Graziela Dotta
gd333@cam.ac.uk
Tel:
+44 (0) 1223 336675
I have a degree in Biology, (Bachelor – 1997-2001, and Teaching – 1998-2001 - University of São Paulo, Brazil) followed by a Master in Agro-ecosystems Ecology (University of São Paulo, Brazil – 2002-2005).
During my undergraduate studies I always turned my interest to conservation issues, focusing especially on mammalian species threats. When I joined the Animal Ecology Lab to my Master degree I started to look into conservation issues combined with human activities. After finishing my M.Sc. program, I worked for almost two years as a biologist researcher for a very active Brazilian NGO (Instituto Socioambiental), coordinating a project on the Savannah-Amazon boundary in Mato Grosso Sate, Brazil.
Finally, I am the proud mother of Joaquín, as you can see on the photo!
Research Interests
I am keen on finding better strategies to conserve the biodiversity in a growing world. After working for a while on a variety of projects (from academia to 'real world'), I realized that only by working along with farmers we would be able to change people's views of nature and conservation aspects. I am mainly interested in conserving the open grasslands of South America, one of the most threatened habitats in the American continent. I intend to emphasize the biological and ecological importance of grasslands areas, always neglected in benefit of forests.
My PhD 'Biodiversity Conservation and Land Use Management in the Pampas Grasslands' will provide data on bird and beetle density-yield functions to be tested on the model developed by Green et al. (2005). My questions are: (1) How does the density of different species change in response to increasing agricultural yields?, and (2) Based on the density-yield analysis what are the relative benefits of WFF versus LS as biodiversity conservation strategies for the Pampas?
I am working under the supervision of Prof. Andrew Balmford. My PhD is supported by a CAPES scholarship (Brazilian Ministry of Education), and my Brazilian advisor is Dr. Marisa D. Bitencourt (Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo).
Publications
- Verdade, L.M., Gheler-Costa, C., Penteado, M., Dotta, G., Haddad, C., Joly, C.A. and Martinelli, L.A. The impacts of biofuel on biodiversiti in Brazil. Global Change Biology Bioenergy. Submitted.
- Dotta, G. and Verdade, L.M. Medium to large-sized mammals in agricultural landscapes of Southeastern Brazil. Acta Theriologica. In revision.
- Dotta, G . and V erdade, L.M. (2009). Felids in an agricultural landscape in São Paulo Brazil. Cat News 51: Autumn 2009.
- Dotta, G. and Verdade, L.M. (2007). T rophic categories in a mammal assemblage: diversity in an agricultural landscape. Biota Neotropica 7(2): 287-292. Available at http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v7n2/pt/abstract?short-communication+bn01207022007
