Pedro Jordano Barbudo
Protection of the Environment 2014PhD in Biology. Research Professor at the CSIC. Doñana Biological Station.
His work focuses on understanding biodiversity, both in terms of the ecological relationships between insects and the plants they pollinate, thereby aiding their reproduction, as well as on the co-evolution over millennia that has fostered better interaction between these insects and the plants that benefit from their activity. Furthermore, he has analysed the relationships between fruit-eating birds and how their digestive systems have adapted to facilitate seed dispersal and the flowering of new plants.
He has studied ecosystems in Spain, the United States, Japan and Australia. He is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences and received the Mercer Award from the American Ecological Society in 2008, alongside Jordi Bascompte – also a recipient of the Rei Jaume I Prizes – and Dr Olesen.
Jury rulingThe jury for the Rei Jaume I Prize for Environmental Protection, meeting in Valencia, has unanimously decided to award the 2014 prize to Mr Pedro Jordano Barbudo.
They highlighted Dr Jordano’s work “for his scientific contribution of significant international impact relating to studies of the co-evolution of ecological interactions between species. This information is fundamental to understanding the interdependence between plants and animals, and has direct applications in both ecological science and environmental management. Forest regeneration and seed dispersal by animals to maintain patterns of genetic diversity are some examples of how his research is put into practice”.
