Forest Loss, Fragmentation and Climate Change: Mammals in a Changing Amazon Landscape
Institute Seminar by Daniel Rocha
- Date: May 19, 2026
- Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Daniel Rocha
- I am a wildlife ecologist with a strong interest in the ecology of large mammals and in applying analytical methods to wildlife research. My work focuses on understanding how environmental and human related factors influence population dynamics, species distributions, and community composition across large spatial scales. As a native of Brazil, I have always been fascinated by the Amazonian biodiversity. Since 2011, I have been involved in the research and conservation of Amazonian mammals. My most recent projects explore how large terrestrial mammals are responding to rapid land use changes in the southern Brazilian Amazon, with the goal of informing more effective conservation strategies and sustainable land use planning.
- Location: Bückle St. 5a, 78467 Konstanz
- Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
- Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
- Contact: lrosales@ab.mpg.de
The Amazon contains over half of the planet’s remaining tropical forests and supports a disproportionately large share of global biodiversity. Yet this ecosystem faces escalating pressures, including accelerating deforestation, widespread fire use, and the growing impacts of climate change. These threats are especially acute in the southern Brazilian Amazon, a region at the heart of the Arc of Deforestation and experiencing some of the highest forest loss rates in the basin. As threats advance and climate pressures intensify, an urgent question emerges: how are mammals responding, surviving, or disappearing within this rapidly transforming Amazon landscape? In this lecture, I present results of studies that examine how deforestation, forest fragmentation, and climate‑driven habitat changes influence terrestrial mammals across ecological scales.
The MPI-AB Seminar Series is open to members of MPI and Uni Konstanz. The zoom link is published each week in the MPI-AB newsletter.