Education
2020-2025 Ph.D. Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University (USA)
Advisor: Dr. Tomás A. Carlo; Co-advisor: Dr. Hong Ma
Funding: Fulbright Ph.D. scholarship
2017-2019 M.Sc. Plant Biology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil)
Advisor: Dr. Fernando A. O. Silveira; Co-advisor: Dr. Tadeu J. Guerra
Aug 2014 Exchange student at The University of Georgia (USA)
Jul 2015 Advisor: Dr. Catherine Pringle & Dr. Maura Dudley
Funding: Fulbright & CAPES
2011-2016 B.Sc. Biology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil)
Advisor: Dr. Tadeu J. Guerra; Co-advisor: Dr. Fernando A. O. Silveira
Complementary Education in Teaching
2024 Teach to Reach, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
2024 Universal Design for Learning, Penn State University World Campus, USA
2024 Ethical Pedagogy, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State University
2023 Psychology of Education, Maranhão State University, Brazil
2021 Essentials of Online Teaching, Penn State University World Campus, USA
2021 Instructor Orientation, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State University
2021 Instructional Series, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, Penn State University
Scholarships & Awards
2024 American Philosophical Society Lewis & Clark Grant, $5,000
2024 Huck Institutes Graduate Travel Award, $1,500
2024 Penn State Department of Biology Travel Grant, $700
2023 J. Ben and Helen D. Hill Memorial Fund Award, $1,270
2022 ATBC Seed Research Grant, $1,000
2022 Top Cited Article 2020-2021 Messeder et al. 2021 Biotropica (John Wiley & Sons)
2022 J. Ben and Helen D. Hill Memorial Fund Award, $2,173
2021 Biotropica's Peter Ashton Prize, $250
2021 J. Ben and Helen D. Hill Memorial Fund Award, $2,574
2020 Fulbright Ph.D. scholarship award
2018 Teacher Education Incentive Program scholarship, PROGRAD-UFMG (Brazil)
2014 Fulbright scholarship award for academic exchange program in the USA
Publications
Carlo TA, Messeder JVS, Espíndola WD, Vizzachero BS, Boyer BW, Hernández-Mejía J, Torres-
Páucar EA et al. 2024. Negative density-dependence characterize mutualistic interactions
between birds and fruiting plants across latitudes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society B, in press.
Messeder JVS, Carlo TA, Zhang G, Tovar JD, Arana C, Huang J, Huang C-H, Ma H. 2024. A highly resolved nuclear phylogeny uncovers strong phylogenetic conservatism and correlated evolution of fruit color and size in Solanum L. New Phytologist, early view.
Reginato M, Ordónez-Parra CA, Messeder JVS, Brito VLG, Dellinger A, Kriebel R, Marra C et al.
2024. MelastomaTRAITs 1.0: A database of functional traits in Melastomataceae, a large
pantropical Angiosperm family. Ecology, e4308.
Arruda AJ, Medeiros N, Fiorini C, Ordóñez‐Parra CA, Dayrell RL, Messeder JVS, Zanetti M, Wardil
M, Paiva DC, Kozovits AR, Buisson E, Le Stradic S, Silveira FAO. 2023. Ten principles for
restoring campo rupestre, a threatened tropical, megadiverse, nutrient‐impoverished
montane grassland. Restoration Ecology, 31(7): e13924.
Messeder JVS, Guerra TJ, Pizo MA, Blendinger PG, Silveira FAO. 2022. Seed dispersal ecology in
Neotropical Melastomataceae. In: R Goldenberg, F Almeda, FA Michelangeli (Eds.). Systematics,
Evolution, and Ecology of Melastomataceae, 1ed Springer Nature, p. 735-759.
Ordóñez-Parra CA, Messeder JVS, Mancipe-Murillo C, Calderón-Hernández M, Silveira FAO. 2022.
Seed germination ecology in Neotropical Melastomataceae: past, present and future. In: R
Goldenberg, F Almeda, FA Michelangeli (Eds.). Systematics, Evolution, and Ecology of
Melastomataceae, 1ed Springer Nature, p. 707-733.
Messeder JVS, Silveira FAO, Cornelissen TG, Fuzessy LF, Guerra TJ. 2021. Frugivory and seed
dispersal in a hyper-diverse plant clade and its role as keystone resource for the Neotropical
fauna. Annals of Botany, 127(5): 577-595.
Oliveira CS, Messeder JVS, Teixido AL, Arantes MRR, Silveira FAO. 2021. Vegetative and
reproductive phenology in a tropical grassland-savanna-forest mosaic. Journal of Vegetation
Science, 32(2): e12997.
