Sisimac Duchicela

  • (She/her)
  • Assistant Professor
  • GEOGRAPHY

Tropical alpine ecology • Biogeography • Ecological restoration

My research aims to tackle ecology and global change biology questions.

I work at the interface of biogeography, functional ecology, global change biology, and ecological restoration. My research explores tropical alpine ecology, in particular how high Andean environments are changing, and what this means for local people. My work advances ecological theory and functional biogeography concepts. I have worked closely with Andean Indigenous and farming communities to design and monitor ecological restoration projects, implement climate change simulation experiments, and propose adaptation strategies.

Tropical alpine ecology: I am interested in understanding the effects of land-use change on tropical alpine landscapes. For centuries humans in the Andes have interacted closely with high mountain ecosystems. However, global environmental change is altering the way humans interact with their environment and, in turn, the feedback obtained from these ecosystems. My research looks at how high Andean ecosystems are changing and what this means for local people.

Botany: Since 2007, I have been working on the taxonomy, ecology, and biology of tropical alpine vegetation. Vegetation in these ecosystems presents adaptations that allow it to survive in harsh, variable conditions. The results of these adaptations are beautifully unique species, of which some are so rare they can only be found on specific mountain tops!

Visit Duchicela's website 

See also:

Education

  • PhD (Geography and the Environment): University of Texas at Austin, 2022
  • MS (Natural Resources and Environment): University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, 2015
  • BS (Biological Sciences): Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador–Quito, 2011

Awards

  • Dissertation Competition Honorable Mention, Ford Foundation Fellowship Program, 2020
  • Best Student Presentation, PhD Competition, Biogeography Specialty Group, AAG Washington D.C. Conference, 2019

Teaching

Dr. Duchicela will be teaching courses through the Geography Department starting in 2025.

Outreach

A 2023 interview with the Pease Park Conservancy during Latinos in Conservation Week explores Dr. Duchicela's relationship with the outdoors, how she became involved in research for conservation and the study of plant communities:

A 2019 news story in Science includes comments by Dr. Duchicela: 2019. Appenzeller, T., “Global warming has made iconic Andean peak unrecognizable (Fire on the mountain).” Science, 365(6458).

Selected publications

Duchicela, S. A., Llambí, L. D., Bonnesoeur, V., Roman, F., 2024: Pastoralism in the high tropical Andes: A review of the effect of grazing intensity on plant diversity and ecosystem services. Applied Vegetation Science, 27(3): e12791. DOI: 10.1111/avsc.12791

Young, K. R., Duchicela, S.A., 2024: “Biodiversity and the Anthropocene.” In Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, third edition, vol. 7: 660-667. Elsevier. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-822562-2.00035-9

Cuesta, F., Carilla, J., LLambí, L. D., Muriel, P., Lencinas, M. V., Meneses, R. I., Feeley, K. J., Pauli, H., Aguirre, N., Beck, S., Bernardi, A., Cuello, S., Duchicela, S. A., Eguiguren, P., Gamez, L. E., Halloy, S., Hudson, L., Jaramillo, R., Peri, P. L., Ramírez, L. A., Rosero-Añazco, P., Thompson, N., Yager, K., Tovar, C., 2023: Compositional shifts of alpine plant communities across the high Andes. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32(9): 1591-1606. DOI: 10.1111/geb.13721

Suárez Robalino, E., Encalada, A.C., Chimbolema, S., Jaramillo, R., Duchicela, S., Segovia-Salcedo, C., Caiza, J., Pazmiño, G., Guamán, M., Riveros-Iregui, D., Hofstede, R., 2023: “Ecología de los páramos: un paisaje altoandino integrado por multiples ecosistemas.” In Los páramos del Ecuador: Pasado, presente y future. USFQPress. DOI: 10.18272/usfqpress.71.c262

Duchicela, S. A., Cuesta, F., Tovar, C., Muriel, P., Jaramillo, R., Salazar, E., Pinto, E., 2021: Microclimatic warming leads to a decrease in species and growth form diversity: Insights from a tropical alpine grassland. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9: 673655. DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.673655

Young, K., Duchicela, S.A., 2020: Abandoning Holocene dreams: Proactive biodiversity conservation in a changing world. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 111(3): 880-888. DOI: 10.1080/24694452.2020.1785833

Bein, R., et al., including Duchicela, S. A., 2020: Fifty years of fieldwork in Latin America. Journal of Latin American Geography, 19(1): 115-131. DOI: 10.1353/lag.2020.0011

Duchicela, S. A., Cuesta, F., Pinto, E., Gosling, W., Young, K., 2019. Indicators for assessing tropical alpine rehabilitation practices. Ecosphere, 10(2): e02595. DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2595

 

Publications from the CU Experts database