Research Interests
I am interested in the dynamics and evolution of plant communities. I explore questions on community ecology, population genomics, and plant biogeography, with a recent focus on speciation as a process that integrates all these areas. I am particularly drawn to the rich diversity of the tropical flora and use palms as a model group to investigate evolutionary and ecological patterns.
Curriculum
| 2025 – | Independent group leader and herbarium curator |
| 2023 – 2024 | Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Switzerland |
| 2021 – 2023 | Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Switzerland |
| 2018 – 2020 | SNSF Postdoc Mobility Grantee, Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, UK |
| 2014 – 2018 | PhD in Ecology, University of Zurich, Switzerland |
| 2011 – 2013 | MSc in Ecology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
| 2004 – 2009 | BSc in Biology, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia |
Selected publications
2023. Olivares I, Tusso S, Sanín MJ, de La Harpe M, Loiseau O, Rolland J, Salamin N, Kessler M, Shimizu KK & Paris M. Hyper-cryptic radiation of a tropical montane plant lineage. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Link | PDF
2020. Olivares I & M. Kessler. Regional species richness determines local species turnover in ferns. Frontiers of Biogeography. Link | PDF
2018. Olivares I, DN Karger & M Kessler. Assessing Species Saturation: Conceptual and Methodological Challenges. Biological Reviews. Link | PDF
2017. Olivares I, JC Svenning, PM van Bodegom, R Valencia & H Balslev. Stability in a changing world – palm community dynamics in the hyperdiverse western Amazon over 17 years. Global Change Biology. Link | PDF
2015. Olivares I, JC Svenning, PM van Bodegom & H Balslev. Effects of Warming and Drought on the Vegetation and Plant Diversity in the Amazon Basin. The Botanical Review. Link | PDF