Banca de DEFESA: JOAO PAULO PEREIRA DA CAMARA

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : JOAO PAULO PEREIRA DA CAMARA
DATE: 12/09/2025
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Google Meet (https://meet.google.co m/psk-kwcy-ogv)
TITLE:

THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND EVOLUTIONARY DRIVERS IN THE REPRODUCTIVE PHENOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN ATLANTIC FOREST

KEY WORDS:

circular statistics; ground phenology; flowering; fruiting; Fournier; phylogenetic comparative methods.

PAGES: 60
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Ecologia
SUMMARY:

Phenology studies patterns of recurring events in living organisms and their relationship with extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Phenological studies are crucial for ecosystem management and preservation, as they provide valuable information on resource availability for wildlife and human society. At higher latitudes, plant phenology is primarily driven by variations in day length. However, in less seasonal regions near the Equator, phenology is expected to be more influenced by other environmental factors, such as precipitation, or evolutionary factors, such as phylogeny. Due to the scarcity of data on the northern limit of the Atlantic Forest, this study aims to address this knowledge gap by testing the hypotheses that climate and evolutionary history structure the reproductive patterns of plant communities at this latitude. To do so, we monitored 1,092 individuals of 93 species fortnightly in two Conservation Units (CUs) in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. We collected qualitative and quantitative data for four reproductive phenophases (flower bud, anthesis, immature fruit, and mature fruit) and integrated these data with climate and evolutionary history data (phylogeny). Our study tested: (i) whether there is seasonality and synchrony of the plant species that compose the two observed communities, and (ii) whether the reproductive response of these species is influenced by climate or phylogeny. Our results show that environmental factors were the main predictors of phenology. The community showed seasonality and synchrony in its phenophases, with day length and precipitation identified as key environmental triggers for flowering and flower bud phenophases, respectively. Phylogeny, overall, was not a significant factor in structuring phenology, indicating that more closely related species do not necessarily reproduce at the same time. However, for fruit maturation, phylogeny was a significant factor, with the shared model between environment and evolutionary history explaining most of the variation. In summary, this dissertation provides unprecedented and crucial data on the phenology of species at the northern limit of the Atlantic Forest, with direct implications for the management and conservation of species in this threatened region.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externa à Instituição - ELIANA GRESSLER
Externa à Instituição - NATALIA COSTA SOARES
Presidente - 3058386 - VANESSA GRAZIELE STAGGEMEIER