PhD Plant and Microbial Biology-University of Minnesota. Carlos Muñoz. Personal Statement.

The thing that I loved most about living in the south of Bogota was regularly visiting a nature
reserve not far away home. I enjoyed the fresh and musty smell of the green mountains covered
by rainforests. From there, I contemplated Bogota, The city, distant and gray, as well as my
neighborhood, a densely populated barriada up on the hill, home to humble, brave people. This
natural lookout point was also the scenario for an environmental drama. Through the years, I
witnessed how a tiny yellow flower shrubland, legal and illegal buildings, and subsistence crops
sprawl, stolen forest land. Eventually, my beloved forest was almost gone, yet I could not do
anything to prevent it.

This memory from young has inspired my dedication to education and science as it fueled my
sense of urgency to understand and protect the biosphere in a time of severe environmental
change. My scientific curiosity is then also paired to my passion for environmental education,
which I view as a tool to generate necessary societal change. I am broadly interested in how
anthropological stressors alter natural systems across different scales and levels of ecological
organization. I firmly believe that joining the Plant and Microbial Biology as a Ph.D. student at
the University of Minnesota –Twin Cities– would be an unparalleled opportunity for me to build
a career as a world-class researcher.

In 2014, I conducted my first independent research, as part of my bachelor’s thesis, studying

an insect species novel to the Paramo ecosystem of Colombia, my native country.
Oidaematophorus espeletiae had presumably spilled over from nearby crops and was spreading
rapidly throughout Espeletia spp. communities. On my own, I figured out a preliminary model
explaining the geographic range expansion of this insect species, based on its feeding patterns
and behavior coupled with environmental changes. On top of learning how to do research and
run field camp surveys, this experience allowed me to contribute to ongoing efforts to understand
complex interactions between invasive species and native plant communities. I learned to
collaborate with environmental authorities, research colleagues, and communal leaders as well in
that process. Hence, I am not only comfortable implementing research experiments in the field
but have also become well acquainted with the need to advocate for an inclusive process of
making science that involves stakeholders outside of academia.

After this encouraging experience I decided to continue my academic career in plant Ecology
by pursuing a master’s degree at the top program in Mexico. With an eagerness to acquire the
necessary technical skills to make the most of my studies, I enrolled in online math and
programming courses, which turned out to be worthwhile for my career in the long term.

My Master's thesis focused on the relationship between the distribution of invasive plant
species and land use in Mexico using niche modeling. This project required a high level of
computational expertise, and it allowed me to gain skills in Geographical Information Systems,
programming in R and data analysis. The main finding of this work was that the geographical
distribution of these species in Mexico is delineated by climatic variables, but human disturbance
is crucial for its introduction, establishment, and early spread. I also had the incredible
opportunity to collaborate with Prof. Town Peterson at Kansas University co-authored a paper in

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 PhD Plant and Microbial Biology-University of Minnesota. Carlos Muñoz. Personal Statement.

a top peer-reviewed journal during my master’s. My collaboration with Professor Peterson’s lab
has given me a unique insight into working in a collaborative and dynamic research
environment. It is how much I have enjoyed this experience that makes me confident that I
would thrive as a Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota.
My master’s project findings directly informed policy when I joined the team in charge of
developing the Invasive Species Management Plans of Mexican Protected Natural Areas. I was
fascinated by being able to witness how our analysis contributed directly to reduce the advance
of invasive species in both conservation areas and surrounding agricultural landscapes. This
three-year-long exposition affirmed my determination on pursuing a doctoral degree.

For my PhD dissertation research, I am especially interested in studying how the interactive
(i.e. additive, non-additive) effects of habitat destruction, the spread of invasive plant species,
and climate change affect carbon dynamics in plant-herbivory (insects) networks on dry forest
ecosystem. These ecological interactions and fluxes inside them have showed being a challenge
to incorporate into terrestrial carbon models but may be vital to develop accurate mechanistic
forest dynamics models. As we enter the Anthropocene, it is imperative that researchers seek
more accurate understanding of ecosystem function in order to interpret and predict effects of
global change. On the other hand, tropical forests harbors one of the world’s biggest terrestrial
carbon pools and net primary production. Still, there is a dearth of knowledge about the impacts
of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors on tropical forest’s carbon fluxes.

I am particularly interested in Professor Jennifer Powers’ research on tropical ecosystems. Her

lab’s focus on not only how elements cycle among the components of dry forest, but also how
global changes affect these processes, what it is very much in line with my own. The integrated
approach applied in the Powers lab, combining long-term soil chemistry data with field
experiments, stable isotope analysis, and geographical approximations is very attractive to me, as
I am keen to pursue a graduate project that incorporates field study and experimental designs
with my existing analytical skills, as well as challenging me to develop new ones. I recently
spoke with Professor Powers and was not only intrigued by her work, but was also excited by
how well our interests overlapped, I believe her lab to be the perfect environment for me to
contribute to research I care about most. Furthermore, I find the Program of Plant and Microbial
Biology particularly attractive for its interdisciplinary nature and am excited about the prospect
of participating in a graduate program with opportunity for collaboration across so many facets
of the plant sciences.
Above all, I have a fervent desire to ensure that during my PhD and beyond, I am contributing
to teach and research that can inform conservation and public policy efforts playing some part in
protecting ecosystems that, like the Rain Forest that first drew me to research are imperiled.
Besides, in the long-run, I envision myself being a leader of institutions and academic programs
specialized in global change ecology in Latin America to tackle pressing environmental and
socio-economic concerns in the region. I am certain that Minnesota is the perfect place for me to
achieve this goal.