Rivas-Torres Lab
Amazonia · Galápagos
Rivas-Torres Lab · Universidad San Francisco de Quito
From the Amazon rainforest to the Galápagos Islands, we combine long-term field ecology, drones, remote sensing, environmental sensors, artificial intelligence and local knowledge to transform biodiversity data into conservation action.
Biography
Gonzalo Rivas-Torres is an Ecuadorian ecologist who builds ambitious, collaborative science at the intersection of tropical field ecology, spatial technology and conservation.
He is Associate Professor at Universidad San Francisco de Quito and Director of Tiputini Biodiversity Station, with appointments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Florida. Across more than two decades of research, he has linked patient observation in the field with drones, satellite imagery, genomics, ecological networks and artificial intelligence.
In Galápagos, his work helped create a new generation of field-validated vegetation maps, integrating nearly 200 experimental plots and transects with low-cost drone and satellite data. His research has also traced the biogeography and first complete phylogeny of Scalesia—Darwin’s giant daisies—and advanced genomic understanding of one of the archipelago’s most remarkable plant radiations.
In the Ecuadorian Amazon, he leads long-term work on tree diversity, forest dynamics and canopy change while building Tiputini as a living laboratory for high-resolution environmental intelligence. This work connects local expertise and global partnerships to turn biodiversity data into decisions that can protect forests at meaningful scales.
Hyperdominance in the Amazonian Tree Flora (2013); Persistent effects of pre-Columbian plant domestication on Amazonian forest composition (2017); Global urbanization drives adaptation in the plant white clover (2022); More than 10,000 pre-Columbian earthworks are still hidden throughout Amazonia (2023); and Tropical forests in the Americas are changing too slowly to track climate change (2025).
Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities (2024) and Canopy functional trait variation across Earth’s tropical forests (2025).
Galápagos from above
Field plots, drones and satellites reveal ecological change at landscape scaleAcross three studies published from 2018 to 2026, our team developed and extended a field-validated framework for mapping Galápagos. The work progressed from classifying native and invasive vegetation, to producing high-resolution land-cover maps of complex highland agroecosystems, and finally to tracking how farming systems reshaped land use and land cover between 2018 and 2024. Together, these studies show how field plots, drones and satellite imagery can guide invasive-species management, sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation.
Research with purpose
The Rivas-Torres Lab develops collaborative science that connects ecological processes, biodiversity monitoring and emerging technologies. Our goal is not only to understand change, but to generate reliable and actionable information for conservation, restoration and sustainable futures.
At Tiputini Biodiversity Station, a flagship research center of USFQ in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, we integrate long-term forest dynamics with cameras, acoustic monitoring, environmental DNA and advanced remote sensing.
Multi-temporal drone surveys, LiDAR and multispectral imagery allow us to map canopy structure, individual tree crowns, emergent trees, forest gaps and vegetation change at exceptionally fine spatial scales.
We study plant invasions, restoration, vegetation dynamics, biogeography and the evolution of endemic flora, combining field experiments, long-term plots, molecular tools, drones and spatial modelling.
Our collaborative botanical research helps document new species, clarify their distributions and conservation status, and recover species once feared lost—such as the critically endangered Gasteranthus extinctus.
Flagship initiative
The Rivas-Torres Lab and Tiputini Biodiversity Station are part of Amazon.ia, an international coalition connecting biological field stations, biodiversity institutes, universities, conservation organizations and technology partners.
By linking field-based monitoring—including camera traps, acoustic sensors and environmental DNA—with satellites, remote sensing and artificial intelligence, Amazon.ia seeks to deliver timely, high-confidence and actionable biodiversity information across the Amazon.
Discover the public launch
Located within the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, Tiputini supports long-term ecological research, interdisciplinary innovation, technology testing and collaborative work with Amazonian peoples and nationalities.
Across the archipelago, our research addresses invasive species, restoration, endemic plant evolution, vegetation dynamics and biodiversity monitoring in one of the world’s most singular natural laboratories.
Scientific output
From foundational tropical plant ecology to biodiversity intelligence, our publication record connects long-term field evidence with drones, genomics, remote sensing and collaborative conservation.
Acoustic ecology; island plant traits and genomes; drone surveys of Galápagos marine iguanas; tropical timber science and forest data.
Climate responses and functional traits of tropical forests; soundscapes; Galápagos restoration and drones; tree rarity genomics; policy and open data.
Amazonian tree biogeography, phylogeny and floodplains; fire and human legacies; Galápagos invasions and evolution; drone-based citizen science.
Amazon tree mapping; pre-Columbian earthworks; Cedrela taxonomy and genetics; the MADERA dataset; drones and marine iguanas.
