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    Research Interests and Past Research Experience

    My general interests are natural history, ecology, evolution, and conservation of
    Neotropical birds.

    For my undergraduate thesis, I compared ectoparasite loads and fluctuating asymmetry
    on wings and tarsi of birds present in rural and urban forest fragments, with the objective
    to assess the effects of urbanization on the body quality of individual birds.

    For my Master’s thesis, I studied the feeding ecology of Atlantic Forest understory birds in
    Brazil. I used the tartar emetic to obtain regurgitation samples of 39 bird species in 10
    families, mostly insectivores, with the objectives of (1) describing the diet of these
    species, since basic information about the ecology of Atlantic Forest birds remains
    scarce, and (2) exploring trophic relations among these species and describing feeding
    parameters such as diet breadth, diet overlap, specialization, and diet stereotypy.

    Present Research

    Presently, I am involved in a collaborative research project investigating the factors
    influencing sexual selection and reproductive dynamics in six species of manakins (Aves:
    Pipridae) co-occurring in Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS), a 650-ha biological
    station located within the greater Yasuní Biosphere Reserve and hosted by Universidad
    San Francisco de Quito.

    In particular, my research focuses on the mechanisms of lek formation and female mate
    choice in Blue-crowned manakins (Lepidothrix coronata, formerly Pipra coronata).

    MANAKINS are Neotropical birds characterized by a mating system where males
    assembly in display territories (leks) that females visit to copulate. Lekking has been
    traditionally described as an evolutionary paradox, because we still do not completely
    understand how the fitness benefits potentially gained when males aggregate in space
    (e.g., attraction of more females at a per male basis) can compensate for the costs
    associated to this mating system (e.g., enhanced competition for females due to physical
    proximity between territorial males).

    In trying to understand this balance between costs and benefits of lekking in L. coronata, I
    am looking at processes of access to mates and mate selection.

    MATE ACCESS

    If we understand how females are distributed in space, then it is possible to assess how female distribution drives the
    formation of leks. By combining radio-telemetry, capture-recapture techniques, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
    tools and computer modeling, I am testing the hypotheses that males form leks in places where they have more access
    to females, and that males are spatially organized in a manner that maximizes access to females while minimizes
    competition among and within leks.

    MATE SELECTION

    Observational data have traditionally supported the idea that, in lekking species, few are the males that obtain
    copulations. This inequality in reproductive success would increase the costs of lekking because chances of reproducing
    are not equivalent for every male in a lek. However, now we know that social and genetic mating systems can be
    completely different, but very few studies have so far applied genetic markers to assess reproductive skew in lekking
    species, reaching divergent conclusions. I am using molecular analyses of paternity to obtain direct measures of male
    reproductive skew in L. coronata. Coupling these data with behavioral and morphological information, I hope to better
    understand the processes of female mate choice in this species.

Photos: J.G. Blake, R. Durães, Ken Hiser