About Us

Safeguarding Pollination Services in a Changing World

SURPASS2 is an international partnership between Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the UK, working on pollinators and pollination services in South America. Our objectives are to develop knowledge, build capacity and define tangible actions for conservation and sustainable use of pollinators. SURPASS2 will deliver evidence for the creation of resilient pollination services for sustainable economic growth, positive agricultural and environmental outcomes for improved human health and wellbeing.

Through our research activities, we are providing crucial knowledge to food producers, policy-makers, land managers and the public who need better evidence based tools to support decision making for sustainable outcomes. We aim to offer improvements to the future cultural and social recognition of the vital roles that pollinators, and those that work with them, play in sustaining crop production and ecosystem functioning.

Funding

The SURPASS2 project is funded under the Newton Fund Latin America Biodiversity Programme: Biodiversity - Ecosystem services for sustainable development, awarded by the UKRI Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), in partnership with the Argentina National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Brazil/São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), and Chile National Agency for Research and Development (ANID). Grant references: NERC: NE/S011870/2 - FAPESP: 2018/14994-1 - CONICET: RD 1984/19 - ANID: NE/S011870/1.

SURPASS partners in UK

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France Gerard

Earth Observation Scientist (UKCEH)

France works on the development of remotely sensed-derived data to validate models and inform conservation and sustainable management of natural resources.

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Reto Schmucki

Community Ecologist (UKCEH)

Reto works on the impact of global changes on species distribution, plant-insect interactions and the mechanisms that structure biological diversity across scales.

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Claire Carvell

Pollination Ecologist (UKCEH)

Claire works on the ecology, monitoring and conservation of wild bees and other insect pollinators to inform management of agro-ecosystems and enhance invertebrate biodiversity.

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Ben Woodcock

Ecological Entomologist (UKCEH)

Ben works on ecosystem service delivery and mechanisms of co-existence in invertebrate communities and trade-offs between plant and invertebrates communities.

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Dan Morton

Ecological Remote Sensing Scientist (UKCEH)

Dan works on the production and the analysis of large scale satellite derived datasets to improve our capability to monitor and measure the impact of land use change on biodiversity.

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Jeff Ollerton

Professor of Biodiversity (University of Northampton)

Jeff works on the insect pollinators and functional biodiversity of pollinator assemblages.

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Juliet Osborne

Applied Ecologist(University of Exeter)

Juliet studies pollination ecology and the conservation of pollinators.

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Matthias Becher

Ecological Modeller (University of Exeter)

Matthias works on the development and application of agent-based models to predict population dynamics of bees and the pollination services they provide.

SURPASS partners in Chile

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Francisco E. Fonturbel

Ecologist (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso)

Francisco works on plant-animal interactions (particularly pollination and seed dispersal), habitat disturbance, and global change, to understand its eco-evolutionary dynamics.

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Lorena Vieli

Ecologist (Universidad de La Frontera)

Lorena works on pollination ecology in agricultural landscapes and its impact on pollinator dependent crops.

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Gastón Carvallo

Plant & Evolutionary Ecologist (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso)

Gastón works in pollination ecology and phylogenetic diversity of angiosperms.

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Maureen Murúa Ibarra

Evolutionary Ecologist (Universidad Mayor)

Maureen works on the evolutionary ecology of plant-animal interactions with a strong interest in the processes and mechanisms that underlie plants-pollinator relationships.

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Luis Flores Prado

Behavioural Ecologist & Entomologist (Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación)

Luis works on behavioural ecology of insects, particularly studying bee-plant interactions, use of resources and sociability in insects.

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Carlos Valdivia

Ecologist (Universidad de Los Lagos)

Carlos works on pollination and seed dispersal

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Cecilia Smith-Ramirez

Conservation Biologist (Universidad de Los Lagos)

Cecilia works on applied conservation and the impact of invasive species and habitat loss on biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services in rural communities.

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Rodrigo M. Barahona-Segovia

Ecological Entomologist (Universidad de Los Lagos)

Rodrigo works in conservation and applied ecology of invertebrates and plant-insect interactions.

