Contact:
Alexandre Varaschin Palaoro, PhD
e-mail: alexandre.palaoro@gmail.com
Post-doctoral Researcher
G-spot lab (link)
LAGE do Departamento de Ecologia
University of São Paulo, Brazil
Contributor of Sobrevivendo na Ciência (Brazilian science blog)
CV on CNPq Lattes Platform ( Brazilian Research Database)
ResearchGate Profile (here)
Google Scholar Platform ( here)
Github Profile (here)
Research Interests:
I am interested in animal contests and sexually-selected traits, mainly weapons and ornaments. These areas can overlap considerably, especially when we consider that animals fight using weapons and consequently, sexual selection can act on both ends. But, current theory does not overlap nor consider this sort of scenario. This lack of communication between areas generate a gap in our knowledge that needs to be addressed.
Specifically, the topics I am currently interested/working on are:
- Animal contests: how resource value and fighting costs influence decisions during fights; what fighting ability is; what factors influenced the evolution of the decision-making process.
- Weaponry performance and evolution: how biomechanics influence weapon shape; selective pressures acting on weapons.
- Life history and behavior of decapods.
I frequently use freshwater decapods as models. But, I am always open to (and excited about) new ideas and new models.
Research interests in prose:
The wind swept through nearby trees, making leaves whisper tales of cold nights. The moon shined on the sky while I stood there, trying to remain as still as I could, knees deep in freezing water, breathing and observing. I was in the hunt for freshwater crabs for my master's thesis experiments, when a sudden rustle came from the woods. Two horned beetles were struggling to lift each other and conquer the best position on a branch. I laughed silently at myself and came back to task at hand. Entering the river was always the worst part of my study and needed much concentration. As soon as my red flashlight lit the water I saw two crabs battling each other. They were spinning in circles trying to grab each other with their claws. That elegant dance of aggression definitely caught my attention: two fights of armed animals in a single night. How lucky I was. As sudden as the first flashes of daylight rush through your window to warn you the day has begun, I realized: I wanted to know more not only about animal contests, but also about animal weapons. "These two areas overlap considerably", I thought. How surprised and glad I was when I found that current theory does not consider these two areas in full. "There is much work to be done here". And so my journey began.
Supervisions
Undergraduate students
2014 - 2017 - Fernando Benso Lopes - "Does an exaggerated sexually dimorphic trait need compensation in an aquatic environment? A test in a neotropical freshwater crab (Aegla longirostri; Crustacea)"
Graduate students
2017 - present - Fernando Benso Lopes - M.Sc. student - "Armas, sexo e brigas: Armamentos multifuncionais e disparidades no valor do recurso em Hyalella bonariensis (Crustacea: Amphipoda)" - "Weapons, sex and fights: Multifuncional weapons and resource value disparities in HYALELLA BONARIENSIS (Crustacea: Amphipoda)"
Alexandre Varaschin Palaoro, PhD
e-mail: alexandre.palaoro@gmail.com
Post-doctoral Researcher
G-spot lab (link)
LAGE do Departamento de Ecologia
University of São Paulo, Brazil
Contributor of Sobrevivendo na Ciência (Brazilian science blog)
CV on CNPq Lattes Platform ( Brazilian Research Database)
ResearchGate Profile (here)
Google Scholar Platform ( here)
Github Profile (here)
Research Interests:
I am interested in animal contests and sexually-selected traits, mainly weapons and ornaments. These areas can overlap considerably, especially when we consider that animals fight using weapons and consequently, sexual selection can act on both ends. But, current theory does not overlap nor consider this sort of scenario. This lack of communication between areas generate a gap in our knowledge that needs to be addressed.
Specifically, the topics I am currently interested/working on are:
- Animal contests: how resource value and fighting costs influence decisions during fights; what fighting ability is; what factors influenced the evolution of the decision-making process.
- Weaponry performance and evolution: how biomechanics influence weapon shape; selective pressures acting on weapons.
- Life history and behavior of decapods.
I frequently use freshwater decapods as models. But, I am always open to (and excited about) new ideas and new models.
Research interests in prose:
The wind swept through nearby trees, making leaves whisper tales of cold nights. The moon shined on the sky while I stood there, trying to remain as still as I could, knees deep in freezing water, breathing and observing. I was in the hunt for freshwater crabs for my master's thesis experiments, when a sudden rustle came from the woods. Two horned beetles were struggling to lift each other and conquer the best position on a branch. I laughed silently at myself and came back to task at hand. Entering the river was always the worst part of my study and needed much concentration. As soon as my red flashlight lit the water I saw two crabs battling each other. They were spinning in circles trying to grab each other with their claws. That elegant dance of aggression definitely caught my attention: two fights of armed animals in a single night. How lucky I was. As sudden as the first flashes of daylight rush through your window to warn you the day has begun, I realized: I wanted to know more not only about animal contests, but also about animal weapons. "These two areas overlap considerably", I thought. How surprised and glad I was when I found that current theory does not consider these two areas in full. "There is much work to be done here". And so my journey began.
Supervisions
Undergraduate students
2014 - 2017 - Fernando Benso Lopes - "Does an exaggerated sexually dimorphic trait need compensation in an aquatic environment? A test in a neotropical freshwater crab (Aegla longirostri; Crustacea)"
Graduate students
2017 - present - Fernando Benso Lopes - M.Sc. student - "Armas, sexo e brigas: Armamentos multifuncionais e disparidades no valor do recurso em Hyalella bonariensis (Crustacea: Amphipoda)" - "Weapons, sex and fights: Multifuncional weapons and resource value disparities in HYALELLA BONARIENSIS (Crustacea: Amphipoda)"