Pedro Mittelman

Education

I am an ecologist focused on plant-animal interactions. I have a special interest in seed dispersal and food hoarding by animals. During my masters I investigated the restoration of seed dispersal processes after reintroduction of the agouti (a magnificent neotropical rodent). I am also fond of themes involving conservation, frugivory and animal reintroduction.

PhD Research Project

Outcomes of interactions between scatter-hoarding rodents and seeds can have a large impact on growth and persistence of plant populations. However, little is known about how forest management practices affect the fate of seeds removed by rodents.
My main question is: Does a different set of tree species used in forestry change seed dispersal and predation rates and thus where the hoarder-plant interaction is placed along the mutualism-antagonism continuum?
For instance, in mixed stands where European beech is present, seed predation of highly productive conifers like Douglas fir and Norway Spruce could be diminished due to a preferential predation of the large European beech seeds by rodents.
Interactions between small mammals and trees according to different forest compositions

Publications

Mittelman, P., Landim, A.R., Genes. L., Assis A.P.A., Starling-Manne, C., Leonardo, P.V., Fernandez, F.A.S, Guimarães Jr, P.R., Pires, A.S., (2021) - Trophic rewilding benefits a tropical community through direct and indirect network effects. Ecography. DOI:10.1111/ecog.05838dr

Mittelman, P., Dracxler, C.M., Santos-Coutinho, P.R.O. and Pires, A.S. (2021), Sowing forests: a synthesis of seed dispersal and predation by agoutis and their influence on plant communities. Biological Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12761

Mittelman, P., Pires, A. S., & Fernandez, F. A. (2021) The intermediate dispersal hypothesis: seed dispersal is maximized in areas with intermediate usage by hoarders. Plant Ecology, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-020-01100-6

Mittelman, P., Kreischer, C., Pires, A.S., & Fernandez, F. A. (2020). Agouti reintroduction recovers seed dispersal of a large‐seeded tropical tree. Biotropica. 52(4): 766–74 https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12788.