In addition to all these magnificent vertebrates, I intend to add arthropods to my repertoire next year. That may be useful to understand the distribution of their predators (especially marsupials and lizards). However, I am not just interested in understanding their role as prey within the ecosystem. I also want to address the same questions that I had on vertebrates. For instance, I have already noticed that some species are practically omnipresent. That is the case of wandering spiders of the genus Ctenus. On the other hand, Tarantulas (family Theraphosidae) are much more common in two specific sites, where the vegetation is more conserved. I am very anxious to see if such speculations are really true after the collection and identification of the specimens by researcher Thiago Novato.
What a wonderful task it has been to work in the largest remnant of the Atlantic Forest. Out of being in touch with a surprisingly rich community, I have the opportunity to document their life histories through photography and science. New adventures and exciting scientific outcomes are to come.
Acknowledgements
I am immensely grateful to Felipe Gobbi Grazziotin and the São Paulo Research Foundation (Project Escalas da Biodiversidade, grant #) for funding my research; Mariana Landis, Maria Virtudes Medina, and José Ignácio Palácios Barrasus as well as Manacá Institute and Elguero Farm for providing accommodation and all the support; Ana Paula Carmignotto, Arthur Diesel Abegg, Felipe Osmari Cerezer, Gabriel Paganini Faggioni, Rebeca Stella Khouri, Renato Christensen Nali, Thiago Ferreira Rodrigues, and Thiago da Silva Novato for their contribution on the project; Guilherme Oliveira, Hiago Ermenegildo, Julia Mayumi, Lucas Neves, and Rafael Carlos Benetti Paredero for helping in fieldwork.
This research was supported by grant # 2016/50127-5.