André Vicente Liz holds a PhD from the Universidade do Porto (2024), with a thesis on the historical dynamics of desert landscapes and wildlife in the Sahara-Sahel, funded through a scholarship from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. Part of this research was conducted at King’s College London, the Centre d’Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, and the Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels. He holds Bachelor’s degrees in Geography (2010–2018) and Biology (2011–2015) from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, as well as an Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Applied Ecology (2015–2017), jointly awarded by the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, the Université de Poitiers, and the Universidade de Coimbra.
He is an early career biogeographer with a primary focus on comparative phylogeography and conservation biogeography, studying the uneven distribution of life (genes, species, and ecosystems) on Earth and its coevolution with natural and human drivers across spatial and temporal scales. His main goal is to provide key knowledge that contributes to (i) understanding the history of natural heritage and (ii) designing effective conservation strategies in the face of the ongoing climate and biodiversity crises. To this end, he integrates macrogenetic and macroecological methods, with an emphasis on Palearctic desert biotas. His scientific output comprises over a dozen publications, including books and articles, all in Q1 journals, with an average IF of ~10 and around one hundred citations. First-authorships include prestigious journals such as Science, Diversity and Distributions, and Journal of Biogeography, while other significant works are currently under review in Nature Communications, Science of the Total Environment, and Global Ecology and Biogeography. He has conducted nearly 6 months of fieldwork in remote areas of the Sahara, Sahel, and Arabia, complementing extensive experience in Neotropical ecosystems such as the Amazon, Galapagos, and the Andes. These activities are partially embedded in his participation and contractual involvement in six research-related and socio-environmental consultancy projects, representing a combined investment of nearly 9 million euros.
His contributions to outreach and education include serving on the editorial boards of Journal of Biogeography (2022–2023) and Biogeography – Free Association of Biogeographers, as well as co-managing the initiatives Biogeography.News and PEEER (currently). He has participated in around twenty scientific conferences, mostly international and leading events in global biogeography (e.g., the biennial meetings of the International Biogeography Society) or regionally focused applied forums (e.g., annual meetings of the Sahel & Sahara Interest Group). He has supervised undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral theses for five students and currently coordinates and teaches a doctoral course on phylogenetic cartography. He has been invited as a participant or panellist at six international events and has served on the scientific or organizing committees of two others. Additionally, he has received two widely recognized awards.
