Xavier Arnan Viadiu

I am a terrestrial ecologist aiming to understand the patterns and responses of biodiversity along disturbance and environmental gradients and the mechanisms underlying them at local, regional and global scales; my final challenge is to understand biodiversity responses and species adaptations to global change from evolutionary and conservation standpoints. My research combines taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic approaches, although in the last years is mostly focused on functional diversity by means of studying response (morphological, life-history, behavioural and physiological) and effect (ecosystem functions) traits. I use ants (although I also work with other groups of insects and plants) as my main study organisms, and my studies are mainly performed at the community level in Mediterranean and tropical ecosystems. I use a combination of field observations and experiments, along with laboratory experiments on model organisms.

I graduated in Biology (2001), and received my MSc degree in Biology (2004), and my Ph.D in Ecology (2006) from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). My Ph.D. focused on post-fire regeneration patterns of plant and animal (specifically ant) communities and the interactions between the two groups in Mediterranean ecosystems. After completing my PhD, I held various postdoctoral positions in Spain (CREAF and UAB, 2006-2011), Australia (CSIRO Darwin, 2008 and 2009), Germany (Technical University of Darmstadt, 2012-2013) and Brazil (Federal University of Pernambuco, 2014-2017). From May 2017, I am a ‘Ramon y Cajal’ staff researcher affiliated to the CREAF (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals). From February 2020, I am an Associate Professor at the Universidade de Pernambuco (Brazil).