Profile
Alexis is a geologist and a paleontologist. He was born in Colombia, where he received a bachelor’s in biology and geology from public universities. After graduation, he joined the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, where he assisted in the Panama Geology Project. After four years of hands-on experience of rocks and fossils in Panama, he enrolled in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Florida and worked at the Florida Museum of Natural History with Michał Kowalewski. He received his PhD in Geology with a minor in Geography in 2017.
Alexis’ research interest is focused on understanding the complex interactions between plate tectonics, climate and the biosedimentary record at basin and global scales. He uses an integrative research approach that bridges stratigraphy, paleobiology and network science to address specific questions on spatiotemporal aspects of both the fossil and rock record: How did the tectonic evolution of the Ocean basins influence the spatial structuring of the marine bioprovinces? How do marine bioprovinces respond to major climatic changes that occur over evolutionary timescales?
Alexis enjoys working with Colombian students and professors on Geoheritage conservation, promoting the use of paleontological collections into scientific and education environments, as well as its appreciation by the academic community and the public in general. In his free time, he also enjoys watching road cycling and playing soccer.
Current Projects
Mapping global marine bioprovinces throughout the Phanerozoic.
Martin Rosvall (IceLab) and Lucy Chang (Smithsonian).
Mapping network flows through sedimentary deposits from the Quaternary of the Po Plain (Italy).
Martin Rosvall (IceLab), Michal Kowalewski (Florida Museum of Natural History), and Daniele Scarponi and Michele Azzarone (University of Bologna).
Characterizing shell-drilling gastropod predation using spatial point process modeling.
Greg Dietl (Cornell University), Austin Hendy (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County) and Jason Blackburn (Emerging Pathogens Institute, UF).
Geoheritage conservation in Colombia.
Yerly Barrera-Huertas (undergraduate student), Andrés Moreno-Ayala (undergraduate student), Martha García (Universidad Pedagógica Nacional de Colombia.
The Latest Posts
Read Alexis’ summaries of his science and other posts here
Gradual changes triggered historical shift in marine fauna
Gradual changes triggered historical shift in marine fauna Large asteroids or comets hitting Earth, massive volcanic eruptions and other single, deadly events are usually the focus for scientists seeking to reconstruct [...]
The distribution of vertebrate animals redefines temperate and cold climate regions
The distribution of vertebrate animals redefines temperate and cold climate regions The distribution of vegetation is routinely used to classify climate regions worldwide, yet whether these regions are relevant to other [...]
SPPAT: Spatial point pattern analysis of traces
SPPAT: Spatial point pattern analysis of traces Site-selectivity patterns of drilling predators revealed by spatial point pattern analysis Trace fossils left by predators on skeletons of their prey, [...]
Hive Talk Board: An example of poor science communication that deserves to be told: Aftermath of the ‘Panama debate’ with Alexis Rojas
An example of poor science communication that deserves to be told: The Aftermath of the 'Panama debate' with Alexis Rojas Hive Talk Snippet Alexis talked about the Isthmus of Panama, its [...]
Spatial distribution of ancient marine faunas
Spatial distribution of ancient marine faunas The problem Organisms living in the same region are what defines a biogeographic province, or bioprovince. Finding the boundaries between these bioprovinces is an [...]