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Paz Gatica Barrios

Veterinarian (Moscas Florícolas de Chile citizen science)

Paz works on pollinator's ecology and conservation in agroecosystems.

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El Sharif Provoste

Field assistant (Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad- IEB)

El Sharif works on pollination studies and collection of specimens.

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Adriana E. Rendón-Funes

Environmental engineer (Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad- IEB)

Adriana's main interests are in ecological restoration and pollination ecology.

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Christian Púa

Student (Universidad de Chile)

Christian conducts field work, sampling pollinators and modelling trends of Bombus dahlbomii populations co-occurring with Bombus terrestris.

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Benito Cortes

Conservation Engineer (Conservation and Biodiversity Institute)

Benito's main interests are in pollination of agroecosystems with native pollinators and environmental education about native bees in Chile.

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Constanza Napolitano

Associate Professor, Conservation Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences and Biodiversity (University of Los Lagos)

Constanza works on the identification of bee and bumblebee pathogens.

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José Mesquita-Neto

Plant Biologist (Universidad Católica del Maule)

José's main interests are in pollination ecology of native and cultivated plants, with a particular emphasis on those buzz-pollinated.

SURPASS partners in Argentina

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Marcelo A. Aizen

Pollination Biologist (Universidad Nacional del Comahue - CONICET)

Marcelo works on plant reproductive ecology, plant-pollinator interactions and the consequences of invasive species on native biota and agriculture.

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Marina Arbetman

Conservation Biologist (Universidad Nacional del Comahue - CONICET)

Marina works on the mechanisms of biological invasion and the impact of commercial introduction of non-native bumblebees on pollinators in South America.

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Eduardo Zattara

Integrative Biologist (INIBIOMA - CONICET)

Eduardo works on the modulation of developmental evolution by ecology.

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Carolina Laura Morales

Pollination & Bee Ecologist (Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet Comahue)

Carolina works on pollination and bee ecology with emphasis on the link between invasive alien species, conservation of biodiversity and pollination services.

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Agustin Saez

Ecologist (Universidad Nacional del Comahue - CONICET)

Agustin works on applied pollination ecology and pollination services in agricultural systems.

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Natacha Chacoff

Pollination Ecologist (Instituto de Ecología Regional UNT-CONICET)

Natacha works on crop pollination and the role of biodiversity, landscape management and configuration on the delivery of pollination services.

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Leonardo Galetto

Ecologist (National University of Cordoba)

Leonardo works on socio-agroecosystems, with a focused on functional ecology and the interaction between biodiversity and crop production.

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Mariano Devoto

Agronomist (Universidad de Buenos Aires)

Mariano works in community ecology with strong interest in plant-animal interactions, ecological networks, ecosystem services, and agronomy.

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Andrés F. Ramírez-Mejía

Ecologist (PhD fellow at Instituto de Ecología Regional UNT-CONICET)

Andrés is mainly involved in studying pollination ecology in agricultural systems, and the role of spatial patterns regulating pollination service and crop production.

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Grecia Stefanía de Groot

Ecologist (PhD fellow at Universidad Nacional del Comahue - CONICET)

Grecia works on honeybee ecology, with emphasis on resources availability in landscapes with different land uses, and its impact on health and performance of managed hives. Beekeeper.

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Silvio E. Castillo

Pollination Biologist (PhD stuDent at Instituto de Ecologia Regional UNT-CONICET)

Silvio is studying plant-pollinator interactions in agroecosystems and the role of landscape configuration in the provision of pollination services.

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Tania P. Palacios

PhD Student (Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires - CONICET)

Tania studies plant-pollinator interactions in agroecosystems and the impact of pollination ecosystem service on agricultural production.

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Lican Martínez

Undergraduate Biology student (Universidad Nacional del Comahue)

Lican works on bee ecological and evolutive responses to biological invasions, climate change and modifications of habitat availability.

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Victoria Campopiano Robinson

Undergraduate Biology student (Universidad Nacional del Comahue)

Victoria works on the community-science project called “Vi Un Abejorro”, which monitors the different bumblebee species found in Argentina.

