El Ciudadano
Original article: Lanzan proyecto que busca anticipar el impacto de especies invasoras en la Antártica
Scientists from the Maule Region are currently engaged in a mission to predict the arrival of invasive plant species that may settle in Antarctica due to the effects of climate change.
In this context, the project «Risk of Plant Invasion in a Changing Antarctica (PRISMA)» emerges as one of the initiatives awarded by the University of Talca in the 2025 call for the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) Research Rings Competition.
For three years, researchers from UTALCA, along with those from the Universities of Bío-Bío and Católica del Maule, will address the current realities of the White Continent through an approach that combines biology, ecology, genetics, social sciences, econometrics, and advanced modeling.
The launch of this initiative was celebrated at the auditorium of the Regional Government of Maule (GORE), where the PRISMA director and UTALCA researcher, Ian Acuña Rodríguez, announced the project’s work plan and the objectives they hope to achieve.
«We aim to establish the risk of invasive plant species that pose the greatest threat to Antarctica, with the goal of generating guidelines, protocols, and management tools to anticipate and control this problem,» stated the academic.
Acuña reminded attendees that Antarctica is an area of international importance and that this project will also contribute to positioning Chile within this context by providing scientific knowledge for the protection of fragile ecosystems of great value to humanity.
Meanwhile, the Regional Governor of Maule, Pedro Álvarez-Salamanca, emphasized the initiative, expressing, «We know that climate change forces us to be prepared and to generate knowledge that allows us to better face its effects. In this sense, we deeply value the work being done by the university and the contributions made by researchers and scientists to find innovative solutions to the challenges we face.»
According to Arcadio Cerda, the rector of the University of Talca, the development of this type of research allows for the generation of new knowledge that impacts not only the scientific field but also the territories and their communities.
«This project reflects our institution’s public role and its contribution through research to global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity protection. Generating knowledge about Antarctica also helps us better understand the processes affecting our ecosystems and project relevant learning for regional development,» highlighted the rector.
The event’s program included presentations aimed at contextualizing the main scientific and strategic challenges addressed by PRISMA.
Marcelo Leppe Cartes, a full professor at the Center for Genomics, Ecology, and Environment (GEMA) at Universidad Mayor and former director of the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), discussed «The Strategic Importance of Antarctica for Chile.»
Additionally, Aníbal Pauchard Cortés, a full professor at the Faculty of Forestry Sciences at U. de Concepción and founder and director of the Laboratory of Biological Invasions, elaborated on the role of plants as invasive species, providing key insights to understand the ecological risks associated with the arrival of new species to the White Continent.
Team of Excellence
Alongside Professor Acuña Rodríguez, a team of excellence will participate, including principal investigators Marco Molina Montenegro and Leidy García Pérez from U. de Talca, along with Cristian Torres Díaz from U. del Bío-Bío. Also part of the national group are adjunct researchers Gabriel Ballesteros Teuber from UTALCA and Stella Moisan from U. Católica del Maule.
The project also boasts a robust international collaboration team. Participants include Pedro Emilio Gundel from the University of Buenos Aires, specializing in agricultural sciences; Michelle Greve from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, an expert in ecological modeling and plant biogeography; Kevin A. Hughes and Kevin Newsham from the British Antarctic Survey in the UK, who are global leaders in Antarctic biosecurity, microbial ecology, and climate change; Katarzyna Chwedorzewska from the Polish Academy of Sciences, a pioneer in research on plant invasions in Antarctica; and Kari Saikkonen from the Natural Resources Institute Finland, specializing in plant-microorganism symbiosis and evolutionary ecology.
El Ciudadano
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