Cecilia Vieira

Ph.D. Candidate (Defending Soon!)

Cecília Vieira was born and grew up in Brasília, at the heart of the Cerrado biome. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Universidade Católica de Brasília (2007), with a monograph on the Ecology of stinkbugs and their egg parasitoids. She obtained her master’s degree in Ecology from Universidade de Brasília (2010), with a thesis on the chemical ecology of parasitoid wasps and its application to biological control of soybean pests (in collaboration with researchers from Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária). Her thesis was awarded the first-place prize for young scientists seeking alternatives to solve problems through science and technology by Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Distrito Federal. For three years (2010-2013), she was a research fellow at Universidade de Brasília. This is when and where she began studying velvet ants (Hymenoptera Mutillidae), a conspicuous group of widespread wasps especially diverse in the tropics. Since then, she participated and organized ~30 field expeditions mostly in remote areas of the Neotropical savanna. She served as teaching assistant of classes like Invertebrate Zoology, Entomology, General Biology and Tropical Field Ecology.

Currently a PhD candidate in Biology at Utah State University, she is investigating the biogeography and systematics of velvet ants using mostly specimens collected by herself et al. (~12,000) funded by national and international agencies. Her interests involves overcoming shortfalls of biodiversity knowledge (distributional, taxonomic, evolutionary, functional, demographic, ecological) to inform biological conservation with velvet ants as model organisms. She has skills on curatorial, laboratorial and analytical techniques. She is fond of macrophotography and enjoys traveling, especially to explore the many hidden riverscapes and waterfalls of the Cerrado. She has a biased passion for snakes, frogs, caecilians and especially lizards, besides insects. Cecilia's future plans includes to conduct more research on Entomology, to promote insect conservation, appreciation and understanding, as well as public engagement with science.

Publications

2020

Colli, G. R.; Vieira, C. R.; Dianese, J. C. (2020). Biodiversity and conservation of the Cerrado: recent advances and old challenges. Biodiversity & Conservation. No prelo.

2017

Alvarenga, J. M.; Vieira, C. R.; Godinho, L. B.; Campelo, P. H.; Pitts, J. P.; Colli, G. R. (2017). Spatial-temporal dynamics of Neotropical velvet ant (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) communities along a forest-savanna gradient. PLoS One, v. 12, p. e0187142.

Vieira, C. R.; Waichert, C.; Williams, K. A.; PITTS, J. P. (2017). Evaluation of Malaise and yellow pan trap performance to assess velvet ant (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) diversity in a Neotropical savanna. Environmental Entomology, v. 46, p. 353-361.

2016

Sousa, H. C.; Costa, B. M.; Morais, C. J. S.; Pantoja, D. L.; Queiroz, T. A.; Vieira, C. R.; Colli, G. R. (2016). Blue tales of a blue-tailed lizard: ecological correlates of tail autotomy of Micrablepharus atticolus (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae) in a Neotropical savannah. Journal of Zoology, v. 298, p. 1-11.

2015

Vieira, C. R.; Pitts, J. P.; Colli, G. R. (2015). Microhabitat changes induced by edge effects impact velvet ant (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) communities in southeastern Amazonia, Brazil. Journal of Insect Conservation, v. 19, p. 849-861.

Presentations

Poster Presentations

2018

Vieira, C. R.; Alvarenga, J. M.; Pitts, J. P.; Colli, G. R. Aposematic color variation in velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) along an environmental gradient. In: 2018 ESA, ESC, and ESBC Joint Annual Meeting, 2018, Vancouver. Program Book of the 2018 ESA, ESC, and ESBC Joint Annual Meeting, 2018.

2017

Vieira, C. R.; Marimon, B. S.; Marimon-Junior, B. H.; Lenza, E. ; Colli, G. R. Divergent influences of local-scale processes on lizard and velvet ant turnover along a Neotropical forest-savanna gradient. In: 8th Biennial Conference of the International Biogeography Society, 2017, Tucson, AZ, USA. Program and abstracts book of the 8th biennial conference of the International Biogeography Society, 2017.

Alvarenga, J. M. ; Vieira, C. R.; Godinho, L. B.; Campelo, P. H.; Pitts, J. P.; Colli, G. R. Dinâmica espaço-temporal de uma comunidade de Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) Neotropical em gradiente floresta-savana. In: XIII Congresso de Ecologia do Brasil, 2017, Viçosa. Anais do XIII Congresso de Ecologia do Brasil, 2017.

2015

Sousa, H. C.; Costa, B. M.; Morais, C. J. S.; Leite, D. L. P.; Queiroz, T. A.; Vieira, C. R.; Colli, G. R. Blue tales of a blue-tailed lizard: causes and consequences of tail autotomy in Micrablepharus atticolus (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae). In: 7º Congresso Brasileiro de Herpetologia, 2015, Gramado. Livro de Resumos do 7º Congresso Brasileiro de Herpetologia, 2015. p. 1-573.

2014

Vieira, C. R. Effects of climate and deforestation on velvet ant (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) assemblages in southeastern Amazonia. In: 51st Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, 2014, Cairns.

Morase, M. C. B. ; Bprges, M. ; Laumann, R. A. ; Michereff, M. F. F. ; Magalhaes, D. M. ; Vieira, C. R.; Rodrigues, W. . O uso de voláteis de plantas para o manejo de pragas e seus inimigos naturais. In: XXV Congresso Brasileiro de Entomologia, 2014, Goiânia. Anais do XXV Congresso Brasileiro de Entomologia, 2014.

2013

VIEIRA, C. R. Local-scale processes influencing the distribution of velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) along a Cerrado gradient in central Brazil. In: 61st Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting, 2013, Austin.

Oral Presentations

2020

Vieira, C. R.; Pitts, J. P.; Colli, G. R. Biogeografia de Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) da região Neotropical. In: XXXIII Congresso Brasileiro de Zoologia 2020, Águas de Lindóia. Anais do Congresso Brasileiro de Zoologia, 2020.

2018

Vieira, C. R.; Pitts, J. P.; Colli, G. R. Biogeography of Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) in the Brazilian Cerrado. In: 2018 ESA, ESC, and ESBC Joint Annual Meeting, 2018, Vancouver. Program Book of the 2018 ESA, ESC, and ESBC Joint Annual Meeting, 2018.

2014

Vieira, C. R. Effects of climate and deforestation on velvet ant (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) assemblages in southeastern Amazonia. In: 2014 Online Abstract Booklet of the Graduate Research Symposium, Logan, Utah, USA.

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