First-authored peer-reviewed publications

How many lineages are there of the stingrays genus Hypanus (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) and why does it matter?

Stingrays genus Hypanus currently encompasses nine valid species from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, though the phylogenetic relationships amongst some
of them were based on a single mitochondrial gene and did not involve all putative Hypanus species. To address the monophyly of the genus and its relationship to
other Dasyatinae genera, we sequenced the whole mitochondrial genomes of all species that supposedly belong to this genus and representatives of Dasyatinae,
Neotrygoninae, and, as an outgroup, Fontitrygon (Urogymninae). Based on phylogenetic analyses, Hypanus is the sister-genus to all other Dasyatinae, and
this subfamily is closely-related to Neotrygoninae within the family Dasyatidae. The species F. geijskesi is closely related to H. guttatus rather than to its congeners
and should be allocated to Hypanus as H. geijskesi for the genus monophyly. After lineage delimitation analyses, we identified three species complexes composed of H. americanus, H. guttatus, and H. say, with two distinct evolutionary lineages within each, leaving the genus with 13 evolutionary units, of which six are currently under threat and only H. sabinus is of least concern. The urgency in identifying these new lineages lies in the fact they might already be under threat
before being formally described.

Integrative taxonomy identifies a new stingray species of the genus Hypanus Rafinesque, 1818 (Dasyatidae, Myliobatiformes), from the Tropical Southwestern Atlantic

An integrative approach by the congruence of genetics, morphology and ecological niche modelling (ENM) was used to delimit a new species of Hypanus (Rafinesque,
1818), a recently resurrected genus of marine stingrays comprising eight species, five of which occur in the western Atlantic. The species with the widest distribution, Hypanus americanus (Hildebrand and Schroeder, 1928), from the northeastern coast of
the United States to southeastern Brazil, was demonstrated to be paraphyletic based on protein-coding mitochondrial genome analyses. This data set also indicates that the genetic distance between the new species Hypanus berthalutzae sp. nov. and its
three closely related species (H. americanus, H. longus and H. rudis) varies from 0.82% to 3.14%. In addition, Bayesian Analysis of Population Similarity using the mitochondrial gene mt-nd2 supports the separation of H. berthalutzae sp. nov. (southwestern Atlantic) from its sister species H. rudis (eastern Atlantic). Similarly, morphological and morphometric analyses corroborated four morphotypes within the H. americanus species group and indicated the ventral caudal fold height and length and interspiracular
and interorbital lengths as useful measurements to distinguish among them. Claspers of adult males also exhibit morphological differences among species. The ENM agreed with molecular and morphological analyses and delimits the distribution of H. berthalutzae sp. nov. to shallow areas close to shore along the Brazilian coast, from the mouth of the Amazon River to S~ao Paulo State, including the northeastern oceanic
islands, suggesting that the great outflow of fresh water and sediments and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge might act as barriers. The integration of these data to describe a
new species provides information relevant to their conservation status, because all species of the H. americanus species group are under the ā€œdata-deficientā€ status.

Comparative morphology and systematics of the cookiecutter sharks, genus Isistius Gill (1864) (Chondrichthyes: Squaliformes: Dalatiidae)

IntroductionSharks of the squalomorph shark family Dalatiidae are distributed worldwide and usually occur in open water ranging from the surface to more than 3,500 meters in depth. Dalatiid sharks have a highly conspicuous morphology, being characterized by a short snout without barbels, strong jaws [1], and lower teeth with strong, greatly developed cusps, as well as a striking dignathic heterodonty [2]. These sharks also have two small dorsal fins, with the first smaller or equal to the second...