SURPASS partners in Brazil

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Antonio Mauro Saraiva

Electrical Engineer & Agronomist (Universidade de São Paulo)

Antonio works on the application of techniques and tools of information and communication technologies to agriculture, biodiversity and global health.

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Kayna Agostini

Pollination Biologist (Universidade Federal de São Carlos)

Kayna works on pollination biology and ecosystem services in urban and agricultural areas.

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Tiago Mauricio Francoy

Bee Genetics & Conservation (Universidade de São Paulo)

Tiago works on population genetics, genomics, conservation and biotechnological use of bee products.

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Bruno de Carvalho Albertini

Computer Engineer (Universidade de São Paulo)

Bruno works on applying technology for environment conservation and supporting citizen science initiatives.

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Betina Blochtein

Conservation Biologist (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul)

Betina works on plant-insect interactions, focusing on pollination services and conservation of stingless and solitary bees.

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Patricia Nunes-Silva

Bee & Pollination Ecologist (Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos)

Patricia works on bee behavioral ecology and pollination in agricultural areas.

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Natalia P. Ghilardi-Lopes

Marine Ecologist & Environmental Educator (Universidade Federal do ABC)

Natalia works on environmental education and citizen science for ocean conservation.

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Sheina Koffler

Biologist (Universidade de São Paulo)

Sheina works on bee evolutionary ecology and citizen science for pollinator monitoring.

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Nicolay Cunha

Evolution Biologist (Universidade Federal de São Carlos)

Nicolay works on plant reproduction and pollination biology in natural and agricultural areas.

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José Augusto Salim

Computer Engineer (University of São Paulo)

José works on computational biology applied to biodiversity informatics, biodiversity data standards, biological databases and species interactions.

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Rodrigo Yoiti Tsukahara

Agrometeorologist (Fundação ABC)

Rodrigo works in agrometeorological instrumentation and crop modelling, decision support systems and data analysis in agricultural experimentation.

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Filipi Miranda Soares

Librarian (University of São Paulo)

Filipi works on scientific data management, focusing on curating metadata standards and other controlled vocabularies for biodiversity and agriculture.

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Manoela L Santanna

Biologist (University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos)

Manoela works with pollination ecology and is currently working on research on the pollination of blueberries.

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Paula F Zermoglio

Biologist (IEGEBA-CONCIET; IRNAD-CONICET)

Paula works on insect ecology, biodiversity informatics and biodiversity data standards.

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Jenifer Dias Ramos

Biologist and Policy maker (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul)

Jenifer works on risk assessment of pesticides, stingless bees, pollination ecology, crop pollination, education, intersectoral policies, food and nutrition security and territorial development.

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Daniel YM Nakamura

Undergraduate student (University of São Paulo)

Daniel works on bee ecology and macroevolution of amphibians.

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Gabriel Reginatto Silva

Undergraduate student (University of São Paulo)

Gabriel works on bee ecology and biotechnology.

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Debora Pignatari Drucker

Forest Engineer (Embrapa)

Debora works with biodiversity and agriculture data management and stewardship.

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Fernanda Assumpção Costa

Undergraduate biotechnology student (University of São Paulo)

Fernanda works on ecology, sustainability and stingless bees.

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Jailson Leocadio

Data scientist (University of São Paulo)

Jailson works with machine learning application for the study of data quality and citizen science.

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Celso Barbiéri

Environmental Manager (University of São Paulo)

Celso works on stingless bees, meliponiculture and citizen science.

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Paula Drago

Digital artist (University of São Paulo)

Paula works on digital art illustration for scientific communication.

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Lucas Paulino dos Santos

Undergraduate student (University of São Paulo)

Lucas works on ecology, sustainability and meliponiculture.

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Larissa Bianca Menezes

Undergraduate student (University of São Paulo)

Larissa works with ecology, botany and textual production for scientific dissemination.

Funding

Newton Fund Latin America Biodiversity Programme, awarded by by the UKRI NERC, in partnership with the CONICET, ANID, and FAPESP.