Plant demography in Neotropical Savannas
Decades of research have demonstrated plant communities in African and Asian savannas are regulated by a combination of pervasive top-down and bottom-up effects. In contrast, studies investigating the dynamics of plants in the Neotropical savannas known as The Cerrado have focused almost exclusively on fire, soil chemistry, and other bottom-up drivers. In collaboration with colleagues from Brazil's Universidade Federal de Uberlandia I am investigating how herbivores (leaf-cutter ants) and granivores (small mammals) influence the diversity and demography of Cerrado plants. In collaboration with Micheel Mack (UF Botany) we are expanding by experimentally manipulating soil nutrients.
Collaborators & Graduate Students: Heraldo Vasconcelos (UFU), Michelle Mack (UF), Glein Monteiro de Araujo (UFU), Alana Vaz Ferreira (UFU), Stella Copeland (UF), Fabiane Moreira Mundim (UFU).
Recent Publications:
Vasconcelos, H. L. R. Pacheco, R. C. Silva, P. B. Vasconcelos, C. T. Lopes, A. N. Costa and E. M. Bruna. 2009. Dynamics of the leaf-litter arthropod fauna following fire in a Neotropical woodland savanna. PLoS ONE 4(11): e7762. [pdf]
Costa, A. N., H. L. Vasconcelos, E. H. M. Vieira-Neto, and E. M. Bruna. 2008. Do herbivores exert top-down effects in Neotropical savannas? Estimates of biomass consumption by leaf-cutter ants. Journal of Vegetation Science 19:849-854. [pdf]
This work is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Packard Foundation.
Plant population dynamics in fragmented landscapes
Plants in fragmentedhabitatsare hypothesized to be at increased risk of extinction,yetthe effects of fragmentation on plant population dynamics are for the most partunexplored. Our lab is doing so, using acombination of demographic 
surveys, manipulative experiments,and models. Our model system is populations of the Amazonian understory herb Heliconia acuminata in 13 permanent plots at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project.
Collaborators & Graduate Students: Maria Uriarte and Marina Correa Cortes(Columbia University), Ana Andrade (BDFFP), W. John Kress (Smithsonian), Alexandre Oliveira (USP), Paulo Rubim (PDBFF), Paul Gagnon (UF).
Recent Publications:
Uriarte, M., E. M. Bruna, P. Rubim, M. Anciaes, and I. Jonckeeere. In press. Effects of forest fragmentation on seedling recruitment of an understory herb: assessing seed vs. safe-site limitation. Ecology. [pdf]
Fiske*, I. and E. M. Bruna. In press. Alternative spatial sampling in studies of plant demography: consequences for estimates of population growth rate. Plant Ecology. [pdf]
This work is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
DATASETS and INFORMATION FOR COLLABORATORS (password protected)
Ant-plant mutualisms in natural and human-modified habitats
Ants that establish colonies inside of plants and in return defend their host-plants from herbivores are one of the defining features of tropical rainforests, yet they have remained conspicuously overlooked by conservation biologists. My collaborators and I are investigating 1) the factors structuring ant communities associated with these plants and 2) how fragmentation-related changes in the density and diversity of ants, host-plants, and herbivores influence mutualism dynamics.
Collaborators & Graduate Students: Heraldo Vasconcelos (Universidade Federal de Uberlandia), Brian Inouye (Florida State University), Thiago Izzo (Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso), Charlotte Lee (FSU), Heather Passmore (UF).
Recent publications: Izzo, T. J., H. L. Vasconcelos, B. D. Inouye, and E. M. Bruna. 2009. Cooperative colony founding alters the likelihood of interspecific competition between Amazonian plant-ants. Insectes Sociaux. [pdf]
Dáttilo*, W..F. C., T. J. Izzo, B. D. Inouye, H. L. Vasconcelos & E. M. Bruna. 2009. Volatile recognition by Pheidole minutula (Myrmicinae), an Amazonian ant-plant specialist. Biotropica 41(5): 642-646. [pdf]
This work is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Other Projects
While most of our lab's research focuses on the areas above, we are involved in a variety of other collaborative projects related to plant ecology, population dynamics, and tropical conservation. Previous and ongoing projects include: 
- Understanding the factors that drive within- and between country patterns of scientific productivity in Latin America.
- Understanding the consequences of climate change for Latin American ecosystems
- Social media, Web 2.0, and ecological research
Recent publications:
Callis, K. L., et al. 2009. Improving Wikipedia: educational opportunity and professional responsibility. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 24(4): 177-179. [pdf].
Stocks, G.*, L. Seales*, E. Maehr*, F. Paniagua*, and E. M. Bruna. 2008. The geographical and institutional distribution of ecological research in the tropics. Biotropica 40(4): 397-404. [pdf]
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