Fernanda S. Caron

Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.

I'm a Ph.D. student in Ecology and Conservation at UFPR, Brazil, conducting research under the supervision of Dr. Fabricius M. C. B. Domingos. My research focuses on macroevolution, macroecology, and understanding patterns in the evolution of biological diversity. I'm particularly interested in phylogenetics and phylogenetic comparative methods as tools to investigate evolutionary questions. My Ph.D. project explores connections between micro- and macroevolution, focusing on rates of molecular evolution and species diversification. I'm also co-director of Communications for the Brazilian Society of Evolutionary Biology (SBBE).

cv
presentations
extras
publications

education

2024.
CAPES/PrInt training at the School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
2023 - current.
PhD, Ecology and Conservation, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil.
2021 - 2023.
MSc, Zoology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil.
2017 - 2021.
BSc, Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil.

awards & honors

2024.
Academic Excellence Award - Master's graduate - Postgraduate program in Zoology, UFPR.
2021.
34º Paraná Science and Technology Award, General Superintendence of Science, Technology and Higher Education (Prêmio Paranaense de Ciência e Tecnologia, Superintendência Geral de Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior - Seti) - Biological Sciences Undergraduate Student.
2016.
Outstanding student of High School class.

presentations

2025.
Revisiting the determinants of molecular evolutionary rate variation in vertebrates (poster)
I Simpósio Integrado de Biodiversidade (I SIBio - UFPR), Curitiba, Brazil.
2024.
Does clade density constrain geographical range evolution? (poster)
I Brazilian Congress of Evolutionary Biology (SBBE24), Curitiba, Brazil.
The evolution of Hutchinsonian niche across gymnosperms (poster)
Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation Symposium, Aberdeen, UK.
Dinâmica do nicho: modelagem macroevolutiva passada e futura para conservação de espécies ameaçadas (oral presentation)
XXI Simpósio em Ecologia e Conservação, Curitiba, Brazil.
The evolution of Hutchinsonian niche across gymnosperms (oral presentation)
BES Macro SIG, Cardiff, UK.
2022.
Introdução ao uso do R e aos métodos comparativos filogenéticos (workshop)
III Curso de Inverno da Zoologia, Virtual.
2021.
Geographical range overlap networks and the macroecology of species co-occurrence (oral presentation)
BES Macro SIG, Virtual.
Do geographic range sizes evolve faster in endotherms? (oral presentation)
Meeting of the American Society of Naturalists, Virtual.
2020.
O sinal filogenético de taxas de diversificação (poster)
XXXIII Congresso Brasileiro de Zoologia, Águas de Lindóia, Brazil.

extras

current.
Planning and organizing scientific events - II Brazilian Congress of Evolutionary Biology (SBBE26).
Co-Director of Communications at the Brazilian Society of Evolutionary Biology (SBBE).
2025.
Participation in EvoSur - Taller Sudamericano de Biologia Evolutiva (Playa Verde, Maldonado, Uruguay).
Planning and organizing scientific events - I Simpósio Integrado de Biodiversidade (I SIBio - UFPR).
2024.
Planning and organizing scientific events - I Brazilian Congress of Evolutionary Biology (SBBE24).
2023.
Part of the Scientific Communication Committee of the Zoology Postgraduate Program.
2022 - 2023.
Substitute student representative for postgraduate zoology students.
2022 - 2023.
Planning and organizing scientific events - III Curso de Inverno de Zoologia and the IV Simpósio Paranaense de Zoologia.

publications

in press

19. Caron, F. S., Salles, M. M. A., & Domingos, F. M. C. B. Digest: Linking life-history evolution and substitution rates in extreme environments. Evolution, qpaf233.

2025

18. Caron, F, S., Pietras, Z., Eddine-Lomas, A., von Hellfeld, R., & Morimoto, J. (2025). Amino acid frequency in the proteome is not associated with realised thermal limit nor dietary niche breadth in 35 Lepidoptera species. Ecology and Evolution, 15, e72608.

17. Domingos, F. M. C. B., Silva, D. C., & Caron, F. S. (2025). Biogeography, Ecological Theories in. Reference Module in Life Sciences, Elsevier.

2024

16. Wu, D., Liu, C., Caron, F. S., Pie, M. R., Luo, Y., Yu, M., Eggleton, P., & Chu, C. (2024). Habitat fragmentation drives pest termite risk in humid but not arid biomes. One Earth, 7, 2049–2062.

15. Pie, M. R., Divieso, R., & Caron, F. S. (2024). Does clade density constrain geographical range evolution?. Ecology and Evolution, 14, e70438.

14. Caron, F. S., Rivadeneira, D., Rabinovich, Pie, M. R., & Morimoto, J. (2024).Range size positively correlates with temperature and precipitation niche breadths but not dietary niche breadth in Triatomine insects, vectors of Chagas disease. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 8, e0012430.

13. Caron, F. S., & Pie, M. R. (2024). The evolution of body size in terrestrial tetrapods. Evolutionary Biology, 51, 283-294.

12. Caron, F. S., & Pie, M. R. (2024). The macroevolution of sexual size dimorphism in birds. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, blad168.

2023

11. Pie, M. R., & Caron, F. S. Substantial variation in species ages among vertebrate clades. Evolutionary Journal of the Linnean Society, 2, 1-7.

10. Pie, M. R., Divieso, R., & Caron, F. S. Clade density and the evolution of equilibrial diversification dynamics. Nature Communications, 14, 4576.

9. Pie, M. R., Caron, F. S., Dallimore, T., Einzmann, H., Hietz, P., Kessler, M. et al. (2023). Phylogenetic diversity and the structure of host-epiphyte interactions across the Neotropics. PeerJ, 11, e15500.

2022

8. Caron, F. S., & Pie, M. R. (2022). Arrested diversification? The phylogenetic distribution of poorly-diversifying lineages. npj Biodiversity, 1, 5.

7. Pie, M. R., & Caron, F. S. (2022). Geographical range overlap networks and the macroecology of species co-occurrence. PLoS ONE, 17, e0266275.

2021

6. Pie, M. R., Caron F. S., & Divieso, R. (2021). The evolution of species abundances in terrestrial vertebrates. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 59, 2562-2570.

5. Pie, M. R., Carrijo, T. F., & Caron, F. S. (2021). The diversification of termites: inferences from a complete species-level phylogeny. Zoologica Scripta, 50, 769-779.

4. Pie, M. R., Divieso, R., Caron, F. S., Siqueira, A. C., Barneche, D. R., & Luiz, O. J. (2021). The evolution of latitudinal range limits in tropical reef fishes: heritability, limits, and inverse Rapoport’s rule. Journal of Biogeography, 48, 2121-2132.

3. Pie, M. R., Divieso, R., & Caron, F. S. (2021). The evolution of climatic niche breadth in terrestrial vertebrates. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 59, 1155-1166.

2. Pie, M. R., Divieso, R., & Caron, F. S. (2021). Do geographic range sizes evolve faster in endotherms? Evolutionary Biology, 48, 286–292.

2020

1. Caron, F. S., & Pie M. R. (2020). The phylogenetic signal of diversification rates. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 58, 1432-1436.

The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful. If nature was not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and if nature was not worth knowing, life would not be worth living.

— Jules Henri Poincaré