Embedded Files
PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS (read this carefully)
I take on 1 to 3 students every year at the Ecology department at UNESP Rio Claro. My criteria for selection are the following:
- Do your homework: If you have read this webpage up to this part, you're probably on the right track. When you contact me, be specific about what part of my line of research interests you and what you would like to work with. I don't take generic messages seriously (the type sent to 20 different people with only a change in the salutation).
- If you have an idea for a project, bring it forward: It doesn't need to be a detailed project, but if you have something that interests you, chances are I will be more interested in having you on board. Whether it involves extensive field work or intensive simulation modelling, both approaches are welcome and none are exclusive.
- You don´t need to have a spotless academic record: All I need is for you to be curious about an ecological question and put the necessary effort to answer it. Also, the lab is a collaborative environment. Genuinely care about your lab mates and help each other. That is what makes labs great and creates good science.
Currently, I am looking for a student (either masters or doctoral candidate) with interest in probing relations between local rainfall patterns and vegetation patches in the state of SP. The tool set involved in this work will require a lot of interest in remote sensing and spatial analysis. Please contact me for more information.
Current students
Current students
Claudia Sabrine Brandt (PhD candidate)
Claudia seeks to understand the spatial behavior and the social role of some key species in southern Atlantic forest mixed flocks. Her project is being conducted around forest areas in Blumenau, Santa Catarina. Her extensive field experience and previous work on mixed-species flocks are a valuable tool to figure out this complex avian forest-dependent system. Her field work began in 2017 and is ongoing.
Laura Kyoko Honda (PhD candidate)
Laura just joined the lab and is interested in soundscape ecology. Her project deals with acoustic behavior in mixed-species flocks and will be conducted at the Intervales State Park. Dr. Carlos 'Pássaro' Gussoni is also involved in the project, and the first data from her pilots are starting to come in.
Priscila Piassi (Undergrad)
Priscila wants to understand the social aspects of a common species here in the region, the Chalk-browed Mockingbird (Mimus saturninus). It is a gregarious species which forms groups of up to 8 individuals. Throughout she began her work in October 2016 and she plans to be involved in this until 2019. She is collecting data on their space use, social behaviors and parentage.
Alumni
Alumni
Bruna França (MSc )
Bruna just finished her project on distributions of lizards endemic to the Cerrado. Her project developed a new twist to species distribution models by blending landscape ecology and determining the extent of suitable habitat for 15 species of lizards. Her data also allowed an estimation of the percentage of suitable habitat within protected areas. She has recently been accepted to the zoology doctoral program at USP.
Felipe Shimizu (Undergrad Alum 2015- currently finishing his masters )
Felipe was my first student and came up with an entirely different idea from what I had been working on so far. He wanted to study the Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps fungi. They are more commonly known as the zombie-making fungus which manipulates insect behavior to increase odds of appropriate spore dispersal sites. He made an intensive literary search and created a network of what is known so far about the host relations of the known species.
Google Sites
Report abuse