Effects of defaunation on the functional traits of plants in the Atlantic Forest

• Grant number: 18/19700-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 20, 2018
• End date: April 13, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Mauro Galetti Rodrigues
• Grantee: Leticia Bulascoschi Cagnoni
• Supervisor: Simon Alexander Queenborough
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Yale University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 18/00212-1 - Soil fertilization and dispersion of mycorrhizal fungi by mammals in the Atlantic Forest, BP.IC

Abstract

Functional plant characteristics can answer many questions related to population dynamics and limit environmental variations, such as soil fertilization and light availability, that influence the reproductive success of the species. The main objective of this 4-month internship proposal is to learn how to handle large datasets and to analyze functional traits of plants with environmental and biotic variables at different spatial scales. Based on 9-year large mammal exclusion experiments we have measure the recruitment and functional traits of 6947 individual seedlings from 166 species within the plots over the course of seven years, in 4 sites in the Atlantic forest. The internship at Yale University will allow the student to develop new analytical skills and discuss her analyses at international audience. (AU)