A B O U T M E

I am a Brazilian marine biologist interested in the vulnerability of environments and marine animal communities, especially in isolated environments such as marine lakes.

Since I was a kid, I wanted to study animals and plants, to know everything about them and why things are in a certain way in oceans. So I thought: why not study biology? And that is what I did.

If you want to know more about my past and current research, I encourage you to scroll down and check it out!

C U R R E N T P R O J E C T

I finished my master’s at the beginning of 2023 and soon started looking for Ph.D. spots available in the area of conservation and marine ecology.

After a couple of emails, Professor Michael N Dawson answered my emails and showed interest in my research!

I entered the Environmental Systems Ph.D. program at the University of California, Merced in the Fall of 2023.

In my actual project, I am analyzing the environmental characteristics of different marine lakes in Palau, Micronesia. With such a diversity of environments, marine lakes provide an amazing opportunity to evaluate the biological and evolutionary responses of individuals, populations, and communities.

My main goal in my Ph.D. project is to analyze if there is a dynamic continuum of the physical and chemical environments of Palauan marine lakes over time that blurs the distinction between meromictic versus holomictic lakes and their dynamics. After that, to recognize and analyze the patterns and structures of marine lake communities over time, and if their dynamics respond to each lake’s environment. Finally, try to connect these characteristics and measure the vulnerability of these environments according to their isolation levels.

I am interested in studying the differences in the community structures of island-like environments, and in trying to connect these different structures with the vulnerability and fragility of the ecosystem. I believe that this study will contribute to the conservation of island-like environments, e.g., marine lakes, as well as raise and refine the understanding of island biogeography theory.

CHECK DLab WEBSITE

M A S T E R D E G R E E

I entered the Zoology master’s program at the University of São Paulo in 2019, continuing my work with jellyfish and Professor André C. Morandini. For this project, I wanted to conduct experiments focused on the temperature variation and how it influenced the asexual reproduction of four species of Scyphozoa: Aurelia coerulea, Cotylohiza tuberculata, Lychnorhiza lucerna, and Sanderia malayensis.

This project was intituled as:

Can climate change influence jellyfish blooms (Cnidaria, Discomedusae)?

I was able to analyze different temperature variations - using the predictions of the IPCC's last report - in the strobilation and other types of asexual reproduction for these species. This research can have positive effects on how we look into jellyfish blooms, not only on being events of public health issues but also in understanding more about these animals’ ecology!

YOU CAN CHECK MY THESIS HERE!

U N D E R G R A D U A T E

I started my undergraduate course in biology at the University of São Paulo, Brazil in 2014.

Since the beginning of the course, I focused my interests in marine zoology and ecology, entering Professor André C. Morandini’s lab in 2015 and completing my undergraduate course in 2018.

My concluding undergrad project - and the beginning of my scientific research - was:

Identification of species of colonial coronated scyphozoans (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa: Coronatae): the genus Linuche Eschscholtz, 1829.

In this project, I analyzed morphological traits from animals that were labeled as Linuche unguiculata from different places. I observed if the morphology of these animals was similar or different, depending on their biogeographical range, and tried to solve the taxonomy issue with the genus, associating it with the animal's biogeography.

CHECK ANDRÉ C. MORANDINI'S LAB WEBSITE

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