People | Leonardo Lopes Lab

Meet our team of students and researchers!

Current Lab Members

Prof. Leonardo Esteves Lopes

Lab Coordinator

Associate Professor - Federal University of Viçosa. Leonardo came to UFV in 2010, soon after obtaining a PhD in Ecology from Federal University of Minas Gerais. He has published more than one hundred papers in scientific journals, almost all of them with foccus on Neotropical birds. Leonardo lives in the small city of Florestal with his wife and two kids.

ResearchGate

Google Scholar Profile

Post-docs and Graduate Students

Dr. Ricardo C. de Meireles

Post-doc

Ricardo is a biologist with a PhD degree in Ecology from Federal University of Minas Gerais. He is interested in bird ecology and conservation, especially with the use of geospatial analytical tools and niche modelling. He is currently working on some papers about the natural history and conservation of threatened grassland birds in the Upper Rio Grande grasslands, in the southern part of Minas Gerais (see the "Research" section). He is also studying the environmental impacts of one of the largest environmental tragedies in Brazilian history, caused by the collapse of a huge iron ore tailing dam.

Tarso N. Ciolete

PhD candidate

Tarso is a biologist with a MSc degree in Zoology from Federal University of Minas Gerais. He is interested in the behavioral ecology of vertebrates, especially birds. Tarso is the "Field Coordinator" of the Lined Seedeater Project (see the "Research" section). He is responsible for organizing the complex logistics inherent to a long-term project with up to a dozen people simultaneously collecting data in the field. He is currently using a "Landscape of Fear" framework to investigate how the perceived risk of predation influences the reproductive decisions on birds.

Alex de M. Latorres

MSc student

Alex is a biologist interested in bird behavior and ecology. He is currently studying the diet and foraging behavior of Lined Seedeaters into a "Landscape of Fear" framework.

Erika S. G. Martins

MSc student

Érika is a veterinarian interested in bird ecology and conservation. She is currently studying the breeding biology of Lined Seedeaters into a "Landscape of Fear" framework.

Undergraduate Students

Leonardo V. L. Domingues

Biology Student

Leonardo is a biology student at UFV and a member of the Lined Seedeater Project.

Mariana P. B. Duque

Biology Student

Mariana is a biology student at UFV and a member of the Lined Seedeater Project.

Past Lab Members

Postdoctoral Fellows

Anderson Vieira Chaves (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Currently at the Instituto de Estudos do Mar Almirante Paulo Moreira, Brazil.

PhD Students

Dalila de Fátima Ferreira (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais). Thesis title: “Influence of male plumage features on the reproductive investment and nesting success in Sporophila lineola”. 2023.

Ricardo Camargos de Meireles (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais). Thesis title: “The miners of South America: an ecological approach to the genus Geositta”. 2022.

MSc Students

Aléxia Paula Rodrigues Sandim Guimarães (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Breeding site fidelity and seasonal variation in breeding effort in a tropical migrant songbird”. 2023.

Ariela Castelli Celeste (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Behavioral responses of vinaceous-breasted amazon parrots to anti-predator training”. 2023.

Érica Demondes Tavares (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais). Dissertation title: “Males of a tropical songbird adjust their behavior, but not their song, in response to the intrusion of their territories” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2023.

Luana Jéssica Ferreira (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais). Dissertation title: “Changes in land use and land cover have driven the geographic expansion of the migratory bird Sporophila lineola in South America” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2022.

Aléxa Diniz Santos. (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Classification scheme for avian nest types and their description” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2022.

Wagner Nogueira Alves (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Vocalizations are better taxonomic indicators than plumage coloration in Dendrocolaptes platyrostris (Aves: Dendrocolaptidae)” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2021.

Tarso Natividade Ciolete (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Protandry and its impact on the reproduction of an intra-tropical migrant bird” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2021.

Jéssica Naiara Reis (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Two centuries of biodiversity loss in the Rio Doce basin: birds as model systems” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2019.

Dalila de Fátima Ferreira (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Delay in plumage maturation in Sporophila (Aves: Thraupidae)” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2019.

Nayara Coutinho Gonçalves (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Diet of Brazilian birds” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2018.

Michelle Noronha da Matta Baptista (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Historical synthesis of the birds of the Rio Doce hydrographic basin, southeastern Brazil”. 2018.

Bráulio de Freitas Marçal (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Natural history of Antilophia galeata (Lichtenstein, 1823) with emphasis on its reproductive biology (Aves: Pipridae)” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2017.

Vitor Torga Lombardi (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Living in the line of fire: Natural history of Anthus nattereri (Aves: Motacillidae) in the Upper Rio Grande Grasslands, Southern Minas Gerais, Brazil, Minas Gerais” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2017.

Ricardo Camargos de Meireles (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Breeding biology of Campo Miners Geositta poeciloptera in the Upper Rio Grande Grasslands, Minas Gerais, Brazil” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2017.

Cíntia de Oliveira Meneses (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Evolutionary history of Melanopareia torquata (Aves: Melanopareiidae) in open and dry South American habitats: vocal, morphological, and genetic diversification” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2016.

João Paulo Gusmão Teixeira (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “From macro to micro: the role of fire and testosterone on the ecology of Geositta poeciloptera, an endangered bird from the Brazilian Cerrado” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2016.

Tamara Luciane de Souza Silva Machado (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Natural history of Campo Miners (Aves, Scleruridae) in the Upper Rio Grande Grasslands, southern Minas Gerais, Brazil” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2015.

Ana Laura Campos (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Psittacara leucophthalmus (Aves: Psittacidae) and its impacts on agriculture in the mesoregion of Campo das Vertentes, Minas Gerais: Ecology and ethnobiology as subsidies for management” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2015.

Helberth José Cardoso Peixoto (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Ecology and conservation of threatened grassland birds in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil” [original dissertation in Portuguese]”. 2014.

Cristina Martins Simões (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). Dissertation title: “Oxbow lakes: Ecological importance for the conservation of waterbirds in the upper San Francisco river, Minas Gerais - Brazil” [original dissertation in Portuguese]. 2013.

BSc Students

Júlia Rodrigues de Miranda (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). 2023.

Mateus Santos Oliveira (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). 2023.

Vinícius Silva Nicolau (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). 2022.

Júlia Beatriz Palhares (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). 2022.

Aléxia Paula Rodrigues Sandim Guimarães (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). 2020.

Aléxa Diniz Santos (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). 2019.

Gustavo de Melo Martins (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). 2018.

Livia Lage Fontes (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). 2018.

Jaqueline Silva Santos (Universidade Federal de Viços). 2018.

Luana Jéssica Ferreira (Universidade Federal de Viçosa). 2017.