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CURRENT LAB MEMBERS


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Glauco Machado
Main investigator

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I was born in a city close to Rio de Janeiro and moved to São Paulo to do the undergraduate course in biology at University of Campinas. I did my PhD in the same university, where I studied parental care in harvestmen. In 2007, I was hired at University of São Paulo. Among the diverse Neotropical fauna, I selected harvestmen as model organisms to study animal behavior. They seem to be particularly suitable to investigate parental care and sexual selection. More recently, I broadened my taxonomic interests, supervising projects with sexual selection and parental care in earwigs, dragonflies, spiders, scorpions, and frogs. The projects conducted in my lab include long-term empirical studies, experimental manipulations, and comparative analyses to address questions at multiple levels on the evolution of behavior.

E-mail: [email protected]

Google Scholar
CV Lattes

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Diego Solano-Brenes
PhD student

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I'm a biologist from a little town in Costa Rica interested in animal behavior and sexual selection, especially in arachnids. During my master's thesis I focused on understanding how males of a gift-giving spider adjust their reproductive investment according to female quality, measured as body condition. Now in my PhD I'm working with harvestman species in which males show dimorphic associated with alternative reproductive tactics. In these species I want to understand: 1) competitive interactions between males with different reproductive tactics, 2) trade-offs between characteristics of the ejaculate and the investment in armaments, and 3) female selection gradients on secondary male traits.

E-mail: [email protected]
Google Scholar
CV Lattes

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Laís A. Grossel
​PhD student
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I am a biologist, born in Santa Catarina, and interested in animal behavior. During my master's thesis in Zoology at Federal University of Paraná, I studied social networks and the restructuring of the social hierarchy in captive white-lipped peccaries facing the departure of the alpha male. I am currently doing my PhD, also in Zoology, at the University of São Paulo, and part of my research aims to answer, through a meta-analytic approach, whether the attractiveness of males towards females is influenced by their role in paternal care of eggs.

E-mail: [email protected]
ResearchGate
CV Lattes

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Lior Karman 
Undergraduate student
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I was born in São Paulo, where I am currently finishing my degree in biological sciences. After spending some time in molecular microbiology, I decided to change fields and found animal behavior to be a very captivating subject, especially when I started looking into arachnids. My current research aims to investigate how sexual selection can influence the evolution of exaggerated morphological structures in harvestmen.

E-mail: [email protected]
CV Lattes

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Renato C. Macedo-Rego 
Postdoctoral fellow
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I hold a PhD and a master’s degree in Ecology from the University of São Paulo. My main research focus is the theory of sexual selection, combining experimental studies and quantitative reviews, particularly meta-analyses. My first research project investigated male reproductive investment in a Neotropical spider species, where males provide nuptial gifts to females. During my PhD, I took a meta-analytical approach to study how mating systems influence evolutionary processes across animal species. Currently, as a postdoc, I am exploring how environmental conditions impact evolutionary processes. Additionally, I am developing projects on topics such as parental care, plant communication and anti-herbivore responses, research biases, and human behavior (football/soccer).

​E-mail: [email protected]
 
Google Scholar
CV Lattes

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Wellen C. Alves Bezerra 
​Master's student
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I am a biologist from Rio de Janeiro and completed my undergraduate degree at Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO). I have a particular interest in animal ecology and modeling. Currently, I am enrolled in the master's program in Ecology at University of São Paulo (USP), where I am immersing myself in the study of animal behavior and sexual selection. My research focuses on investigating the ecological costs of weapons in male dimorphic species showing  alternative reproductive tactics. My study system is the harvestman Longiperna concolor.