Global plant diversity; Amazon hydrology and forest composition; island genomics; giant tortoises; rediscovery of Gasteranthus extinctus.
Tropical plot networks; sPlotOpen; tropical dry forests; quantitative models of Amazonian tree-community assembly.
Amazonian tree richness and the evolutionary radiation of Darwin’s giant daisies in Galápagos.
Amazonian tree communities; Galápagos land cover and dry forests; tropical watershed hydrology, carbon and greenhouse-gas fluxes.
Species-distribution modelling; tropical cyclones; vegetation mapping; invasive Cedrela odorata management in Galápagos.
Plant communities in invaded Galápagos forests and spatial modelling of Amazonian forest migration.
Novel ecosystems, conservation and ecological restoration.
Tree distribution in Amazonian swamp forests and efficient sampling of ecologically important patterns.
Hyperdominance in the Amazonian tree flora and native versus novel ecosystems in Galápagos.
Seed dispersal by Neotropical birds.
Soil fertility and growth performance of tropical tree species.
The current record includes 80 peer-reviewed publications. The year-by-year counts above represent a broader set of publicly indexed research outputs—including articles, chapters, datasets, preprints and related records—available through OpenAlex on September 7, 2026.
Science grows through people
Mentoring field ecologists for the questions conservation needs nextStudents & alumni
Mentoring is central to the lab. Students learn by building real datasets in demanding landscapes—linking field ecology, molecular methods, spatial analysis and drones to questions with direct conservation value.
Developing an open-source, machine-learning pipeline for automated monitoring of nocturnal insect communities in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon.
Characterizing the population of the Amazon river dolphin, Inia geoffrensis, in Yasuní using drones, acoustic monitoring and dorsal-fin photography.
Mapping geographic, taxonomic, linguistic and methodological patterns in Amazon-wide functional-diversity research through a systematic evidence map.
Global research network
Some of the main collaborators of our lab, represented across our publications and long-term research programs, connect expertise in Amazonian tree diversity, Galápagos evolution, invasion biology, plant microbiomes, remote sensing and bioacoustics.
Plant functional ecology, biodiversity mapping, drones and airborne remote sensing.
Visit research profile ↗Amazonian tree diversity, forest composition, macroecology and continental-scale networks.
Visit research profile ↗Tropical forest community assembly, biodiversity dynamics and quantitative ecology.
Visit research profile ↗Plant–microbiome interactions, microbial ecology and evolutionary studies in Galápagos.
Visit Raaijmakers Group ↗Amazonian tree ecology, floristics, species discovery and conservation action.
Visit research profile ↗Island biology, evolutionary genomics, diversification and the evolution of Scalesia.
Visit research group ↗Invasion biology, ecological impacts, biological control and nature conservation.
Visit Bacher Group ↗Tropical forest conservation, passive acoustic monitoring and biodiversity soundscapes.
Visit Sound Forest Lab ↗Media & documentaries
Selected documentary appearances and interviews connecting Galápagos, Yasuní, forest change and conservation technology with audiences beyond academia.
Gonzalo Rivas-Torres contributed to the final episode of this BBC One scientific expedition, which examines the human pressures reshaping the Galápagos and the research helping guide the archipelago’s future.
View the BBC programme ↗In this Contacto Directo interview, Gonzalo Rivas-Torres discusses the ecological consequences of Ecuador’s 2024 forest fires and the actions needed for recovery, prevention and long-term forest protection.
Watch the interview ↗An in-depth conversation about more than a decade of drone research in Galápagos and Yasuní—from mapping invasive plants to monitoring wildlife, forest structure and the extraordinary diversity of Amazonian trees.
Read and watch the interview ↗Tiputini Biodiversity Station participated in the filming of army ants for Episode 4 of this global documentary series. The production brought the forests of Yasuní to international audiences with support from the station’s local team and scientific community.
Read the Tiputini story ↗Latest research & news
On September 23, 2026, Amazon.ia will be publicly presented at The Nest Climate Campus in New York City, bringing together Amazonian voices, field observatories, scientists and technology partners.
Event information and registration →Drone campaigns conducted in 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025 are enabling high-resolution analyses of forest gaps, canopy structure, emergent trees, palms and pioneer species across terra firme and seasonally flooded forests.
A collaborative study documented the critically endangered Ecuadorian plant at five sites after it had not been seen since 1985—demonstrating why field exploration and the protection of small forest remnants remain essential.
Read the peer-reviewed publication →We welcome collaborations with researchers, universities, conservation organizations, technology partners, donors and students who want to transform knowledge into measurable impact in the Amazon, Galápagos and beyond.
Co-develop research, monitoring technologies, comparative analyses and training opportunities.
Help sustain field research, open biodiversity data, student training and community-led environmental monitoring.