Daniel Cadena

I am a professor in the Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. I am broadly interested in the evolution, systematics and evolutionary ecology of vertebrates, with a special focus on Neotropical birds. My research cuts across different ecological, temporal and spatial scales to address evolutionary questions, with studies ranging from genetic, mechanistic and behavioral approaches to understanding adaptation of organisms to their environment, to the role that large-scale evolutionary processes play in establishing spatial patterns of species richness. Main research areas in my lab currently focus on (1) natural selection and adaptation of organismal traits to varying environments and the link between adaptation and speciation along elevational and other environmental gradients, (2) the ecology and evolution of avian migration, (3) comparative phylogeography as a tool to understand the history of Neotropical diversification, and (4) the link between evolutionary/historical processes of speciation, extinction and immigration, and the structure of ecological assemblages and spatial patterns of species diversity.

I am excited about this research project, which will allow us to address central questions in evolution while training students and forging collaborations for research and education with our colleagues in Ecuador.

May 2019