Co-authored peer-reviewed publications

Chondrichthyan systematics in Brazil depicted: historical overview, research trends and future perspectives

Brazil comprises one of the worldā€™s biodiversity hotspots of the chondrichthyan fauna, currently with 12 orders, 44 families, 90 genera and over 200 species
of sharks, batoids, and chimaeras. These species inhabit marine, estuarine and freshwater realms of coastal and oceanic zones from the North equatorial central
to the South-western Atlantic Ocean. Reporting on species occurrence in Brazil goes back to the pre-Linnaean Period. The golden era of the European
Zoological studies put in place the knowledge on the local fauna with many Brazilian endemic and native species being officially described. The birth of
Ichthyology in Brazil in the early 20th century, however, represents the milestone for the Chondrichthyan Systematics in the country when national scientists
published the first list of species. This study provides an historical overview of the Chondrichthyan Systematics research in Brazil through a literature review of
peer-reviewed publications in shark taxonomy, phylogenetics and morphology. Scientific trends of over 120-year period of dedicated investigations are herein
pointed out regarding research scope and subject area, methodology, target study taxa, and gender diversity. Research recommendations and priorities are
further given to assist researchers and interested stakeholders on future efforts in shark science and conservation in the country.

How many species of Sturisoma (Siluriformes: Loricariinae) inhabit the La Plata Basin?

The aim of the present contribution is to review the taxonomy of the loricariid Sturisoma in the La Plata basin. The original description of the species S. barbatum is analyzed and compared to Reganā€™s later description of S. robustum. We noticed that Knerā€™s illustrations may have influenced the description by Regan and other later authors, leading to confusion in the taxonomy of Sturisoma. The diagnostic characteristics and molecular data of S. barbatum and S. robustum are discussed, and we conc...

Three decades of Chondrichthyan research in Brazil assessed from conferencesā€™ abstracts: patterns, gaps, and expectations

Of the almost 1,300 currently known Chondrichthyan species, 13.4% occur in Brazilian marine and freshwater environments and more than a half are under
extinction threat. There are three main scientific events in Brazil committed to present and discuss research on fishes (including Chondrichthyes): EBI, SBEEL,
and ISPCNF. We analyzed 1,584 submitted abstracts to these events over the last 30 years and noticed that, within Chondrichthyes, studies regarding Systematics
were less representative (17%). However, the most shocking result concerned the proportion of women in authorship: almost 30% of abstracts were co-authored
only by men, and only 25% of those in Chondrichthyan Evolution had women as last authors, demonstrating that a few women are acting as principal investigators
in this area of research in Brazil since they might be leaving academia due to lack of support. Besides, the orders Carcharhiniformes and Myliobatiformes
represented 66.9% of all studied taxa throughout the years, revealing a research bias on studied taxa which in turn has impacted directly on our knowledge of
Chondrichthyan biodiversity and conservation planning. Most importantly, the neglected area of taxonomy needs to be enhanced to allow for appropriate species
identification and threatening status evaluation.

Molecular testing of the SĆ£o Francisco River as an ecological filter for the Brazilian large-eyed stingray Hypanus marianae (Dasyatidae, Myliobatiformes) - Hydrobiologia

Ecological niche modeling (ENM) provides
information on the potential environmental
barriers to a species that can be tested in phylogeographic studies. A previous ENM analysis of the
benthic coastal stingray Hypanus marianae revealed
a low suitability area for its occurrence at the SĆ£o
Francisco River (SFR) mouth, the fourth largest river
flowing into Southwestern Atlantic. Hence, phylogeographic analyses were used to test the hypothesis of two populations: one north and another south of SFR outflow. We sampled 109 specimens in six localities throughout the speciesā€™ geographic distribution and sequenced mitochondrial (cytb) and nuclear (rag1) markers. Our analyses corroborated the existence of two groups (Ī¦ST = 0.68, P < 0.0001) within H. marianae, partially agreeing with the ENM results. The commonest mitochondrial haplotype (H2) was shared among almost all localities, except Salvador, where all individuals shared the same and unique haplotype. This group is restricted to a shallow bay area close to SFR, as predicted by the ENM. However, its plume was not effective in isolating a continental island
55 km off the Brazilian coast. While the broad north group is protected in a few Marine Protected Areas,
our results suggest that the restricted southern one
deserves to be managed specifically.

