I have been fortunate to have many great people crossing my path...
Co-authorship network based on all articles published until June 2022 (excluded co-authorship from data papers). Each node is a co-author and every link is the connection of researchers within one or between articles, i.e., co-authorship. Thus, different colors (notably on the periphery) indicate articles in which authors collaborate among them but not with other researchers.
... and I am glad that my colleagues are spread all over the world.
Check below my research items sorted by research area. The codes between parenthesis refer to the number assigned of Original Articles (OA) and Book Chapter (BC) enlisted on the 'Publications' page. Click on the codes to check the paper on the journal website.
Vertical Stratification & Canopy.
I started studying canopy ants during my undergraduate studies and I continued with this research topic until my Ph.D.; for my theses and from collaborations. My colleagues and I evaluated the resource-use of ants in the canopy, in terms of behavior (OA 13) and spatial dominance (OA 11), comparison of ant-tree co-occurrence networks between canopy and understory (OA 7; left), distance-decay patterns in the canopy and on the ground (OA 10), canopy ants in the canopy of trees growing in distinct vertical strata (OA 4), sampling methods comparisons to collect ants in the canopy and on the ground (OA 9), spatiotemporal dynamics of ants in canopy and ground (OA 12), ant-tree-bromeliad associations in agroforestry and preserved forests (OA 14), effects of habitat structure and vertical stratification on ants (OA 18), suspended leaf-litter as habitat extension for ground-dwelling ants (OA 3). |
Complex Networks. I always liked to think of organisms as 'interactive life forms'. During my master's I started to learn the tools to understand those interactions. I had the opportunity to publish a guide for the main indices and software used by ecological researchers (BC 2) in the most recent and complete book of ecological networks for the tropics. With my lab mates and led by Pedro Luna, we proposed that the diversity of interactions has an α, β, and γ structure (OA 8; left). We also pointed out the risk of measuring network specialization (H2’) using small networks (OA 2). |
Climate Change.
In this big project, led by Gustavo Romero (OA 19; left) and with researchers from many countries worldwide, we made an experiment in 52 forests around the world simulating arthropod construct structures. We found that refugees are critical for arthropods, and the magnitude of the beneficial effect is dependent on trophic groups, i.e., if they are herbivores or predators. We also explored the expected effect of future climate conditions (the year 2070) on refuge use. Projected increases in climate variability and aridity will probably increase the importance of biotic refugia in mitigating the effects of climate change on species persistence. |
Data Papers.
Data papers are important because they contribute to the open data philosophy, a crucial aspect of science. After being published, researchers are able to use a huge amount of data to answer their big scientific questions. Besides, the data paper itself is often a result of highly collaborative work. My lab mates and I, led by our formal advisor Wesley Dáttilo, worked on the data paper of Mexican ants (OA 5 and OA 6; left) from the beginning. We conceived the idea in a lab meeting, it was a nice opportunity to learn how a big collaboration works! I was also involved in a data paper on ants from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (OA 16) and in a global data set of arthropod constructs and their host plants (OA 17). |
Geographic distribution of organisms.
Led by Marcos Bornschein and in collaboration with other researchers from Brazil, we reviewed the distribution of the saddleback toads (Brachycephalus sp.) endemic to some Brazilian mountains (OA 1; left). During the fieldwork course for SFA students in Summer 2021, we found a new record of a Three-toad Amphiuma for a county in East Texas (OA 15). |
Highlight: Current Funded Research
East Texas Bee Atlas. I am a co-PI of a project of a massive sampling of bees throughout East Texas funded by the Texas Comptroller (2022-2025). This project is a collaboration of researchers from Stephen F. Austin State University: Daniel Bennett, David Kulhavy, and me; and from Sam Houston State University: Justin Williams, Jerry Cook, and John Pascarella. We are fortunate to have many partners that help us to make this project broad. |