André Felippe Nunes-Freitas holds a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (1997), a Master's in Ecology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2000) and a PhD in Biology (Nuclear Biosciences), in the area of concentration in Ecology. , from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (2004). He is currently Titular Professor at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, where he is assigned to the Department of Environmental Sciences of the Institute of Forests, coordinating the Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Plant Biology (LEF). He teaches courses in the area of Ecology for undergraduate courses in the environmental and agrarian areas. He also teaches courses and advises in the Postgraduate Program in Practices in Sustainable Development (PPGPDS) and in the Postgraduate Program in Environmental and Forestry Sciences (PPGCAF), being a permanent professor in both. He is a research associate at the University of the State of Rio de
EDUCATION
2001 - 2004 - Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (Ecology) - Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, UERJ, Brazil.
1999 - 2000 - Master in Ecology - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Brazil.
1997 - 1999 - Improvement in Biological Sciences - Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, UERJ, Brazil.
1991 - 1997 - Graduation in Biological Sciences.
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Multidisciplinary, Plant Science, Forestry
Flora and Phytophysiognomies of an Atlantic Forest remnant on the coast of Southeast Brazil Gabriel Silva Guimarães, André Felippe Nunes-Freitas, José Fernando Andrade Baumgratz Rodriguesia, 2024 The present work describes the phytophysiognomies and inventories the remaining floristic diversity of the Brisas Environmental Protection Area, which is located on the coast of Sepetiba Bay in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, covering approximately 101 hectares. Three phytophysiognomies were identified and described, namely Restinga, the Lowland Dense Ombrophylous Forest and the Mangrove. Different types of vegetation can be recognized for Restinga, such as beaches and dunes, those located on sandy ridges, in this case represented by Low and High Restinga forests, and the vegetation associated with depressions, such as the Swampy Restinga and Swampy forest. The floristic survey identified 311 species, distributed in 231 genera and 86 families. Herbaceous plants represent 29.26% of the flora, followed by vines (27.75%), trees (27.33%), shrubs (14.46%) and epiphytes (4%). Restinga is home to 81% of the flora, followed by the Lowland Dense Ombrophylous Forest (28.30%) and the Mangrove (2.25%). The most representative families were Fabaceae (38 spp.), Euphorbiaceae (15 spp.), Asteraceae (14 spp.) and Sapindaceae (14 spp.). The area has low floristic similarity with other areas of the state of Rio de Janeiro, but it has a greater grouping with restingas from the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Understory epiphytic pteridophytes along altitudinal gradients on opposite slopes in the Atlantic Forest Thiago Vieira Costa, André Felippe Nunes-Freitas, Lana da Silva Sylvestre Rodriguesia, 2023 Gradual climatic changes caused by mountains’ altitudinal variation promote alterations in the structure of ecological communities. Environmental changes are also expected according to the slope’s position in relation to the sea. In this study, we aimed to compare epiphytic pteridophyte communities along altitudinal gradients on opposite slopes in a section of the Atlantic Forest. We sampled a total of 10 sites in the montane and upper montane zones from the eastern (facing the sea) and western (facing away from the sea) slopes. A total of 1,742 individuals from 62 epiphytic species were recorded. The slopes showed similar epiphytic abundances and richness. Species richness showed a tendency to decrease with an increase in altitude on the western slope, and abundance was higher at intermediate altitudes, with no altitudinal trend in dominance. Conversely, on the eastern slope, there was no clear altitudinal pattern in richness or abundance; however, dominance increased with an increase in altitude from 1,200 to 1,800 m. Species compositions differed among altitudinal zones and between slopes. The eastern slope had lower species richness and no clear altitudinal gradient, although it was better preserved than the western one. Thus, there are differences in the community structure of epiphytic pteridophytes from the forest understory due to altitudinal variation and slope orientation, and these findings corroborate our hypotheses.
Structure of ant-diaspore networks and their functional outcomes in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest Bianca Ferreira da Silva Laviski, Antonio José Mayhé-Nunes, André Felippe Nunes-Freitas Sociobiology, 2021 Ants are able to interact with fruits and seeds that are not adapted for ant seed dispersal. In Brazil, several studies show interactions of ants with non-myrmecochorous diaspores; however, few of them have studied the structure of ant-fruit networks. The use of the network approach allows visualising multiple interactions between partners and how they are shaped by the community context. Our study aims to investigate ant-fruit networks as well as quantitative and qualitative dispersal components in a fragment of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We investigated the structure of interaction networks, diaspore removal rates, diaspore destination and dispersal distance over two years of observation. We constructed three interaction networks: dry season, rainy season and total, with the latter comprising the two formers. The diaspore removal rate, dispersal distance and diaspore destination experiments were performed for the plant species Miconia calvescens, Miconia prasina, Psychotria leiocarpa and Inga edulis. We recorded a large number of interactions, with diaspore cleaning being more frequent than removal. Ant-diaspore networks were nested, non-modular and little specialized. M. calvescens, M. prasina and I. edulis showed higher diaspore removal rates. Diaspore removal distances were the same among M. calvescens, M. prasina and I. edulis. In M. calvescens and I. edulis, the main diaspore destination was the ant’s nest. Our study shows that diaspore cleaning is the most common behavior in ant-diaspore interactions and there are no differences in the organization of interaction networks over the seasons. These results have implications for the future structure of plant communities, considering that a small part of the diaspores is removed, and that most of them are cleaned, favouring germination at the deposition site.
