Dr. Ricardo Perez Alvarez

Teaching & Research Focus

I am broadly trained agroecologist, specializing in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services in both tropical and temperate agroecosystem. The overarching aim of my research is to explore how habitat structure at local and landscape scales influences species diversity and ecosystem services provided by arthropods, such as biological pest control and pollination, to create solutions for more resilient and sustainable agricultural production.

• Landscape ecology
• Ecosystem services
• Biological pest control
• Biological conservation in human-modified landscapes

Scientific Career

• June 2023-Present. Postdoctoral Researcher. Institute of Animal Ecology and Systematics. Justus Liebig University of Gießen (Germany).
• February 2021-May 2023. Postdoctoral Researcher. Zoological Biodiversity Group. Institute of Geobotany. Leibniz University Hannover (Germany).
• 2013-2019.  PhD. Entomology. Cornell University. Ithaca, NY, USA. Thesis title:  Local and Landscape-scale drivers of biological pest control in agricultural landscapes.
• 2007-2012. Research Assistant. Tibaitatá Research Center, Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research (Colombia).
• 2005. B.A/B.S. Biology. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia. Thesis title: Non-target effects of a biopesticide on the foraging activity and population parameters of Delphastus pusillus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), a predator of the greenhouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae).

Publications