PROJECT BATS & FRUITS

I started this 4-year project in 2006 at Departamento de Botânica - UFSCar, where I work as a research associate. Papers originated from this project are available in the section Publications.

 

PROJECT

Official title

Frugivory and seed dispersal in bats of the family Phyllostomidae (Mammalia: Chiroptera)


 

Sponsor: FAPESP, through the program 'Yough Researchers in Emerging Centers'.
 

Main objective: to describe the structure and to understand mechanisms that regulate bat-fruit interactions at different levels, from individuals to communities.


Specific objectives:

1. To test hypotheses based on the optimal foraging theory, in order to understand mechanisms that determine fruit selection by bats at the levels of species, individual plants and fruits;

2. Based on the theory of seed dispersal, to test hypotheses on how bats may help or harm plants by consuming fruits and removing seeds;

3. Using the theory of complex networks, to investigate the structure, dynamics and fragility of bat-fruit interactions at community level, in the context of mutualisms between free-living organisms.

Coordinator:

  • Dr. Marco Aurelio Ribeiro de Mello, UFSCar

Main collaborators:

Technician:

  • BSc. Flávia Maria Darcie Marquitti, TT-3 technician/FAPESP, UFSCar

Students:

  • Tiago Yamazaki Andrade, undergrad student/FAPESP, UFSCar

  • Patrícia Kerches Rogeri, undergrad student/FAPESP, UFSCar

  • M.Sc. Reinaldo Chaves Teixeira, PhD candidate/CAPES, UFSCar.

Special acknowledgement:

 

THE COORDINATOR
 
Marco A.R. Mello  

Online CVs:       E-mail

   

 
Topics of interest  

Mutualism, coevolution, plant-animal interactions, frugivory, seed dispersal.

   

 
Current position  

I'm working as a Research Associate at Departamento de Botânica,f UFSCar, through the program "Young Researchers in Emerging Centers" of FAPESP. I'm the coordinator of the "Project Bats & Fruits", and colaborate in other studies as well.
   

 
Education  

B.Sc. Biology (Ecology) at UFRJ, M.Sc. Biology (Ecology) at UERJ, and Ph.D. Ecology at UNICAMP and UNI-ULM (sandwich).
   

 
Science popularization   Besides my scientific and educational activities, I also work with science popularization in magazines, newspapers, radio and TV.
     
Scientific organizations  

I'm the first secretary of Brazilian Society for the Study of Chiropterans, and a member of Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science, Brazilian Society of Mammalogy  and  American Society of Mammalogists.

 

INTERNSHIPS

Internship opportunities

If you are an undergrad or grad student of Biology, Veterinary, Forestry or similar areas, you may want to participate in the Project Bats & Fruits. Pay attention to positions announced here at this webpage, and also in the mailing lists SBEQ, Chiroptera-l, Batline, Frugivoria, Biotelemetria and Mastozoo-BR.

Positions available

  • No specific position is availabe at this momment. Foreign students are welcome! Feel free to contact me and make a proposal, including the following info in the message: (1) why you want to participate in the project; (2) why you want to be a scientist; (3) what is science; (4) why you want to study ecology and mutualism.



PUBLICATIONS

Scientific papers
 

2008 (+ accepted and in press)

  • Mello MAR, Kalko EKV, Silva WR. 2008. Diet and abundance of the bat Sturnira lilium (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a Brazilian Montane Atlantic Forest. Journal of Mammalogy 89: 485–492.

  • Mello MAR, Kalko EKV, Silva WR. 2008. Movements of the bat Sturnira lilium and its role as a seed disperser of Solanaceae in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology 24: 225-228.


2007

  • Mello MAR. 2007. Influence of herbivore attack patterns on reproductive success of the shrub Piper hispidum (Piperaceae). Ecotropica 13(1): 1-6.

  • Mello MAR. 2007. Interações entre o morcego Sturnira lilium (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) e plantas da família Solanaceae. Biota Neotropica 7(1): online.

2006

  • Oprea M, Brito D, Mello MAR, Aguiar LMS. 2006. Ten years of Chiroptera Neotropical: accomplishments and future directions. Chiroptera Neotropical 12: 262-267.

  • Cruz D, Mello MAR, Van Sluys M. 2006. Phenology and floral visitors of two sympatric Heliconia species in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. Flora 201(7): 519-527.

  • Mello MAR, Pol A. 2006. First record of the bat Mimon crenulatum (E. Geoffroy, 1801) (Mammalia: Chiroptera) for the state of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology 66(2): 295-299.

2005

  • Mello MAR, Leiner NO, Guimarães Jr. PR, Jordano P. 2005. Size-based fruit selection of Calophyllum brasiliense (Clusiaceae) by bats of the genus Artibeus (Phyllostomidae) in a Restinga area, southeastern Brazil. Acta Chiropterologica 7(1): 179–182.

  • Mello MAR, Schittini GM. 2005. Ecological analysis of three bat assemblages from conservation units in the Lowland Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Chiroptera Neotropical 11(1-2): 206-210.

