Daniela Boanares
Life Sciences
The journey of biologist Daniela Boanares, from her origins on the outskirts of Belo Horizonte to her doctorate in plant biology, reveals the essence of a curious mind committed to preserving biodiversity. Her project explores the mysteries of rock fields: how can such a small space house such a wealth of biodiversity? Her research aims to understand the factors that shape these ecosystems to outline better strategies and techniques for protecting rock fields
With a degree in biological sciences from Centro Universitário UNA and a master’s degree in ecology of tropical biomes from the Federal University of Ouro Preto, Boanares completed her doctorate in plant biology at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, where she also had the opportunity for a sandwich period at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain. Her doctoral work won the CAPES 2021 award for the best thesis on biodiversity. She is now pursuing a post-doctorate at the Vale Technological Institute in Belém.
A black woman, Boanares is also defined by balance. To compensate for the seriousness of the academic world, she seeks the free expressiveness of dancing between sambas, carimbós and karaoke. Connected with nature also in her personal life, the biologist escapes the city’s movement to the middle of the woods whenever free time arises. To balance serenity and bucolicism, she celebrates her scientific and personal achievements with a glass of cold beer at the nearest corner bar.
Projects
Although ecosystems occupy small areas, the rupestrian fields have high diversity and varying degrees of endemism. Therefore, climate change and environmental degradation significantly threaten its biodiversity. Understanding the factors that affect the variety of communities in different rock fields becomes a key factor for their conservation. We will use functional ecology as a basis, considering alternative functional designs based on the multiple phenotypes of species from different rupestrian fields. Our objective is to know which combinations of characteristics potentially describe the successful establishment of these plants in this ecosystem. By understanding how these different strategies are distributed, we can predict how species will respond to imminent environmental changes.
