Rodrigo Béllo Carvalho

I'm deeply passionate about megafauna ecology and conservation. My research focuses on understanding the relationships between large-bodied vertebrates (mammals and birds) and plant communities in tropical ecosystems, particularly savannas. Specifically, I'm interested in exploring how the decline of these animals (defaunation) impacts the structure and function of ecosystems, with a particular emphasis on frugivory and seed dispersal.

I have a Master's degree in 'Biodiversity Conservation and Management' from the University of Oxford, as well as a B.Sc. & B.Ed. in Biological Sciences from the University of Brasília. My research journey began at the Bustamante Lab, where I focused on Cerrado ecosystem ecology. Later, I worked as a zookeeper at the Brasília Zoological Garden Foundation and taught Science and Biology before joining Oxford’s Ecosystems Lab, where I researched seed dispersal and defaunation in the Cerrado. I then served as a Park Ranger and Environmental Analyst at ICMBio in the Western Brazilian Amazon, contributing to conservation efforts in this critical region. Additionally, I collaborated on frugivory, seed dispersal, and ecological restoration research in the Atlantic Forest at the Bird Ecology Lab of the State University of São Paulo.

https://profiles.stanford.edu/rodrigo-bello-carvalho

rbc08@stanford.edu