Biologist (1984), MSc in Ecology (1990), and Ph.D. in Ecology (1994), all at the State University of Campinas. He is a Full Professor (since 2006) at the Department of Ecology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo (USP), which he joined in 1996. Previously he was a researcher at the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) and a visiting professor at the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM). He has been a post-doc at the São Paulo State University, Rio Claro (1995-1996), and at the University of Florida, Gainesville (2013). His main research interests are to understand (1) the processes that lead to spatial and temporal patterns of diversity of amphibians and reptiles, and (2) the processes that lead to patterns of threat and vulnerability to extinction in these animals. To achieve these goals, he invests heavily in the gathering of good natural history data. He published over 100 scientific papers on the biology and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. He has been participating actively in the production of Brazilian red lists (published in 2003 and 2014), including the coordination of the assessment of Brazilian reptiles (for the 2003 list) and snakes (for the 2014 list), the facilitation of assessment workshops of amphibians and lizards, as well as the validation (as a IUCN Red List Authority) of the assessments of other animal groups (both for the 2014 list). Presently he is one of the coordinators of the undergoing Brazilian amphibian assessment and a member of the IUCN Viper Specialist Group. He was the president of the Brazilian Society of Herpetology (BSH) from 2011 to 2019. He is a Senior Editor of the Revista Latinoamericana de Herpetologia. (Source: Lattes Curriculum)
| Articles published in Pesquisa FAPESP Magazine about the researcher: |
| Guide to Amazon snakes launched at the Butantan Institute |
| Sale publicada una nueva guía de serpientes amazónicas |
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| News published in Agência FAPESP Newsletter about the researcher |
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Among the several threats faced by biodiversity globally, habitat loss stands out as the primary concern. Brazil has a historical record of habitat loss caused by deforestation in all biomes. However, there are differences in the intensity of the pressure experienced by the biomes over time. The escalating deforestation and habitat conversion in the Brazilian context pose significant thre…
Brazil has about 2,000 species of amphibians and reptiles, several of which are endangered, which entails an enormous responsibility for our Country to conserve them. In this project, as a way to contribute to the conservation of amphibians and squamate reptiles, with an emphasis on Brazil, we will develop, in close collaboration with the National Center for Research and Conservation of R…
Although our knowledge about species and biological communities has increased significantly in the last decades, it is still necessary a great effort to obtain the information necessary for a better understanding of the effects of anthropogenic environmental changes on biodiversity. Anthropogenic habitat disturbances may affect species in various forms, with a high variation in their effe…
Although the composition and richness of the Cerrado vertebrate fauna have been relatively well studied, few studies focused on the causes of local and regional variation in community structure. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of these causes by sampling amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals in a Cerrado vegetation mosaic and gathering additional data in the lite…
We aim to describe phylogenetic, biogeographic and ecological patterns of snakes while focusing mainly on the Neotropical fauna. Further, we will explore the evolutionary processes involved in the origin of these patterns. We will use a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the evolution of the species throughout a time interval that extends from the Cretaceous to the Recent. The proj…
(Only some records are available in English at this moment)
Among the several threats faced by biodiversity globally, habitat loss stands out as the primary concern. Brazil has a historical record of habitat loss caused by deforestation in all biomes. However, there are differences in the intensity of the pressure experienced by the biomes over time. The escalating deforestation and habitat conversion in the Brazilian context pose significant thre…
Ecological interactions between predator and prey are fundamental to the comprehension of animal communities organization. These interactions can be collectively represented by interaction networks, through which it is possible to evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively the emergence of non-random structures. As the main structures found, there is nestedness, which describes when specia…
(Only some records are available in English at this moment)
(1) To evaluate which biological characteristics and environmental factors tend to make amphibian species vulnerable to extinction. (2) With this knowledge, we can provide suggestions for improving conservation planning and actions. Working Plan: Although extinction risk assessments are an important step in biodiversity conservation by providing valuable information on vulnerabilities and…
Aggression is a frequent feature in anurans and may be displayed in an escalated system, from acoustic signaling to engaging in physical combats. The aggressive behaviors associated with the defense of a territory containing a limited resource characterize territoriality. As aggression/territoriality are mostly restricted to males in anurans, it is believed to be driven by sexual selectio…
(Only some records are available in English at this moment)
The abundance of vertebrates is declining at a global scale and quantifying these declines is essential to design better conservation strategies, especially in the Neotropical region where these declines are stronger. The abundance of populations has been suggested to be naturally lower at the edges of their distributions compared to the center, which is commonly known as the 'abundant-ce…
Ecological interactions between predator and prey are fundamental to the comprehension of the organization of animal assemblages. These interactions can be collectively represented by interaction networks, through which it is possible to evaluate the emergence of non-random structures. Connectance describes the proportion of realized interactions in the network. Modularity is a commonly f…
Foraging, mating, and migration are behaviors made possible by the ability of organisms to move. Therefore, movement is a fundamental ecological process, acting in the fitness of organisms and, consequently, in the evolution of populations and species. The processes involved in movement ecology are better understood from the integrated study of ecological, behavioral and biomechanical par…
In species with territorial behavior involving physical combats, many morphological and behavioral traits provide an advantage during these disputes, and this behavior in turn incurs in several individual costs. These phenomena may cause territoriality to coevolve or to be evolutionarily traded-off against other traits, such that it may shape their evolutionary trajectories. However, this…
(Only some records are available in English at this moment)
| 2 / 2 | Ongoing research grants |
| 13 / 9 | Completed research grants |
| 4 / 4 | Ongoing scholarships in Brazil |
| 39 / 13 | Completed scholarships in Brazil |
| 1 / 1 | Ongoing scholarships abroad |
| 6 / 5 | Completed scholarships abroad |
| 65 / 34 | All research grants and scholarships |
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CV Lattes
ORCID