A $4.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will help a UT Austin professor investigate how geology, biology and climate interact in shaping species distribution and biodiversity in Amazon/Andean forests.
Edgardo Latrubesse, a professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment, will partner on the grant with a team of scientists from North and South America, including Brian Horton, a professor in the Jackson School of Geosciences.
The project will offer educational opportunities, training and mentoring to graduate students who will assist with fieldwork, laboratory studies and modeling. The research team hopes to better understand the role of environment and environmental history in genetic differentiation of populations and the origins of new species.