Global Ecological Challenges under Socio-Environmental Change - GlobalECO

This is a group dedicated to investigating global ecological challenges, such as biological invasions, extinctions, and changes to the biogeography of terrestrial vertebrates using socio-economic and geopolitical perspectives. We have three main lines of research. The first research line focuses on two of the main socioeconomic drivers of global change, international trade and geopolitical shifts, and their effects on biological communities. Specifically, we aim to understand how major geopolitical and socioeconomic changes affect trade dynamics, and ergo invasion and extinction risk, relying on socioeconomic parameters, species traits and climatic/socioeconomic scenarios for the future. Other relevant lines of investigation explore how concurrent extinctions and invasions are changing/will change the global biogeography of terrestrial vertebrate communities, and the consequences of this ecological reshaping on the global economy, management policies and ecosystem services. The third consequential line of research focuses on anticipating the challenges of ecological management in the 21st century, bringing in experts from bioeconomy and philosophy to bridge the gap with the biological sciences - traditionally offering ecologically-centered perspectives -, to explore how the inevitable new anthromes (i.e., global ecological patterns shaped by direct human interactions with ecosystems) can be effectively managed, from a practical and tangible manner, delivering functional frameworks and informing managers and legislators. Our group will thus pave a novel and holistic way to approaching global challenges in Invasion Science, Biological Conservation and Biogeography. This research is conducted by a pioneering and eclectic group of researchers and world-renowned experts. This groundbreaking initiative seeks to delve into the intricate dynamics of socioeconomic drivers of global change, as well as their far-reaching implications for ecosystems worldwide.