2004

  • Mello MAR, Schittini G, Selig P, Bergallo HG. 2004. A test of the effects of climate and fruiting of Piper species (Piperaceae) on reproductive patterns of the bat Carollia perspicillata (Phyllostomidae). Acta Chiropterologica 6(2): 309–318.

  • Brito D. Oliveira LC,  Mello MAR. 2004. An overview of mammalian conservation at Poço das Antas Biological Reserve, southeastern Brazil. Journal for Nature Conservation 12: 219-228.

  • Mello MAR, Schittini G, Selig P, Bergallo HG. 2004. Seasonal variation in the diet of the bat Carollia perspicillata (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in an Atlantic Forest area in southeastern Brazil. Mammalia 68(1):49-55.

1998-2003

  • Bergallo HG, Esbérard CEL, Mello MAR, Lins V, Mangolin R, Melo GGS, Baptista M. 2003. Bat species richness in Atlantic Forest: what is the minimum sampling effort? Biotropica 35(2): 278-288.

  • Mello MAR. 2003. Interações entre o morcego Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) e plantas do gênero Piper (Linnaeus, 1737) (Piperales: Piperaceae) em uma área de Mata Atlântica. Biota Neotropica 3(2): online.

  • Baptista M, Mello MAR. 2001. Preliminary inventory of the bat species of the Poço das Antas Biological Reserve, RJ. Chiroptera Neotropical 7(1): 133-135.

  • Mello MAR, Fernandez FAS. 2000. Reproductive ecology of the bat Carollia perspicillata (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a fragment of the Brazilian Atlantic Coastal forest. Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde 65: 340-349.

  • Mello MAR, Nascimento JL, Fernandez FAS. 1999. How often should researchers go to the field to conduct demographic studies on Carollia perspicillata? Bat Research News 40(2): 39-41.

  • Mello MAR, Fernandez FAS. 1998. Variations in age structure and sex ratio of a Carollia perspicillata population in an Atlantic Forest fragment in southeastern Brazil. Bat Research News 39(3): 104. 

Science popularization articles

  • Mello MAR. 2007. Morcegos e frutos: interação que gera florestas. Ciência Hoje 41(241): 30-35.

  • Mello MAR. 2007. Os semeadores de florestas. Jornal do Brasil 23/09/07 (117168): A36.

  • Figueiredo L. 2007. Senhores da noite. Revista Terra da Gente 3(35): 36-43. (apenas colaborei na matéria)

  • Mello MAR, Gonzaga MO. 2005. Falsas flores. Ciência Hoje 36(215).

  • Mello MAR. 2003. Projeto morcegos e plantas. Revista Ciência Online 8. (apenas na Internet).

  • Mello MAR. 2002. Morcegos gostam de pimentas. Ciência Hoje 32(189): 74-76.

  • Mello MAR. 1999. Quem são os morcegos? Tribuna do Sul 489, 11 de junho de 1999. Sombrio, Brasil.

  • Mello MAR. 1999. Wer sind die Fledermäuse? Boletim Inter-Cultural 23. Associação dos Professores de Alemão do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

Book chapters

  • Mello MAR, Passos FC. (in press). Frugivoria em morcegos brasileiros. In Morcegos do Brasil: biologia, sistemática, ecologia e conservação (ed. Pacheco SM, Esberard CEL, Marques RV).

  • Mello MAR. (in press). Morcegos on line. In Morcegos do Brasil: biologia, sistemática, ecologia e conservação (ed. Pacheco SM, Esberard CEL, Marques RV).

  • Bergallo HG, Hatano FM, Raíces DS, Ribeiro TTL, Alves AG, Luz JL, Mangolin R, Mello MAR. 2004. Os mamíferos da restinga de Jurubatiba. In Pesquisas de longa duração na restinga de Jurubatiba (ed. Rocha CFD, Esteves FA, Scarano FR). Rio de Janeiro: RIMA Editora. p.215-230.

  • Vieira MV, Faria D, Fernandez FAS, Ferrari S, Freitas S, Gaspar DA, Moura RT, Olifiers N, Procópio PP, Pardini R, Pires A, Ravetta A, Mello MAR, Ruiz C, Setz EZF. 2003. Mamíferos. In Fragmentação de ecossistemas: causas, efeitos sobre a biodiversidade e recomendações de políticas públicas (ed. Rambaldi D, Oliveira DAS). Brasília: Ministério do Meio Ambiente / SBF. p.125-151.

Theses

If you want a copy of my theses, I can send you the files by e-mail. However, I suggest reading the papers originated from them instead, which are my works in their final version, after review in good journals. Anyway, the introductions of both theses may be useful for students that want some general information about the main topics.

PhD Thesis: Mello MAR. 2006. Interactions between the bat Sturnira lilium (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) and plants of the family Solanaceae. Pp. 144. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia. Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas.

MSc Thesis: Mello MAR. 2002. Interactions between the bat Carollia perspicillata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) and plants of the genus Piper (Linnaeus, 1737) (Piperales: Piperaceae) in an area of Atlantic Forest. Pp. 63. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia. Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro.

 

TEACHING

I coordinate and participate in courses and talks on different topics, like mutualism, animal-plant interactions, seed dispersal, scientific method, scientific communication, and ecology of bats and mammals. Contact me, if you want further information.