation of Nature). We will then use phylogenetic and non-phylogenetic model-based approaches to detect patterns and drivers of extinction in the dataset. This research project comprises five key components focused on understanding events related to biodiversity loss. First, data collection will focus on compiling lists of extinct animal species, along with their distribution data, natural history information, and phylogenetic data. Second, GIS tools will be employed for landscape reconstructions, wherein human impact and geographical changes will be integrated into inferred species distributions. Third, phylogenetic methods, including ancestral range reconstructions, will be utilized to delineate the historical ranges of extinct species and their relatives. Fourth, a comparative analysis will be conducted to test for distributional changes between extinct species and close relatives, with the aim of identifying potential drivers of extinction. Fifth, Species Distribution Models (SDMs) will be incorporated to generate interpretations of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors contributing to recent extinction events.

PI Cristian Román-Palacios · Co-PI Kiran Basava

Decades of research have uncovered extensive variation in lifespans across the tree of life, yet the degree of variability in aging across organisms remains largely unquantified (Medawar, 1952). Similarly, there has not been a comprehensive analysis of the drivers of such variation across species (Li et al. 2023). In addition to the intrinsic importance of quantifying the variation and sources of variance in lifespan at different taxonomic levels, research around aging has been a central topic in medicine and related disciplines (e.g. Ruby et al. 2018). For instance, the extent to which aging can be modified in humans is still a matter of strong debate (Yamamoto et al. 2022). Yet a broader perspective on the evolution of aging is largely lacking. Is lifespan conserved across groups of organisms, or is it more labile? Do environmental and ecological features explain a significant fraction of the variance in lifespan across organisms? These and other questions could provide insights into the potential malleability of lifespan at smaller taxonomic scales. Fundamental mechanisms underlying the disparity in lifespans across species have been the focus of extensive research at microevolutionary scales (e.g., cells, individuals, populations; Williams 1957). Research in this field has primarily concentrated on perspectives related to molecular evolution, including selection on deleterious alleles, purifying selection, mutation accumulation, antagonistic pleiotropy, and disposable soma. These perspectives on aging evolution have heavily relied on comparative genomic analysis. Contemporary studies have also shifted towards utilizing cell culture models to delineate genotype-phenotype interactions relevant to biological aging. However, these microevolutionary perspectives often lack a comprehensive understanding of the broader context surrounding lifespan evolution. The macroevolutionary perspective proposed in this project will enable the examination of patterns and trends across diverse taxonomic groups over extensive geological time scales.

PI Cristian Román-Palacios

The WAESO grant funded a project that will allow for the visualization and reconstruction of historical landscapes and ranges of recently extinct species. This will enable students to learn about phylogenetic methods and expand on their comparative analysis skills to help identify distribution changes between extinct species and their sister taxa. The results of this research will aim to add to the global collaboration efforts on biodiversity conservation and action.

PI Cristian Román-Palacios · Co-PI Chris Lim

UA’s OneHealth initiative pilot grant aimed at examining spatial and temporal patterns of power outages in the US. Ultimately, this project focused on testing the role of power outages across in the US in health-related outcomes such as hospitalizations.

PI Cristian Roman-Palacios · Co-PI Mackenzie Waller

Seed grant from the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture (UArizona). Project aimed at funding the development of a pilot software to bridge formal planning efforts and open-source software for community mapping. Project developed with Mackenzie Waller (co-PI), Assistant Professor at the College of College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Arizona.

PI Cristian Román-Palacios

The genus Bryconamericus comprises 79 species of small characid fishes found in Central and South America. Recent phylogenetic analyses have suggested its polyphyly, but the extent of conclusions was limited due to constraints in taxon sampling (33 species 1). Although the lineage's polyphyly has been suspected for a long time (but not formally tested until recently), its taxonomic definition and species composition are currently matter of intense debate. Here we aim to extend the taxonomic sampling within Bryconamericus species from 33 species 1 to 68 species. Specifically, this project will allow us to provide a new generic definition for Bryconamericus, and infer the phylogenetic position of previously unsampled species (i.e., incertae sedis sensu 1).

PI Scott Saleska · Co-PI Cristian Román-Palacios, Solange Duhamel, Jennifer Croissant

Our grand challenge is to solve global problems with a unified science of biological Landscape Terraformation, a science inspired by the vision of maintaining, or newly creating, sustainable complex multifunction ecosystems that support biodiverse lifeforms including human communities on Earth, Mars, and beyond. With the advent of powerful AI models, real-time sensing, and digital twin technologies, we now have unprecedented ability to couple experimentation with intelligent computation. Thus, our Big Idea is to develop an intelligent, multi-scale dynamic “collaboratory” that learns from real-world experimentation in UA’s unique Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO) at Biosphere 2, in order to predict, trigger, and steer terraformation processes. Our international team spans interdisciplinary natural science (astrobiology/ecology, geochemistry, hydrology, atmospheric, and planetary science); engineering and mathematics (AI, computer and information sciences); and social sciences, humanities, and the arts to address the multiplanetary advance of our species in all its dimensions. With scientific research, workshops, and digital twin model development, we will attract large-scale extramural support through federal, private, foundation, and international partnerships. The key impact will be a transformative leap in how we understand, design, and sustain living ecosystems, to better foster both ecological resilience on Earth, and the sustainable expansion of life beyond Earth.