Dr Beatriz Cosendey is an associate researcher at the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development and a postdoctoral fellow in the Eastern Amazon Program for Biodiversity Research at the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. She holds degrees in marine biology from Fluminense Federal University and ecology and evolution from Rio de Janeiro State University. Her postdoctoral work at the Federal University of Pará focused on the intersection of ecology and traditional knowledge.

In the newest installment of Frontier Scientists, she tells us about her recently published Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science article. In it, she and co-authors investigated the role of the anaconda as a mythical creature in Brazil’s Lower Amazon region, locals’ perception of the snake, and how better coops for chickens could play a vital role in the peaceful co-existence of people and snakes.

University of Missouri study challenges assumptions about biodiversity near Earth’s first reef systems.

Over the past decade, the fast-growing seaweed Caulerpa prolifera has taken over seagrass in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon. While this seaweed provides some habitat, it supports fewer marine species than the original seagrass, signaling a decline in biodiversity. Now, scientists are closely monitoring an unexpected player: small, green sap-sucking sea slugs that feed on C. prolifera and have surged in number. Their presence is prompting new questions about habitat loss, potential pathways for ecosystem recovery, and the uncertain future of marine life in a seagrass-depleted environment.