Community Ecology Lab

I served as Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM) from 2013 to 2025. I am currently a researcher affiliated with the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA). My research focuses on understanding the structure and dynamics of ecological communities. I am particularly interested in the evolutionary outcomes of mutualistic and antagonistic interactions at the assemblage level. I also coordinate the Manaus Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site, PELD-IAFA.

Paula is studying ant diversity in forest fragments across the city of Manaus, Amazonas. She is particularly interested in understanding how forest fragmentation influences ecossistem services mediate by ants  in urban landscapes.

Aline is investigating the relationships between ants and epiphytes in different environmental contexts (flooded and non-flooded forests). She is co-supervised by Dr. Adriano Quaresma.

Neto aims to understand the effects of climate change and extreme weather events on the interactions between highly specialized entomopathogenic fungi (*Ophiocordyceps*) and their hosts.

Vanessa is studying how increased rainfall during the dry season affects ant assemblages in Central Amazonian forests. She is particularly interested in understanding changes in ant diversity, nest density, distribution across forest strata, and trophic structure.

Alex investigates how arboreal ant communities change along elevational gradients across the Pacific and Amazonian slopes of the tropical Andes. By combining taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic approaches, he aims to uncover how climate and environmental filtering shape ant biodiversity.

Thaís explores how island size, isolation, and human pressures shape the diversity of non-flying mammals worldwide. Her research compares functional groups to understand why some species are more vulnerable than others across different island ecosystems.

Vinicius examines how habitat loss shapes the functional diversity of ant assemblages in fragmented forests of Central Amazonia. Using data collected three decades apart, he investigates changes in functional redundancy and the selection of morphological traits over time. He is co-supervised by Dr. Ricardo Vicente (UFAM).

Iago studies how fruit-feeding butterfly communities respond to extreme droughts in Central Amazonia. Using biodiversity monitoring data, he examines changes in species richness, abundance, composition, and the balance between butterflies associated with open and closed forests. He is supervisioned by Dr. Daniell R Fernandes (INPA).