Mangrove molecular ecology

Mangrove trees are incredible organisms whose unique traits enable them to live in the thin line between land and sea. They tolerate daily tidal inundations, salty soils and their seeds may cross oceans before establishing. Despite their toughness, mangrove forests are expected to be particularly affected by current climate changes. Our main objective is to understand how tree species that occupy these environments responded to past climatic alterations to predict potential responses to the current ones. We use a multidisciplinary approach that aims to link ecophysiology, climatic niche, gene expression, geographic information system, oceanographic modelling, and genetic information to unveil how these organisms vary at different biological levels and how these variation may relate to past climate-related processes. We expect to generate reliable data to support real-world conservation efforts focused on these awesome plants and forests.

Population genetics of Neotroplical plants

We have been addressing different questions regarding the population genetics of plants from the Neotropical region, one of the species richest areas in the world. We have had studied the genetic outcomes of established restoration projects and how different altitudes (and their environments) may influence the dispersal and connectivity of pollen and seed movement.

Currently, we are working on a widely distributed plant whose leaves are used by local communities as cachaça flavoring and health conditions treatments to unveil how its populations have evolved both genetically and morphologically. These discoveries will allow us to investigate whether it is indeed a single widespread species or more restricted lineages. Also, using it as a model organisms, we will be able to contribute to the understanding of how two Neotropical biomes, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest, have evolved.

Ants molecular ecology

Ants are amazingly successful organisms comprising thousands of species that summed represent a relevant part of Earth's biomass. This huge success is partially explained by their highly organized societies, in which colonies' structure plays a central role. With prof. Paulo S. Oliveira and Marianne Azevedo-Silva (University of Campinas), we aim to describe and compare the breeding system of two ecologically distinct carpenter ants from the Brazilian savanna and its consequences to colonies genetic diversity. Additionally,  we  want to measure the influence of landscape features both on colony structure variation and nests connectivity in a heterogeneous environment with natural and human-made areas. Finally, we are currently investigating what are the drivers of queens' reproductive success.