Claudia Paz

• PhD
• PostDoc Position at University of São Paulo

Background Contrasting hypotheses suggest that the number of biotic interactions per species could either increase towards the equator due to the increasing richness of potential interaction partners (Neutral theory), or decrease in the tropics due to increased biotic competition (Latitudinal Biotic Interaction Hypothesis). Empirical testing of the...

Fungi are among the most diverse and ecologically important kingdoms in life. However, the distributional ranges of fungi remain largely unknown as do the ecological mechanisms that shape their distributions1,2. To provide an integrated view of the spatial and seasonal dynamics of fungi, we implemented a globally distributed standardized aerial sam...

An often-overlooked question of the biodiversity crisis is how natural hazards contribute to species extinction risk. To address this issue, we explored how four natural hazards, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, overlapped with the distribution ranges of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles that have either narrow distributions...

Novel methods for sampling and characterizing biodiversity hold great promise for re-evaluating patterns of life across the planet. The sampling of airborne spores with a cyclone sampler, and the sequencing of their DNA, have been suggested as an efficient and well-calibrated tool for surveying fungal diversity across various environments. Here we...

Tree saplings and shrubs are frequently overlooked components of tropical rainforest biodiversity, and it may be hypothesized that their small stature and shallow root systems predisposes them to be vulnerable to drought. However, these purported influences of drought on growth, physiological performance and plant traits on tree saplings and shrubs...

21 Tree saplings and shrubs are frequently overlooked components of tropical rainforest 22 biodiversity, and it may be hypothesized that their small stature and shallow root systems 23 predisposes them to be vulnerable to drought. However, these purported influences of 24 drought on growth, physiological performance and plant traits have yet to be...

Tree saplings and shrubs are frequently overlooked components of tropical rainforest biodiversity, and it may be hypothesized that their small stature and shallow root systems predisposes them to be vulnerable to drought. However, these purported influences of drought on growth, physiological performance and plant traits have yet to be studied in s...

There has been widespread clearance of tropical forests for agriculture, but in many cases the cultivation phase is only transient. The secondary forests recovering on these abandoned sites may contribute to mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and protection of biodiversity, but the rates of recovery may be dependent on land-use intensity and ch...

The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are a globally distributed group of soil organisms that play critical roles in ecosystem function. However, the ecological niches of individual AM fungal taxa are poorly understood. We collected > 300 soil samples from natural ecosystems worldwide and modelled the realised niches of AM fungal virtual taxa (VT;...

Dispersal is a critical ecological process that modulates gene flow and contributes to the maintenance of genetic and taxonomic diversity within ecosystems. Despite an increasing global understanding of the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal diversity, distribution and prevalence in different biomes, we have largely ignored the main dispersal mecha...

The Atlantic Forest of South America hosts one of the world’s most diverse and threatened tropical forest biota. After five centuries of European human expansion, most Atlantic Forest landscapes are archipelagos of small forest fragments surrounded by open-habitat matrices. In this chapter, we describe the causes and consequences of large-scale def...

Tropical rainforests are populated by large frugivores that feed upon fruit‐producing woody species, yet their role in regulating the cycle of globally important biogeochemical elements such as nitrogen is still unknown. This is particularly relevant because tropical forests play a prominent role in the nitrogen cycle and are becoming rapidly defau...

We investigate the edaphic, mineralogical and climatic controls of soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration utilising data from 147 primary forest soils (0–30 cm depth) sampled in eight different countries across the Amazon Basin. Sampled across 14 different World Reference Base soil groups, our data suggest that stabilisation mechanism varies with...

We investigate the edaphic, mineralogical and climatic controls of soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration utilising data from 147 pristine forest soils sampled in eight different countries across the Amazon Basin. Sampling across 14 different World Reference Base soil groups our data suggest that stabilisation mechanism varies with pedogenetic lev...

Environmental weeds typically invade open, disturbed areas or vegetation edges, and can have devastating ecological and economic consequences. The National Weeds List in Australia informs the public and land managers on weeds prioritized for management, but shade-tolerant weeds that can invade forest ecosystems are inadequately listed. Such weeds a...

Tropical forests are major sinks of terrestrial carbon (C) both above- and below-ground. As a consequence their destruction and degradation is considered the second largest anthropogenic source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Also contributing to the changing dynamics of the global carbon cycle is the widespread and significant expansion of se...

Questions Which factors affect the diversity and species composition of tropical secondary rain forests in a region with little information regarding their contribution to global biodiversity? Can older secondary forests approach the diversity and composition of mature forests following 100 yr of pasture use? Location Tropical secondary rain fores...

Strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum) is a shade-tolerant shrub or small tree invader in tropical and subtropical regions and is considered among the world's top 100 worst invasive species. Studies from affected regions report deleterious effects of strawberry guava invasion on native vegetation. Here we examine the life history demographics and e...

Environmental weeds typically invade open, disturbed areas or vegetation edges, and can have devastating ecological and economic consequences. The National Weeds List in Australia informs the public and land managers on weeds prioritized for management, but shade-tolerant weeds that can invade forest ecosystems are inadequately listed. Such weeds a...

Conversion of diverse native forests to tree monocultures remains an ongoing, worldwide threat to biodiversity. Although the effects of forest conversion have been studied in a wide range of taxonomic groups, the effects on macrofungal communities remain poorly understood. We sampled macrofungal fruiting bodies in the National Forest of São Francis...

Since pristine Atlantic Forest remnants are vanishing, and biological reserves are in short, conservation of biodiversity will largely depend on proper management of the anthropogenic matrix. Here, we test (1) the effectiveness of ecologically-managed tree monocultures in maintaining Araucaria Forest biodiversity, (2) how this effectiveness change...

We integrate analyses of spatial association with empirical measures of juvenile performance to develop a strategy for Araucaria forest restoration in Brazil. Because pioneer species can differentially facilitate or inhibit target species, we measure native Araucaria angustifolia and exotic Pinus taeda responses to two common pioneer species, Bacch...

Biotic interactions between pioneer and late-successional species may affect the spatial arrangement of the individuals in plant communities resulting in positive or negative patterns of association. Studies that analyze the plant colonization patterns in areas of natural forest regeneration are important to ecological restoration projects. The aim...