Research Summary
In this UNESCO World Heritage Site, dozens of species of amphibians and reptiles — with 30 million caimans alone — coexist with more than 690 species of birds as well as with bats, otters, anteaters, maned wolves, capybaras, jaguars, tapirs, and an astonishing number of plant species. In addition to cattle ranching, sport fishing, and the black-market demand for exotic pets, proposals to alter the natural flow of water threaten to unravel this complex ecosystem. Teams of researchers need your help to preserve it.
Amphibians and Reptiles of Brazil's Pantanal
Rio Negro, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil — Biologists have found 41 species of amphibians and 24 species of reptiles in the Rio Negro basin alone, from caimans and yellow anacondas to a startling abundance of frogs. These sensitive animals are often the first to show the effects of environmental disturbance. You can help monitor these creatures for the effects of human impacts on their role in the Pantanal’s rich ecosystem.
Bats of Brazil’s Pantanal
Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil — Bats are important players in the Pantanal as they disperse seeds, host parasites, eat insects, and pollinate flowering trees. Help researchers monitor these sensitive flying mammals and determine which species play key roles in the Pantanal’s forests.
Birds of Brazil’s Pantanal
Rio Negro, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil —The Pantanal’s extensive network of wetlands is an important food and water source for hundreds of migrating birds and provides critical habitat for jabiru storks, spoonbills, ibises, wood storks, and other waders. Macaws, parrots, woodpeckers, kingfishers, grosbeaks, and hummingbirds—to name just a few—also make the Pantanal their home. The sampling, recording, and observational techniques you’ll use will help uncover the secrets of the Pantanal’s avian inhabitants and improve conservation efforts.
Otters of Brazil’s Pantanal
Rio Negro, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil —Giant otters and Neotropical river otters—both endangered species—live in the twisting channels of this wetland wilderness. You’ll canoe or boat along scenic river banks searching for these playful and skillful hunters, and videotape and monitor them to aid in their protection.
Meet the Scientists
Jeffrey Alan Himmelstein
William Paterson University
Mr. Himmelstein is an Adjunct Professor of Biology at William Paterson University and Ph.D. candidate at Rutgers University Graduate School of Eduation, both in New Jersey, USA. His doctoral work is in science education, so he brings a good blend of field biology and classroom teaching experiences to the project. Professor Himmelstein's first area of field biology investigation comes from his work on the herpetofauna of the Yucatan Peninsula. He has also served as chair of the Special Education Advisory Board of the National Science Teachers Association and as President of the Science Association for Persons with Disabilities. In 1999, he was appointed by the White House to the Glenn Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century. He has served as a visiting scientist on more than ten Pantanal Earthwatch projects.
Dr. Hamish Campbell
University of Birmingham, UK
Dr. Campbell is a post-doctoral researcher with the University of Birmingham, UK, and a visiting scientist with UNESP. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Plymouth, UK, having studied wildlife telemetry. Some of his post-doctorate studies were conducted with the British Antarctic Survey. Dr. Campbell has a good deal of experience in the field of wildlife telemetry and has initiated large-scale field projects to monitor animal behavior in remote environments. He recently spearheaded a project on caiman in the Pantanal that has received backing from The Royal Society and the British Ecological Society.
Dr. Mara Cintia Keifer
State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Dr. Keifer is a Visiting Professor in the Laboratory of Vertebrate Ecology at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). She recently conducted post-doctoral research at UERJ, having earned her Ph.D. and Master’s degrees studying lizard ecology at the State University of Campinas. Dr. Kiefer specializes in the ecology of coastal species and brings great expertise to the project. She speaks fluent English.
Dr. Erich Fischer
Dr. Fischer is the project coordinator. His research focus is on plant-animal interactions, bat biology, and plant ecology. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp).
Dr. Andrea Araujo
Dr. Araujo is a project co-coordinator whose research interests are plant-pollinator interactions, effects of habitat fragmentation, plant community, and the biology of hummingbirds. She holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from Unicamp.
Dr. Gustavo Graciolli
Dr. Graciolli is a project co-coordinator and has a special interest in dipterans (true flies) associated with bats, and earned a Ph.D. at Federal University of Paraná (UFPR).
Dr. Reginaldo Donatelli
São Paulo State University (UNESP)
Dr. Donatelli holds a Ph.D. in Ornithology (1991) and a Master’s degree in Zoology (1987) from the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil. He has been a Professor of Zoology at São Paulo State University (UNESP) since 1991. Dr. Donatelli’s field experience includes a study of migratory birds in the Lagoa do Peixe and bird banding in the Taim’s reserve, both in Rio Grande do Sul. He has conducted bird surveys in the northern Pantanal (Poconé region), has been part of a project developed in the Caratinga’s WWF reserve and Vale do Rio Doce’s reserve, both in Minas Gerais, and has studied Amazonian birds in Belém do Pará. He has also surveyed birds in many tropical forest remnants in São Paulo. Dr. Donatelli is currently writing a field guide on birds from the central-western part of São Paulo.
Miguel Rico Barroeta
Mr. Barroeta coordinates the field activities, and participates in the collection of all data in the field and the procedures with the samples in laboratory (food habits and reproductive patterns). Mr. Barroeta's research interests are in the ecology and conservation of carnivore mammals. He earned a M.Sc. in Ecology at Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (2002).
Manoel Comes Muanis
Mr. Muanis is an M.Sc. candidate in Zoology at the National Museum/ Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He received his B.A. in Biology from UFRJ in 2004. Mr. Muanis is very experienced in the ecology and biology of Neotropical and giant otters, having spent six years studying Neotropical otters in Rio de Janeiro state and five years studying giant and Neotropical otters in the Pantanal. He conducted his B.A. thesis research on the diets of otters in the Pantanal and for his M.Sc. thesis he is studying the effects of habitat structure on Pantanal otters. He is proficient in Portuguese and English.
Ellen Wang
Federal University of Mato Gross do Sul
Ellen Wang is a Ph.D. candidate at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS) in Brazil. She has a Master’s degree in Zoology from São Paulo State University and brings a considerable amount of field biology experience to the project. She has worked in the Pantanal since 1992. Her work on the feeding habits of the ocelot has been published in Herpetological Review. She possesses a wide ranging knowledge on the vertebrates of the Pantanal, which she shares with much enthusiasm.