Arruda AJ, Costa FV, Guerra TJ, Junqueira PA, Dayrell RLC, Messeder JVS, Rodrigues HTS, Buisson
E, Silveira FAO. 2020. Topsoil disturbance reshapes diaspore interactions with ground‐
foraging animals in a megadiverse grassland. Journal of Vegetation Science, 31(6): 1039-1052.
Messeder JVS, Guerra TJ, Dáttilo W, Silveira FAO. 2020. Searching for keystone plant resources in
fruit-frugivore interaction networks across the Neotropics. Biotropica, 52(5): 857-870.
Guerra TJ, Messeder JVS, Arruda AJ, Fuzessy LF, Dayrell RLC, Neves FS, Silveira FAO. 2018.
Handling by avian frugivores affect diaspore secondary removal. PLOS ONE, 13(8): e0202435.
Teixido AL, Dayrell RLC, Arruda AJ, Azevedo LO, Junqueira PA, Messeder JVS, Silveira FAO. 2018.
Differential gender selection on flower size in two Neotropical savanna congeneric species.
Plant Ecology, 219(1): 89-100.
Guerra TJ, Dayrell RLC, Arruda AJ, Dáttilo W, Teixido AL, Messeder JVS, Silveira FAO. 2017.
Intraspecific variation in fruit-frugivore interactions: effects of fruiting neighborhood and
consequences for seed dispersal. Oecologia, 185(2): 233-243.
Teaching Experience
Spring 2024 Teacher Assistant, Tropical Field Ecology in Costa Rica (Biol 499A), PSU, 3-cr BS
Fall 2023 Teacher Assistant, Experimental Field Biology (Biol 450w), PSU, 5-cr BS
Spring 2023 Teacher Assistant, Tropical Field Ecology Costa Rica (Biol 499A), PSU, 3-cr BS
Fall 2022 Teacher Assistant, Experimental Field Biology (Biol 450w), PSU, 5-cr BS
2019-2020 Instructor, Biology Teacher (high-school level) at a non-profit educational
organization (DoarEduca) that offers, free of charge, complementary studies for socioeconomically disadvantaged people
2019 Instructor, Ecology & Evolution of Plant-Animal Interactions (short course: 4h)
Spring 2019 Teacher Assistant, Field Methodology, UFMG, 5-cr BS
Fall 2018 Teacher Assistant, Identification of Vascular Plants, UFMG, 2-cr BS
Fall 2018 Teacher Assistant, Field Methodology, UFMG, 5-cr BS
Spring 2018 Teacher Assistant, Plant Anatomy, UFMG, 5-cr BS
2018 Instructor, The use of the R Program as a statistical tool. (short course: 16h)
Fall 2017 Teacher Assistant, Field Methodology, UFMG, 5-cr BS.
Spring 2014 Teacher Assistant, Morphology & Taxonomy of Vascular Plants, UFMG, 4-cr BS
2013 Instructor, Ecology of Riparian Environments. (short course: 12h)
Presentations at Scientific Conferences
2022 - American Ornithological Society & Birds of Caribbean Conference (Oral presentation)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
2021 - Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation Annual Meeting (Oral presentation)
Virtual event
2020 - Centre for Ecological Synthesis and Conservation (CSEC) Seminars (Oral presentation)
Virtual event
2019 - 43rd New Phytologist Symposium: Interaction networks and trait evolution (Poster)
Zürich, Switzerland
2018 - X Plant Biology Graduate School Workshop UFMG (Oral presentation)
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- XXII Undergraduate Education Week UFMG (Poster)
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
2017 - XIII Brazilian Ecology Conference & III International Symposium of Ecology & Evolution
(Oral & poster presentations)
Viçosa, Brazil
- XI Eugen Warming Lectures in Evolutionary Ecology (Poster)
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
2016 - V Seed Ecology International Conference. (Poster)
Caeté, Brazil
-XXV Undergraduate Research Week UFMG (Poster)
Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
2015 - Coweeta LTER Summer Symposium (Poster)
Otto, North Carolina, USA
2013 - XXII Undergraduate Research Week UFMG (Poster)
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Professional Services
Journal peer-reviewer:
American Journal of Botany Iheringia. Série Zoologia
Avian Research Revista de Biología Tropical
Biotropica Rodriguésia
Ecology and Evolution Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment
Folia Geobotanica The Science of Nature
Functional Ecology
Additional Skills
Trilingual – Portuguese, English, and Spanish
Advanced programing & statistical skills in R, Python, and Bash
Advanced skills in Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop
Professional musician – Electric & acoustic guitar