He is particularly focused on reaching Latin American students. Much of the world's tropical rain forests and a substantial portion of global biodiversity are here, so I am dedicated to teaching with OTS and with a Central Amazonian ecology course in Brazil. In understanding natural patterns, Rodolfo teams scientific knowledge with imagination. To understand how the loss of biodiversity impacts tropical ecosystems, Rodolfo has to consider what has been altered in a forest where animals have been displaced. In this way, he hopes to describe some of the effects of habitat degradation and disturbance in the tropics.
Many people study deforestation using satellite imagery and other tools.
I am interested in forest defaunation, or the loss of animals in tropical ecosystems. We can talk about this loss, but we cannot see these things as readily as we can see deforestation. Animals are often nocturnal or secretive, so it is much more difficult to notice if animals are missing than it is to see large clear cuts or other forest disturbances. What we have to do then is look at the biology of plants in the area to see the effects of the absence of these animals. To do this, Rodolfo works in two research locations.