Dr. Flavia Montaño-Centellas is lead author on a new research paper in Global Ecology and Biogeography “Using functional and phylogenetic diversity to infer avian community assembly along elevational gradients” which represents work from her PhD dissertation in the Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department at the University of Florida. In this paper she examines bird communities in 46 well-sampled elevational gradients across the globe asking what processes best explain community assembly.  Her work suggests that local context is important and no single rule applies, but that environmental filtering potentially plays a larger role in tropical montane systems.  Her co-authors are Christy McCain from University of Colorado and Bette Loiselle from University of Florida.  Congratulations Flavia on this new publication!!