Bromeliad habitat regulates the richness of associated terrestrial and aquatic fauna Bianca Ferreira da Silva Laviski, Ícaro de Moraes Monteiro, Luiz Carlos de Pinho, Renner Luiz Cerqueira Baptista, Antonio José Mayhé‐Nunes, et al. Austral Ecology, 2021 Bromeliads harbour a great diversity of fauna species. The epiphytic habit of bromeliads is subject to higher temperatures and higher incidence of light than is the epigeic habit, so we expected individuals of the Vriesea neoglutinosa species to differ in terms of the composition, richness and abundance of their fauna associated with different bromeliad habits. We carried out a study in a restinga area on Marambaia Island, Brazil. We collected 32 bromeliads, of which 16 were epigeic and 16 were epiphytic, and found a total of 1125 individual animals of 88 morphospecies. Arthropods stood out in the sample, among which 68.2% were insects. Aquatic fauna was richer in epigeic bromeliads, and terrestrial fauna was richer in epiphytic bromeliads. As expected, species composition was different for aquatic and terrestrial fauna. The heterogeneity of the restinga environment and differences in the development stages of the fauna may be factors that influence its composition. Both bromeliad habits sustain fauna with several trophic guilds that compose a complex food web and depend on the bromeliad environment. As different habits lead to different fauna types, both epigeic and epiphytic bromeliads play a role in the maintenance of local biodiversity and are important for macrofauna conservation in restingas.
Host tree traits in pasture areas affect forest and pasture specialist epiphyte species differently João P. C. Elias, Sara R. Mortara, André F. Nunes‐Freitas, Eduardo van den Berg, Flavio N. Ramos American Journal of Botany, 2021 PremiseEpiphytes have commensal relationships with their host trees. Besides the influence of tree traits, little has been discussed concerning the ecology of epiphytes in disturbed habitats (e.g., pasture). We herein tested whether the occurrences of pasture and forest specialist epiphytes in pastures are affected differently by tree traits. We hypothesized that (H1) the richness and abundance of generalist epiphytes would be positively associated with area availability; (H2) the richness and abundance of forest epiphyte species would be associated both with (H2.a) area availability and (H2.b) tree traits related to higher seed adherence, and/or (H2.c) less severe habitat (e.g., high humidity and more shade).MethodsWe sampled 9567 epiphyte individuals from 16 species on 759 scattered remnant trees. The epiphyte species were divided into two ecological groups: forest specialists and pasture specialists. We evaluated four host tree traits: two related to tree size (crown area and trunk diameter) and two related to habitat type (crown leaf density and bark rugosity).ResultsThe richness and abundance of both pasture and forest specialists were positively related with tree size. However, the abundance of pasture specialists was negatively related with crown leaf density, whereas richness of forest epiphytes was positively related with bark rugosity.ConclusionsLarge scattered trees tend to present higher richness and abundance of both pasture and forest specialist epiphytes compared to the smaller trees. However, high crown leaf density limits abundance of pasture specialist epiphytes, whereas rugose bark increases the richness of forest epiphytes.
Pollination and breeding system in two sympatric Fuchsia (Onagraceae) species at the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia (Brazil): Hummingbirds, insects and facultative self-pollination Patricia Archer, Oscar Perdomo, Tiago Böer Breier, André Felippe Nunes-Freitas, Rodrigo B. Singer Iheringia Serie Botanica, 2021 Fuchsia regia and F. campos-portoi (Onagraceae) belong to section Quelusia; a group native to the Patagonian, Southern and Southeastern Brazilian regions. To date, no studies coupling detailed pollinator observations and breeding system experiments have been published for these species. Studies were performed at the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia (Rio de Janeiro), in altitudes ranging from 1300 to 2790 meters a.s.l. Theflowers are nectariferous and protogynous. Yet, both species are self-compatible and facultatively autogamous, since more than 43% of the intact flowers undergo delayed self-pollination. Hummingbirds (four species), Acroceridae flies and bees (Apis mellifera and Bombus brasiliensis), in that order of importance, were recorded as pollinators of F. regia. In F. campos-portoi, bees of B. brasiliensis were the most frequent pollinators, followed by hummingbirds (three species). Experimental crosses between the two species yielded no fruits, in spite of their sharing of pollinators and of the existence of hybrids mentioned in literature.
Invasive exotic oil palm trees modify the structure of vascular epiphyte community on an Atlantic Forest island Invasive Species Ecology Impacts and Potential Uses, 2020
Bromeliaceae of Ilha Grande: Species checklist review André Felippe Nunes-Freitas, Thereza Christina da Rocha-Pessôa, Aline dos Santos Dias, Cristina Valente Ariani, Carlos Frederico Duarte da Rocha Biota Neotropica, 2009