Welcome to the LaMMER
The Lab. of Mathematical Modeling on the Evolution of Resistance (LaMMER) is based at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
We are interested in understanding how resistance emerge and proliferate in populations. Such resistance may manifest in the form of defensive strategies/traits that prey may have against predators or traits in pests or pathogens that confer resistance to xenobiotics. Our approach to such issues is mainly through theoretical methods, such as mathematical models and computer simulations.
Some computational resources from our research can be foud here.
Main research areas
Defensive mechanisms prey would evolve to get away from predators
How prey individuals assess their environments and respond to varying conditions is a crutial issue in Ecology. We investigate how prey respond to predators and how predation works as a selective force driving the prevalence of defended phenotypes in prey populations. We often look at the ecological consequences, from the individual to the ecosystem, emerging from prey responses to predators.
Development of resistance to pesticides
The evolution of the resistence to pesticides is a major threat to food security. We are investigating the drivers of pesticide resistance development and proliferation in pest populations using mathematical models. We also investigate how evolutionary- and ecologically-informed management strategies can help mitigate the development of pesticide resistance.
Contact
Contact: [rafael.guariento@ufms.br]
Lab Members
Eduardo Cerqueira e Silva (Master of Science candidate)
- Develops mathematical models to understand how Niche Theory can predict the prevalence of resistent pest in agricultural ecosystems.
Gilberto Muniz-Junior (PhD candidate)
- Develops mathematical models to understand the evolution of pesticide resistance and proliferation of resistance in nature.
Permanent Lab Members
Nina Felix Guariento
- Nina plays an important role in the Lab. She hardly sleeps at night, making us awake to think about science from dusk till dawn.
Arthur Felix Guariento
- Arthur provides military-grade durability tests for all equipment, anything he can throw up in the air.