Erica A. G. Vidal

Founder & Principal investigator, Professor of Biological Oceanography and Ecology 

Erica Vidal is an Oceanographer with both M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Biological Oceanography, the latter obtained in 2000 at Texas A&M University, USA. Her research interests focus on the developmental biology, ecology and culture of cephalopod early life stages. More specifically, her research explores the morphological and ecological adaptations of paralarvae by integrating ecology and physiological mechanisms. Currently, she is interested in assessing the ways in which paralarvae learning capabilities are shaped by exogenous factors.

Rita Melo Franco Santos

Collaborator

Rita Franco-Santos is an Erasmus Mundus PhD candidate at the University of Bremen, Alfred-Wegener Institute (Germany) and Ghent University (Belgium). She currently works with copepods and zooplankton larvae in the North Sea and Arctic Ocean, but still cooperates with her former supervisor, Dr. Érica Vidal, on works related to cephalopod paralarvae. Her main interests are zooplankton diversity and feeding ecology - "you are what you eat".

Paulo Soares

Laboratory Technician

Paulo Soares is a Biologist, lover of the sea and its ecological interactions. He graduated in Biology at the Catholic University of Paraná, in Curitiba (2000). He is our lab technician and is interested in improving and optimizing the culture techniques used in the laboratory. He enjoys teamwork and investigating how to solve the problems arising in his workplace. He also loves to work with the amazing cephalopods and even more with the people who actively share our lab daily.

Danielle Ortiz de Ortiz

Ph.D Student 

Danielle is a PhD student in Coastal and Oceanic Systems at UFPR, with a degree in Oceanography and an M.Sc in Biological Oceanography, both at the University of Rio Grande (FURG). She has experience in copepod culture, growth experiments, biomass and secondary production. Danielle's research will evaluate the viability of using copepods as a live food for rearing octopus paralarvae. In addition, she will focus on understanding the factors that determine predatory behavior in octopus paralarvae, using zooplankton as prey.

Ivan Luiz Gavioli

M.Sc Student 

Ivan Gavioli  has a degree in History and is a M.Sc student at the Graduate Program in Coastal and Oceanic System at UFPR.  Ivan’s research aims at developing a closed recirculation water system to meet the specific octopus paralarvae needs, increasing their survival rate through water quality improvements and ideal water circulation inside the farming tanks. Among his other interests are science communication, skepticism development, hiking, and traveling.

Marcela dos Santos Moni

Oceanography Undergraduate Student

Marcela is an undergraduate student of Oceanography at UFPR. She always has had a strong interest in biological oceanography and now wants to explore the possibilities of working with cephalopod early life stages and to know more about their ecology.

Gabrielle Regmont

Oceanography Undergraduate Student

Gabrielle is pursuing a degree in Oceanography at UFPR. She has worked with bivalves, but now wants conduct behavioral studies with more advanced mollusks, precisely with octopus embryos and paralarvae.

Dayane Morais

Oceanography Undergraduate Student

Dayane Morais is an undergraduate student of Oceanography at UFPR. She has a Technological degree in Environmental Managment and a Technical degree in Fuel and Gas. Dayane is interested in studying the developmental biology of octopus and squid.

Aline Nakamori

​Oceanography Undergraduate Student

Aline Nakamori is an undergraduate student of Oceanography at UFPR and has a technical degree in business administration and in computer science support. She is especially passionate about the cognitive capacity of cephalopods and intends to learn more about their particularities, and the influence of environmental factors on the diversity and survival of their paralarvae.