Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Biography
I'm an ecologist interested in researching and teaching about the many ways in which humans can change the natural world. My focus is on biodiversity and conservation, invasive species, fire ecology, carbon dynamics, and tropical and island ecology. Before coming to the St. Mary's College of Maryland, I earned my Master's and Doctorate degrees at Universidade Estadual de Campinas, South Dakota State University, and Lancaster University in the UK. I also held teaching and research positions at Penn State, University of Colorado - Boulder, Sapienza Università di Roma, The American University of Rome, and University of Maryland. As a teacher, my goal is to empower students with a broad understanding of environmental issues and the ability to continue learning beyond the classroom.
Selected Publications (for more, visit my Google Scholar webpage)
Burrascano S, et al. 2025. Towards an effective in-situ biodiversity assessment in European forests. Basic and Applied Ecology 84: 121-132.
Carvalho RL, et al. 2023. Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research. Current Biology 33: 1-10.
Burrascano S, et al. 2023. Where are we now with European forest multi-taxon biodiversity and where can we head to? Biological Conservation 284: 110176.
Aker SA, de Andrade RB, Duan JJ, & Gruner DS (2022). Rapid spread of an introduced parasitoid for biological control of emerald ash borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in Maryland. Journal of Economic Entomology, 115: 381-386
de Andrade RB, K Abell, JJ Duan, P Shrewsbury, DS Gruner. 2021. Protective neighboring effect from ash trees treated with systemic insecticide against emerald ash borer. Pest Management Science 77: 474-481.
Burrascano S, RB de Andrade, Y Paillet, P Ódor, G Antonini, C Bouget, T Campagnaro, F Gosselin, P Janssen, AM Persiani, J Nascimbene, FM Sabatini, T Sitzia, C Blasi. 2018. Congruence across taxa and spatial scales: are we asking too much of species data? Global Ecology and Biogeography 27: 980- 990.
de Andrade RB, JK Balch, AL Parsons, D Armenteras, RM Roman-Cuesta, J Bulkan. 2017. Scenarios in tropical forest degradation: carbon stock trajectories for REDD+. Carbon Balance and Management 12: 6.
de Andrade RB, JK Balch, JYO Carreira, PM Brando, AVL Freitas. 2017. The impacts of recurrent fires on diversity of fruit-feeding butterflies in a southeastern Amazon forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology 33: 22-32.