The Mammalogy Lab at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco was officially created in 2007, following the hiring of Dr. Diego Astúa at the Zoology Department in 2006. Additionally to its own research activities, the Mammalogy Lab is also responsible for the care and management of the Mammal Collection.
Our research focuses on the study of the morphological, taxonomic and evolutionary diversity of mammals and on the processes that lead to this diversity. This includes studies that range from the quantification of the morphological or taxonomic diversity in the studied groups up to the evaluation of the factors that might have lead to such diversity.
As such, our research follows three main lines:
– Morphologic evolution in Neotropical mammals
– Diversity and systematics of Neotropical mammals
– Ecology and conservation of Neotropical mammals
(these represent the main research lines of our Research Group, as registered in the National Council for Research and Development).
The first aims to quantify the morphological diversity that exists in particular mammal groups, and to relate it to the evolutionary, ecologic, behavioral, and ontogenetic factors that may have lead to their diversification. For that, we use traditional and geometric morphometric tools, integrating those to comparative methods and tools for the estimation of evolution and reconstruction of character states, based on previously established phylogenies. The second line has as a main goal to characterize the taxonomic and systematic diversity in specific mammal groups, with a particular emphasis on the mammal fauna of Northeastern Brazil, and more specifically in Pernambuco and neighboring states. Finally, research along the third line focuses mainly on assessing specific ecological traits and habits traits of selected mammal groups, and how the overall information can be used to help mammal conservation.
For more information on our research, please take a look at our publication list, or contact us at labmz.ufpe at gmail.com
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