Dr Eva Benavides Rios

Eva’s research focuses on understanding ecological processes related to plant communities within a conservation framework, particularly in the context of global climate change and invasive species. She investigates how these factors influence spatial biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, with the goal of promoting resilience and adaptation.
Eva is also particularly interested in the distribution of range-restricted species, especially those from islands, and uses these systems as natural laboratories to study ecological dynamics and inform conservation efforts.

Email: [email protected]

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Background

Dr. Eva Benavides joined the School of Life Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in February 2023. She completed her PhD in Geography and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, in 2024. Dr. Benavides also holds an MSc in Management and Conservation of Natural Resources from the Northwestern Centre for Biological Research, Mexico (2016), and a BSc in Biology from the University of Guadalajara, Mexico (2014).

With five years of experience in the private sector, Eva has worked with applied conservation NGOs to protect species across the Americas.

Spoken Languages

• English
• Spanish

Research interests

• Macroecology and biogeography
• Spatial and temporal patterns of biodiversity
• Ecological Modelling
• Functional diversity and ecological traits
• Ecosystem functioning and stability
• Species commonness and rarity

Areas of research supervision

• Species distribution modelling
• Functional ecology
• Community ecology

Teaching

• MSc Applied Wildlife Conservation
• BSc (Hons) Ecology and Conservation

Qualifications

• PhD in Geography and Environmental Sciences, (University of Birmigham, UK)
• MSc Management and Conservation of Natural Resources (Northwestern Centre for Biological Research, Mexico)
• BSc in Biology (University of Guadalaja, Mexico)

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

[2017] Project Consultant Evaluation of the impacts of Capra hircus on the Espíritu Santo Archipelago ecosystem.

[2018] Project Consultant Assessment, evaluation, and restoration plan for the impact of Schistocerca piceifrons (Dlying locust) on Socorro Island, Revillagigedo National Park, funded by the United Nations Developing Programme (UNDP).

[2018] Project Designer and Manager Program for the Conservation of Endangered Species: Management and control of invasive species in two Mexican Islands.

[2018] Project Designer and Manager PROCER: European rabbit control actions in two Protected Island Areas in Mexico.

[2019–2020] Project Consultant Reducing ecological vulnerability in Isla San Pedro Mártir Biosphere Reserve through invasive species control, funded by UNDP

Selected recent publications

1. Matthews, T. J., Triantis, K. A., Wayman, J. P., Martin, T. E., Hume, J. P., Cardoso, P., Faurby S., Mendenhal C. D., Dufour P., Rigal F., Cooke R., Whittaker R., Pigot A. L., Thébaud C., Jørgensen M. W., Benavides E., Soares F. C, Ulrich W., Kubota y., Sadler J.p., & Sayol, F. (2024). The global loss of avian functional and phylogenetic diversity from anthropogenic extinctions. Science, 386(6717), 55-60.
2. Benavides, E., Sadler, J., Graham, L., & Matthews, T. J. (2024). Species distribution models and island biogeography: Challenges and prospects. Global Ecology and Conservation, e02943.
3. Benavides, E., Breceda, A., & Anadón, J. D. (2021). Winners and losers in the predicted impact of climate change on cacti species in Baja California. Plant Ecology 222, 29-44.