E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
CV Lattes

FORMER MEMBERS

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Alexandre V. Palaoro (Postdoctoral fellow 2017-2019)
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Project: Behavioral precursors and the origin of parental care in arthropods​

​Funding agency: FAPESP

Where did he go after? He was hired as a temporary researcher at Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Diadema, Brazil

See his publications: Google Scholar

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Andrés Rojas (MSc 2016-2018)
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Project: Gone with the rain: negative effects of rainfall on male reproductive success in a nest-building arachnid​

Funding agency: CAPES


Where did he go after? He is doing his PhD in the Graduate Program in Ecology at Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

See his publications: Google Scholar

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Bruna O. Cassettari (PhD 2018-2024)
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Project: Male sexual dimorphism and its implications for courtship and male genital morphology​

Funding agency: CAPES

Where did she go after? She was hired as data scientist at Cogna
​

See his publications: ResearchGate

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Bruno A. Buzatto (Honors 2003-2004, MSc 2006-2008)
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Project: Reproductive biology of the harvestman Acutisoma proximum: alternative mating tactics in males and maternal care in females

Funding agency: CAPES

Where did he go after? He did his PhD in the Graduate Program in Evolutionary Biology at The University of Western Australia, Australia

See his publications: Google Scholar

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Camila Zatz (MSc 2008-2010)
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​Project: Sexual selection an evolution of sexual dimorphism in two harvestman species  (Arachnida: Opiliones)

Funding agency: FAPESP

Where did she go after? She became a digital influencer

See her publications: CV Lattes

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Cristiane H. Millan (PhD 2016-2023)
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​Project: Causes and consequences of interindividual variation in
female mate choice

Funding agency: CAPES

Where did she go after? She is working as data scientist at the Núcleo de Informação e Coordenação do Ponto BR (NIC.BR)

​See her publications: CV Lattes

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Daniel S. Caetano (Honors 2008, MSc 2009-2011)
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Project: The ecological tale of Gonyleptidae (Arachnida, Opiliones)
evolution: phylogeny of a Neotropical lineage of armoured
harvestmen using ecological, behavioural and chemical characters

Funding agency: FAPESP

Where did he go after? He did his PhD in the Graduate Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at University of Idaho, USA

See his publications: Google Scholar

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Danilo G. Muniz (PhD 2011-2015, Postdoctoral fellow 2016-2019)
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Project: Sex in the space

Funding agency: FAPESP

Where did he go after? He was hired as data scientist at Santander Bank

See his publications: Google Scholar

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Diogo S. M. Samia (Postdoctoral fellow 2015-2018)
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Project: Evolution of condition dependent sexual dimorphism in a clade of Neotropical arachnids: a comparative analysis of the genic capture hypothesis

Funding agency: FAPESP

Where did he go after? He did another post-doc at Universidade Federal de Goiás, Brazil 

See his publications: CV Lattes

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Eduardo S. A. Santos (Posdoctoral fellow 2013-2015)
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Project: Neotropical dragonflies: a study system to understand the macroecology of sexual selection

Funding agency: FAPESP
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Where did he go after? He was hired as full professor at Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

See his publications: Lab Website

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Erika M. Santana (PhD 2014-2018)
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Project: Causes and consequences of polyandry

Funding agency: CAPES

Where did she go after? She has a temporary contract as lecturer at Instituto Federal de São Paulo​, São Paulo, Brazil

See her publications: Google Scholar

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Francini Osses (MSc 2004-2006)
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Project: Oviposition site selection by the harvestman Bourguyia hamata (Arachnida: Opiliones)

Funding agency: CAPES

Where did she go after? She was hired as an Environmental Scientist at Keystone Environmental, British Columbia, Canada 

See her publications: CV Lattes

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Gustavo S. Requena (Honors 2002-2004, MSc 2006-2008, PhD 2008-2012, Postdoctoral fellow 2015-2018)
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​Project: Parental investiment and sex roles in harvestmen with exclusive paternal care

Funding agency: FAPESP
​
Where did he go after? He founded the Science Yourself initiative in New Haven, Connecticut, USA

See his publications: Google Scholar

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Louise M. Alissa (Honors 2013-2015, MSc 2016-2018)
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Project: Effects of reproductive site availability on the intensity of sexual selection and costs of parental care: a meta-analysis

Funding agency: FAPESP

Where did she go after? She is doing her PhD in the Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of California - Santa Cruz, USA

