Headshot of Jesus Pinto-Ledezma
612-513-0252
[email protected]
Office Address

1987 Upper Buford Circle
Saint Paul, MN 55108
United States

Lab Address

United States

Jesús Pinto-Ledezma

Assistant Professor
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Research Publications

The Pinto-Ledezma lab focuses on developing a deeper understanding of species coexistence and patterns of biodiversity across spatial and temporal scales, and the underlying processes that drive, maintain, and alter such patterns. Our interdisciplinary work integrates evolutionary and ecological theories and methodological advances to ask questions about community assembly, biodiversity patterns, biogeography, and global change.

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Research statement

I am an evolutionary and quantitative ecologist with a broad interest in understanding the origin, causes, and consequences of biodiversity. I am particularly interested in unraveling complex patterns of biodiversity and evaluating how macroevolutionary processes—i.e., speciation, extinction, and dispersal—as well as current and future environmental conditions, determine the patterns we observe in nature and species co-occurrence within ecological communities. The ultimate goal of my research program is to apply the insights gained from understanding the biodiversity patterns to aid existing conservation efforts and management responses to ongoing global change and biodiversity loss.

Some of the questions tackled in my research program are:
   
   Macroecology and Macroevolution
   1. Why do the patterns we observe in nature exist?
   2. Why are more species found in some places of the world than others?
   3. How do traits evolve (tempo and mode), and how are they linked to the clades' diversification?
   
   Community Assembly
   1. What drives the assembly of species into local communities?
   2. How do biogeographic/climatic origins influence both patterns of species diversity and species composition?
   3. Do plant species' responses to environmental change have an evolutionary basis that is predictable from phylogeny?
   4. Does phylogenetic conservatism of environmental niches or functional traits influence species responses to environmental change?

Education and background

  • Ph.D. Federal University of Goiás (Brazil). 2017
  • The University of Minnesota President's Postdoctoral Fellow. 2022 – 2024