CTR - Research

CTR Research

Center for Tropical Research (CTR) senior scientists, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students are conducting research on four continents to understand and conserve biodiversity, particularly in the tropics. See the Research Areas below to learn more about current CTR projects.

Special zebra project request: Photos of zebras are needed for a CTR research study on the evolution of stripe variation in African plains zebra. Read more.

Central African Biodiversity Alliance

The Central African Biodiversity Alliance is an international partnership that seeks to develop an integrated framework for conserving central African biodiversity under climate change that is both evolutionary-informed and grounded in the socioeconomic constraints of the region. At present, this partnership is funded by the National Science Foundation-Partners in International Research and Education program and the Arcus Foundation. Click here to learn more about the alliance.

Conservation Genetics Resource Center (CGRC)

The CGRC, managed by CTR and the UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, provides institutions and organizations with facilities for the analysis of molecular genetic data for wildlife conservation applications. It also serves as a long-term, international genetic material repository for DNA samples from birds and mammals for future use in genetic and conservation studies. Click here for more information.

International Research and Training Centers (IRTCs)

CTR is creating IRTCs in tropical countries to facilitate interdisciplinary environmental, health, and social science research and training in partnership with local universities, government agencies, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations. IRTCs strive to integrate research results with sustainable development/conservation policy and programs appropriate to tropical economies. For infomation on the IRTC in Ecuador, click here. For information on the IRTC in Cameroon, click here or visit the Facebook page.

Research Areas

ConservationStudying endangered or threatened populations and developing strategies to preserve and protect the diversity of plants and animals worldwide. Conservation genetics encompasses the fields of ecology, molecular biology, population genetics, landscape genetics, landscape ecology, mathematical modeling, and evolutionary systematics. Projects include studies of birds and plants in Africa, the South Pacific, and in North and South America. Click here to learn more.	Coral Reef Conservation Understanding the origins of marine biodiversity and using this information to help guide marine conservation. Conservation and landscape genetic approaches are integrated with geospatial modelling of physical oceanography. Projects focus on the coral reefs of the Coral Triangle, particularly in Indonesia, and include substantial capacity building in both the United States and Indonesian scientific communities. Click here to learn more.
Dja Biosphere Reserve, CameroonBiodiversity research in the Dja Biosphere Reserve, Cameroon. During the past 20 years, we have been conducting research in the Dja Biosphere Reserve and adjacent areas focused on the role of vertebrate seed dispersers, the impacts of hunting on vertebrate populations and the population genetics of the trees they disperse, mechanisms of speciation, and disease research. Click here to learn more.	Ecology and Evolution Understanding the importance of interactions among individuals, such as communication, mating preferences, and nesting biology, in evolutionary change. Projects include studies of lizards in the Bahamas and birds in Cameroon, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and the Pacific Islands. Click here to learn more.
Evolution of Resource Polymorphisms Research on how resource polymorphisms are maintained in natural populations. Projects focus on the bill polymorphism in African seedcrackers (Pyrenestes) and the genes involved in determining bill size and shape. Click here to learn more.	Evolutionary Change in Human-altered EnvironmentsInvestigating how human activities are affecting the evolutionary processes that generate and maintain diversity on the planet. CTR researchers are documenting the consequences of human-induced changes in evolutionary processes as well as studying ways to mitigate these consequences. Click here to learn more.
Infectious Diseases Investigating the link between biodiversity and disease. Projects in Africa focus on evaluating potential disease transmission pathways for avian influenza in domestic and wild rainforest and savanna bird species. In North and South America studies are examining avian influenza and West Nile virus in migratory birds. Click here to learn more.	Population, Stucture, and Conservation of Neotropical Migratory Birds Studies designed to understand the patterns of connectivity between breeding and wintering populations using genetic and isotopic markers, the evolutionary significance of migratory divides, and the factors responsible for population declines. Projects focus on migratory birds throughout North and South America. Click here to learn more.
Rainforest Biodiversity and Speciation Examining the mechanisms of speciation in rainforest vertebrates and approaches to identifying regions important for conservation based on ecological and evolutionary process and pattern. Projects include studies of rainforest birds, reptiles, small mammals, and bats in Africa and South America. Click here to learn more.	Rainforest Restoration and Seed DispersalExamining the role of seed-dispersing mammals and birds in the maintenance of rainforest tree diversity and new approaches to rainforest restoration. Projects include studies of vertebrates and tree communities in rainforests and agroforests in Cameroon, Ecuador, and Brazil. Click here to learn more.
Species Distribution Modeling Using Remote SensingIntegrating remote sensing data from multiple National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellites and sensors in species distribution models to quantify biological habitats based on the presence of species and relevant ecological and evolutionary processes. Projects include modeling of present-day species' distributions in biodiversity hotspots in Central Africa and South America, predicting their responses to climate change, and studies of evolutionary changes in human-altered environments. Click here to learn more.