Threatened skates exhibit abiotic niche stability despite climate change in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean

Climatic changes are disrupting distribution patterns of populations through shifts in species abiotic niches and
habitat loss. The abiotic niche of marine benthic taxa such as skates, however, may be more climatically stable compared with the upper layers of the water column, which are more exposed to immediate impacts of warming. Here, we estimate climate change impacts in Riorajini, a tribe of four skates, as a proxy to evaluate the vulnerability of a temperate coastal zone in the Southwest Atlantic, and study niche dynamics in a scenario of environmental changes on this group of threatened species. We modelled the abiotic niche of each species under present climatic conditions (2000ā€“2014), projected them to the future (2100), then measured distributional stability, expansion, and unfilling. Our results revealed abiotic stability
between the scenarios modelled despite the advancement of climate change, suggesting that the benthic layers where these skates occur may be a refuge from the increasing thermal stress. However, the
exposure of shallow waters to climate change may be detrimental to nursery habitats. Thus, although their abiotic niche may remain stable in the future, the loss
of extension of occurrence might be a peril for them with climate change.

Phylogenetic conservatism of abiotic niche in sympatric Southwestern Atlantic skates

From the perspective of phylogenetic niche conservatism (PNC), closely related species must
share more aspects of a niche than randomly expected. However, considering the competitive exclusion principle, PNC is questionable for related species in sympatry. This research aimed to test PNC in Riorajini, a tribe of four skates endemic to the Southwestern
Atlantic Ocean: Atlantoraja castelnaui, A. cyclophora, A. platana, and Rioraja agassizii. We updated available distribution maps for these species with literature data, reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships of the group with genetic data (mt-nd2), modelled the ecological niche (ENM) of each species, and calculated niche overlap, equivalency and similarity between models. The results recovered Riorajini as a monophyletic group and indicated PNC with bathymetry, distance to shore and concentration of nitrate characterizing the tribeā€™s abiotic niche. However, no linear relationship between phylogenetic proximity and niche similarity was clear since pairs of species more phylogenetically distant showed more similar niches (R. agassizii and A. castelnaui, > 70% niche similarity, P < 0.005) than congeners (A. castelnaui and A. platana, 45%, P < 0.005). ENMs of each species showed different responses to variations in environmental predictors, with A. castelnaui and R. agassizii showing higher probability of occurrence in shallower waters, closer to shore, while A. cyclophora and A. platana explore deeper areas, although still constrained to the continental shelf. We discuss how these differences influence the distribution of each species in the environment and used the phylogeny to argue that R. agassizii and A. castelnaui share a conserved niche from an ancestral lineage.

Medical and Health publications

Book chapters and Reports

ELASMulheres: a Brazilian symposium on Elasmobranchs promoted by, but not exclusively to, women

Chondrichthyan research has been increasing lately in Brazil, especially due to constant threats to their conservation. However, there is a lack of women in leading positions, such as teachers, professors, and advisors, who could encourage and support an academic
environment that is more receptive to young women in chondrichthyan research. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two of the largest Brazilian events allowing researchers to meet and communicate their results have not occurred since June 2018 (Sharks International
/ Meeting of the Brazilian Society for the Study of Elasmobranchs - SBEEL) and January 2019 (Brazilian Meeting of Ichthyology - EBI).

WOMEN THAT RESEARCH ELASMOBRANCHS AND FORM NETWORKS: the experiences of the online symposium ELASMulheres

The number of studies on Chondrichthyes has grown considerably over the past few decades (White, Last, 2012), mainly due to the constant threats to the conservation of shark, ray, and chimaera species (Dulvy et al., 2021). New species have been described for Brazil in recent years (e.g., Soares et al., 2016, 2019; Silva, Loboda, 2019; Petean et al., 2020; Loboda et al., 2021), and new technologies and research areas (e.g., CT scan, next-generation sequencing, conservation physiology, ecotoxicology) have played a crucial role in expanding knowledge about the group's diversity. Furthermore, several global integrated science studies have been developed in the field of tagging and migration of various species (Queiroz et al., 2019, 2021a, 2021b), contributing to the development of management and conservation strategies for populations.