What can the chemistry of ancient bones and plants tell us about the evolution of ecosystems and the fate of one of Earth's most vital biomes?

My lab explores (1) how dietary adaptations shaped life over deep time and (2) the effect of prolonged climate extremes on the Amazon rainforest. By tracing the biochemical signatures left by diets in amino acids (and developing new isotopic methods when needed) the Tejada lab aims to uncover the deep evolutionary roots of herbivory. Fossils also help us to assess the Amazon's sensitivity to collapse, an outcome widely considered a tipping point in Earth's climate system. These lines of research bring together lab experiments on modern organisms, new geochemical tools, and fossil discoveries from the Amazon rainforest, one of Earth's scientific frontiers.

Speaker: Julia Tejada, California Institute of Technology