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Em 28 de agosto de 2025, Luana de Souza prochazka, aluna de doutorado do programa de P\u00f3s-Gradua\u00e7\u00e3o em Biodiversidade Vegetal e Meio Ambiente do Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais, bolsista FAPESP, defendeu sua tese de Doutorado intitulada, \u201cEvolu\u00e7\u00e3o coordenada entre estrat\u00e9gia ecol\u00f3gica, nicho ambiental e mutualismos de defesa e nutri\u00e7\u00e3o em uma linhagem de leguminosas<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n Mutualismos s\u00e3o intera\u00e7\u00f5es ben\u00e9ficas entre esp\u00e9cies e essas intera\u00e7\u00f5es desempenham um papel central na diversifica\u00e7\u00e3o e funcionamento dos ecossistemas. Compreender como essas intera\u00e7\u00f5es persistem e evoluem em diferentes contextos ecol\u00f3gicos e ambientais \u00e9 o principal objetivo dessa tese. Investiguei os padr\u00f5es macroevolutivos associados \u00e0 evolu\u00e7\u00e3o de mutualismos em plantas do g\u00eanero Chamaecrista<\/em> (L.) Moench (Fabaceae), um grupo amplamente distribu\u00eddo em ambientes abertos e sazonais do Neotr\u00f3pico. A partir de uma abordagem integrativa que combina dados de campo, herb\u00e1rio e literatura, explorei se os mutualismos de defesa e nutri\u00e7\u00e3o evolu\u00edram em conjunto com mudan\u00e7as evolutivas em outras caracter\u00edsticas vegetais, como mudan\u00e7as na estrat\u00e9gia ecol\u00f3gica das plantas e mudan\u00e7as no nicho das esp\u00e9cies. Incialmente, investiguei como a evolu\u00e7\u00e3o de diferentes formas de vida, um proxy para diferentes estrat\u00e9gias ecol\u00f3gicas, esteve associada \u00e0 evolu\u00e7\u00e3o do nicho ambiental das esp\u00e9cies. Em seguida, investiguei se a evolu\u00e7\u00e3o dos nect\u00e1rios extraflorais, estruturas envolvidas no mutualismo de defesa com formigas, evolui de forma coordenada com o nicho h\u00eddrico e com caracter\u00edsticas funcionais das plantas. Por fim, investiguei se a intensidade da nodula\u00e7\u00e3o, um mutualismo nutricional com bact\u00e9rias fixadoras de nitrog\u00eanio, est\u00e1 evolutivamente associado com mudan\u00e7as no metabolismo vegetal e nas estrat\u00e9gias de aquisi\u00e7\u00e3o e usos de recursos. Os resultados obtidos mostram que mudan\u00e7as na forma de vida das plantas ocorreram repetidamente ao longo da hist\u00f3ria evolutiva de Chamaecrista<\/em> e estiveram associadas a transi\u00e7\u00f5es no nicho ambiental das esp\u00e9cies. Al\u00e9m disso, evidenciamos que o tamanho dos nect\u00e1rios extraflorais e a intensidade da nodula\u00e7\u00e3o evolu\u00edram em associa\u00e7\u00e3o com caracter\u00edsticas funcionais das plantas e com a disponibilidade de recursos. Em conjunto, esses resultados indicam que os mutualismos de defesa e nutri\u00e7\u00e3o evolu\u00edram de forma coordenada com aspectos funcionais e ecol\u00f3gicos das plantas, sendo moldado tanto por press\u00f5es seletivas ambientais quanto por mudan\u00e7as nas caracter\u00edsticas vegetais que regulam o balan\u00e7o de custos e benef\u00edcios dessas intera\u00e7\u00f5es.<\/p>\n Palavras-chave: <\/strong>Chamaecrista<\/em>, integra\u00e7\u00e3o de caracter\u00edstica, evolu\u00e7\u00e3o adaptativa, mutualismo<\/p>\n ABSTRACT<\/strong><\/p>\n Mutualisms are beneficial interactions between species, and they play a central role in the diversification and functioning of ecosystems. Understanding how these interactions persist and evolve under different ecological and environmental contexts is the main objective of this thesis. I investigated macroevolutionary patterns associated with the evolution of mutualisms in plants of the genus Chamaecrista<\/em> (L.) Moench (Fabaceae), a group widely distributed across open and seasonal environments in the Neotropics. Using an integrative approach that combines fieldwork, herbarium data, and information from literature, I explored whether the evolution of defensive and nutritional mutualisms evolved together with evolutionary shifts in other plant characteristics, such as ecological strategies and species\u2019 environmental niches. I first examined whether the evolution of different life forms, a proxy for plant ecological strategies, was associated with shifts in the environmental niche. Next, I tested whether the evolution of extrafloral nectaries, structures involved in defensive mutualisms with ants, occurred in coordination with hydric niche variation and leaf functional traits. Finally, I investigated whether the intensity of nodulation, a nutritional mutualism with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, was evolutionarily associated with changes in plant ecological strategies. The results show that life form transitions occurred repeatedly throughout the evolutionary history of Chamaecrista<\/em> and were associated with shifts in environmental niches. Moreover, we found that both the size of extrafloral nectaries and the intensity of nodulation evolved in association with plant functional traits and resource availability. Together, these findings indicate that defensive and nutritional mutualisms evolved in coordination with ecological and functional aspects of plants, being shaped not only by environmental selective pressures but also by evolutionary changes in traits that influence the net benefits of each mutualistic interaction.<\/p>\n Kew words:<\/strong> Chamaecrista<\/em>, trait integration, adaptive evolution, mutualism<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/smastr16.blob.core.windows.net\/pgibt\/sites\/242\/2025\/10\/luana-de-souza-prochazka-dr-540x720.jpg\")
A banca examinadora foi presidida pelo seu orientador, Dr. Anselmo Nogueira (UFABC) e composta pelo Dr.\u00a0 <\/sup>\u00a0Alexandre R. Zuntini (RBG Kew), Dra. Fl\u00e1via Delgado Santana (INPA), Dra. Fl\u00e1via Regina Capelloto Costa (INPA), Dr. Rafael Silva Oliveira (Unicamp).<\/p>\n
\nEvolu\u00e7\u00e3o coordenada entre estrat\u00e9gia ecol\u00f3gica, nicho ambiental e mutualismos de defesa e nutri\u00e7\u00e3o em uma linhagem de leguminosas<\/h3>\n
\nRESUMO<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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<\/a>Luana de Souza Prochazka<\/strong><\/a>
\nEvolu\u00e7\u00e3o coordenada entre estrat\u00e9gia ecol\u00f3gica, nicho ambiental e mutualismos de defesa e nutri\u00e7\u00e3o em uma linhagem de leguminosas<\/a><\/p>\n
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