Adventures in the Amazon

An assistant professor of biology, Abreu had conducted research and collected animal specimens in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil (Amazonia) as a graduate student at the University of São Paulo. His research supervisor was Dr. Alexandre Percequillo, who recently provided him an opportunity to return to the rainforest, specifically to the Purus River where he had done part of his Ph.D. research.

“I told him that if he ever got another grant, we should go back to that river with a full expedition,” Abreu said. “He got another grant in 2022 and is doing one field trip a year. This year, he decided to go back to the Purus River with a full crew and invited me to join them.”

One ASU biology student, Aramide Oladiran of Midland, was chosen to accompany Abreu, realizing a dream that was born in a Zoology class during Abreu’s first semester at ASU in 2023.

“Aramide was a very committed student and was doing well in that class,” Abreu said. “Then, he came to my office and asked about doing research with me and how to get started. When I learned that I could take a student with me on the Amazon research trip, I advertised it to the students, and he was one who applied. I recognized his commitment, so it was a very simple process to select him.”

The 14-member field research team in Brazil

So, Abreu and Oladiran spent about a month last summer living on a houseboat in Brazil as part of a 14-person research team, seeking out rare and new mammal species in remote sites along the Purus River. The group was led by Percequillo as part of his larger effort to survey previously unexplored areas in Brazilian Amazonia. It also included research scientists from five other Brazilian universities and research institutes.

During the trip, the team trapped, documented and collected specimens of mammals (mainly rodents, marsupials and bats) in four different locations along the Purus River, amassing over 300 specimens representing about 65 different species. A highlight of the trip was the collection of three specimens of the elusive giant tree rat (Toromys grandis), which was first reported at the Purus River by Abreu in 2018.

“We are now excited about the possibilities that these new individuals bring to investigate other aspects of the giant tree-rat biology and evolutionary history,” Abreu said.

“Not only was I able to connect with the local communities and experience the rich culture and dishes, but I also gained a new perspective on the value of fieldwork in research.”
– Aramide Oladiran

Another important aspect of the expedition was the interactions with the villagers near their research sites.

“These are the people who take care of the lands, even though they don’t necessarily own it,” Abreu said. “We always go to them first to see if they will allow us to work there, and if they are willing to help us. We couldn’t go into the forest without them to guide us, and they also helped us carry and set up the traps. We try to use existing trails, and they showed us their hunting and harvest trails. But sometimes there were areas where we had to open our own trails.”

“This expedition was nothing but incredible,” Oladiran said. “Not only was I able to connect with the local communities and experience the rich culture and dishes, but I also gained a new perspective on the value of fieldwork in research. This experience deepened my appreciation for the importance of hands-on scientific exploration and learning. I returned with countless stories and memories that I will forever carry with me – and that have enriched my current research and inspired my passion for fieldwork.”

(L-R) Dr. Edson Abreu and Aramide Oladiran boating to a research site in the Amazon Basin

Hoping to inspire even more ASU biology students, Abreu recently helped win a three-year, $71,973 grant from the National Science Foundation to collect and study specimens of the animals that inhabit the Marajó Island in northern Amazonia. The grant came through a subaward from California State Polytechnic University (Cal Poly), Humboldt for the joint project titled “BRC-BIO Marajó: The Origin and Evolution of Vertebrate Diversity in the Planet’s Largest Fluvial Island.”

“It’s a very important place,” Abreu said. “It’s the largest river island on the planet, and our main goal is to understand how the animal communities actually arrived on the island. It has been separated from the South American continent for millions of years, and it has its own unique community of animals. We want to understand the relationships between the animals living on the island and the animals on the mainland.”

Abreu and an ASU student have joined with a group of 8-10 researchers in January for the project’s first expedition to Marajó Island. The group includes faculty and students from Cal Poly, Humboldt and two Brazilian universities, and they are spending about a month collecting specimens of amphibians, reptiles and small mammals. Several more ASU students will also be involved in the project, primarily doing genetics research and other lab work on campus.

“These types of hands-on experiences are invaluable when the students prepare to start their careers or apply to graduate school.”
– Dr. Edson Abreu

“The project will build research and training capacity for the faculty involved,” Abreu said. “It will also achieve broader impact by creating training opportunities for field sampling in the tropics, genomic data acquisition, and analytical approaches for ASU undergraduate and graduate students from various socio-economic backgrounds. These types of hands-on experiences are invaluable when the students prepare to start their careers or apply to graduate school.”

On a more personal note for Abreu, he also gets to show off his homeland and give the students involved the experience of a lifetime.

“During college, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I worked in several different labs, including botany, entomology and microbiology,” Abreu said. “Then I did a summer internship with an organization called the Jaguar Conservation Fund. That was a real turning point in my college education. Before that, I had never worked with mammals. So, when I look back, that was one of the key moments that set the path for my career.”

“We teach our students about the Amazon, but it’s completely different when I can actually show them,” he added. “I hope that for some of our students, this opportunity might be a turning point like my summer internship was for me. It’s amazing and really exciting that I get to help them get this experience.”