See her publications: CV Lattes

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Luiz Ernesto Costa Schmidt (Posdoctoral fellow 2009-2012)
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Project: Nuptial gifts in spiders of the genus Paratrechalea (Araneae, Trechaleidae)

Funding agency: FAPESP
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Where did he go after? He has a temporary contract as lecturer at Universidade Federal de Pelotas​, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

See his publications: Google Scholar

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Marie Claire Chelini (MSc 2009-2011)
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Project: Maternal care in the harvestman Neosadocus maximus (Arachnida: Opiliones)
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Funding agency: FAPESP

Where did she go after? She did her PhD in the Graduate Program in Biological Sciences at University of Nebraska–Lincoln, USA

See her publications: Google Scholar

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Rachel M. Werneck (MSc 2010-2012)
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Project: Effects of oviposition site limitation on the mating system and paternal care in the harvestman Magnispina neptunus (Arachnida: Opiliones)
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Funding agency: CAPES

Where did she go after? She did her PhD at the Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany

See her publications: Research Gate

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Roberto Munguía Steyer (Posdoctoral fellow 2008-2010)
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Project: Evolution of sexual and intrasexual dimorphism in harvestmen of the family Gonyleptidae (Arachnida: Opiliones)
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Funding agency: FAPESP
​
Where did he go after? He was hired as full professor at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Iztacala​, Mexico

See his publications: Google Scholar

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Rosannette Quesada-Hidalgo (PhD 2014-2018)
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Project: Interplay between paternal care and sexual selection in a Neotropical harvestman
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Funding agency: CAPES

Where did she go after? She is doing a post-doc at Smithsonian Institute, Panama

See her publications: Google Scholar

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Sergio Nolazco Plasier (MSc 2015-2017 - under the supervision of Gustavo S. Requena)
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Project: Flexible compensation of uniparental care in the harvestman Serracutisoma proximum (Arachnida: Opiliones)
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Funding agency: CAPES
​
Where did he go after? He is doing his PhD in the Graduate Program in Biological Sciences at Monash University​, Australia

See his publications: Research Gate

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Taís M. Nazareth (MSc 2013-2015, PhD 2016-2020, Postdoctoral fellow 2020-2022)
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Project: How do scorpions cope with the permanent loss of their "tail"?

Funding agency: FAPESP

Where did she go after? She was hired as data scientist at the Núcleo de Informação e Coordenação do Ponto BR (NIC.BR)

​See her publications: Google Scholar

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Taís M. Nazareth (Honors 2004-2005, MSc 2006-2008, PhD 2012-2015)
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Project: Costs of chemical defense in harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones)
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Funding agency: FAPESP

Where did she go after? She is investigating the costs and benefits of maternal care from a very personal perspective

See her publications: CV Lattes

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Thiago Del Corso (Honors 2003-2005)
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Project: Leg autotomy in sclerosomatid harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones)
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Funding agency: CNPq
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Where did he go after? He did his Masters in Science Teaching at Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil 
​
See his publications: CV Lattes

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Vinícius M. Caldart (Posdoctoral fellow 2015-2019)
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Project: Function of a multimodal display in the intra- and intersexual communication of a Neotropical stream-breeding frog
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Funding agency: FAPESP
​
Where did he go after? He had a temporary contract as lecturer at Instituto Federal de São Paulo​, São Paulo, Brazil  
​
See his publications: Google Scholar

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Vinícius Montagner (Honors 2016-2017 - under the supervision of Gustavo S. Requena, MSc 2018-2020 - under the supervision of Danilo G. Muniz)
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Project: Interaction between the pre- and post-copulatory selection and its influence on the evolution of altermative mating tactics
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Funding agency: CAPES
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Where did he go after? He is thinking about his future
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See his publications: CV Lattes

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Vivian H. Tavares (Honors 2014- 2015)
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Project: Resource defense in a harvestman with exclusive paternal care

Funding agency: Not funded

Where did she go after? She did her Masters in the Graduate Program in Zoology at Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil

See her publications: CV Lattes

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