Gerardo Avalos holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in plant physiological ecology and conservation from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. After obtaining his B.Sc. in Biology at the University of Costa Rica, Gerardo began his graduate studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and then he transferred to the University of Missouri – St. Louis, where he investigated the physiological ecology of lianas using a construction crane to reach the canopy working as a fellow from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. His dissertation examined the light acclimation of tropical lianas to temporal and spatial changes in light availability at the surface the forest canopy. His current research interests include the biomechanics of tropical palms, the carbon sequestration and functional trait ecology of palms, invasive plant ecology, and the functional ecology of hummingbirds including network dynamics across three trophic levels. After serving for 6 years as the Center for Sustainable Development Studies resident ecologist, Gerardo became the Center Director in 2007. He is a Full Professor at the University of Costa Rica where he teaches Botany, Ecology, Natural History, and Multivariate Statistics.
I am interested in the physiological adaptations of tropical plants to spatial and temporal changes in the availability of light, especially the characters that are responsible for the expression of plasticity at the extremes of the light gradient in a tropical forest: the understory and the canopy. My research have covered different groups, including birds, insects, and plants, and currently include the biomechanics of tropical palms, functional trait ecology, carbon sequestration, and the ecological morphology of hummingbirds especially sexual size dimorphism.
This project examines the symbiotic relationships between plants, hummingbirds, and mites in a tropical cloud forest. By capturing hummingbirds, collecting pollen and mites from hummingbird plumage, and using action cameras to record flower visitation, we are mapping the web of interaction across three trophic levels (pollinators, plants, and nectar-eating mites). Mites use hummingbirds to colonize flowers and disperse in a relationship called phoresis. The project seeks to unravel the trophic complexity of this assemblage in one of the most diverse environments in the Neotropics, such as the tropical cloud forest. This project is carried out in collaboration with the Center for Research in Microscopic Structures (CIEMIC) of the University of Costa Rica.
I fell in love with hummingbirds since my undergraduate years. I have explored the dynamics of pollination in the highlands and mid-elevations of Costa Rica looking at how the morphology of hummingbirds affect their plan use and how this usage differs among species and sex within a species. More recently, I have examined the evolution of sexual-size dimorphism in hummingbirds. Our current project is looking at tri-trophic level interactions in a pollination network in cloud forests.
This is a project that I am developing in collaboration with the Hiroshima Green Legacy Foundation, the Hiroshima Botanical Garden, the Lankester Botanical Gardens in Costa Rica, the University of Costa Rica, and SFS, to establish the descendant of trees that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in public places in Costa Rica to serve as symbols of peace. Under the current conditions of global warming, war, corruption, greed, and inequality, it is urgent to create a message of resilience to show that humanity, like the trees that survived Hiroshima, can rise again, and create a culture of social justice and peace. Right now, I have several seedlings of the ancient tree Ginkgo biloba and I have used them to give talks on the need to build a culture of peace. Read here
Keynote speaker to the International Palm Society meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica, May 2008.
Visit Dr. Avalos’ Research Gate profile to view select publications.