Welcome Eliana Cazetta - NEW SE

Submitted by editor on 30 January 2023.

We are thrilled to introduce Eliana Cazetta as a new subject editor at Oikos!

Keywords: frugivory, landscape ecology, seed dispersal, plant-animal interactions, pollination

Website: https://www.appliedecologylab.org/

Twitter: @ecazetta

1. What is your main research focus at the moment?

Currently, my research focuses on understanding the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances such as habitat loss, fragmentation, and defaunation on plant-animal interactions, especially on seed dispersal by animals. I am particularly interested in assessing plant diversity and reproductive traits and how human impacts affect them.

2. Can you describe your research career? Where, what, when?

As a biologist, I became interested in the study of ecological interactions between plants and animals. Due to my fascination with the subject, I started a Ph.D. in 2003 to assess the trade-offs between attraction and defense in fleshy fruits. During my Ph.D. at Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), I got a fellowship to spend 6 months in Germany to study plant-animal communication. I got a Ph.D. under this theme in January 2008. Three months later I was hired as a visiting professor at the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz in northeastern Brazil, where I remain as a permanent, full professor. 

3. How come you became a scientist in ecology?

As a teenager, I watched a documentary about the conservation of the blue macaw, and from that moment I decided to be a biologist and study birds. As an undergraduate biology student, I was involved in several projects on frugivory and seed dispersal. In the beginning, I was only focused on seed dispersal by birds, but I got more and more interested in fruiting plants and the beauty and diversity of fruit traits.    

4. What do you do when you're not working?

I am a mother of two amazing boys and during my free time, I love to spend time with them. I also love to travel, bird watch, and photograph nature, especially birds.

Categories: 
General

Comments