Photo by Mathias M. Pires
Here you find information about our current lab members. After 16 years at USP I was lucky to have the opportunity to work with a special group of people. Information on former lab members is available here. Our lab also host undergraduate and visiting students, please click here.
Paulo R. Guimarães Jr
Bruno Melati
Augusto Carvalho
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Paulinha Lemos-Costa
Marcelo Schwade
Gabriel Grellet
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Solimary García-Hernández
Marcelo F. Costa
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Milena Gama Oliveira
Gabriel Grellet
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Paulo R. Guimarães Jr. (Miúdo)
Full Professor at the Departamento de Ecologia, IB - USP Interests: how ecological networks shape and are shaped by ecological and coevolutionary processes. I explore this problem by integrating data and natural history of ecological interactions, network science, and mathematical modelling. Selected publications: Guimarães, P. R. 2020. The structure of ecological networks across levels of organization. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 51:433-460. Guimarães, P.R., M. M. Pires, P. Jordano, J. Bascompte, J. N. Thompson. 2017. Indirect effects drive coevolution in mutualistic networks. Nature 550: 511–514. Guimarães, P.R., P. Jordano, J. N. Thompson. 2011. Evolution and coevolution in mutualistic networks. Ecology Letters 14: 877-885 [PDF]. See also the article in Science highlighting this study: [Editors' Choice]. |
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Paulinha Lemos-Costa
Co-PI & Research associate Interests: community assembly models Fellowship: CNPq, FAPESP & Spark-SNSF Co-supervised by Carlos Melián (EAWAG, Switzerland) Selected publications: Lemos‐Costa, P., Z. R. Miller, S. Allesina. 2024. Phylogeny structures species' interactions in experimental ecological communities." Ecology Letters 27: e14490. Costa, C. L., P. Lemos-Costa, F. M. Marquitti, L. D. Fernandes, M. F. Ramos, D. M. Schneider, A. B. Martins, M. A. de Aguiar. 2019. Signatures of microevolutionary processes in phylogenetic patterns. Systematic biology, 68:131-144. Lemos‐Costa, P., M. M. Pires, M. S. Araújo, M. A. de Aguiar, P. R. Guimarães. 2016. Network analyses support the role of prey preferences in shaping resource use patterns within five animal populations. Oikos, 125:492-501. |
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Solimary García-Hernández
Research associate Interests: networks of sexual interactions among animals Fellowship: FAPESP Selected publications: García-Hernández, S., Machado, G. 2022. Short- and long-term effects of an extreme case of autotomy: does “tail” loss and subsequent constipation decrease the locomotor performance of male and female scorpions? Integrative Zoology, 17:672–688. García-Hernández, S., Machado, G. 2021. Fitness implications of nonlethal injuries in scorpions: females, but not males, pay reproductive costs. The American Naturalist, 197:379–389 García-Hernández, S., Machado, G. 2020. ‘Tail’ autotomy and consequent stinger loss decrease predation success in scorpions. Animal Behaviour, 169:157–167 
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Milena Gama Oliveira
Postdoc Interests: How habitat amount and fragmentation influence the restoration of plant–frugivore interactions. Co-supervised by Eliana Cazetta (UESC, Ilhéus, Brazil) Data analyst (2025 - Spark-SNSF) Co-supervised by Eliana Cazetta (UESC, Ilhéus, Brazil) and Carlos Melián (EAWAG, Switzerland) |
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Bruno Melati
Postdoc Interests: How information flows through ecological networks and its consequences to interaction patterns and evolution of interspecific interactions Fellowship: Spark-SNSF Co-supervised by Carlos Melián (EAWAG, Switzerland) Lab technician (2023-2024 - FAPESP) "Special Guest Grad Student" (2017-2018) |
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Marcelo Schwade
PhD student - Ecology (USP) |
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Douglas Thierry de Melo Neves
PhD student - Ecology (USP) |
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Mariana Franciscão Costa
PhD student - Ecology (USP) Co-supervised student - (supervisor Ana Paula A. Assis) Interests: seed dispersal and evolutionary dynamics of birds |
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Augusto Carvalho
MSc student - Ecology (USP) |
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Gabriel M. Grellet
MSc student - Ecology (USP) |
Special Guest Members
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Alice
Alice joined the lab in 2012. Alice is interested in butterflies, toucans, flowers, hummingbirds, sacis, arts, literature, history and science. She is now testing predictions of entropy-based theories, using her bedroom as studied system. |
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Marina
Marina joined the lab in 2015. Marina is interested in history, whales, dogs and any animal in the streets, perching birds, Dengo's chocolate, turtles, giraffes, and especially sloths (what makes me proud). She is now applying Chaos Theory to the dynamics of toy models. |
