My research interests lie in vertebrate behavioral ecology and population dynamics. I am particularly interested in the role of ecological and historical factors in shaping group-living patterns. Currently, I am studying the potential ways in that selective forces underlie the evolution of sociality. My organismal focus is the colonial spiny rat, Trinomys yonenagae, a species endemic to the semiarid dunes of the Sao Francisco River, Brazil. The question 'why this species is social, while all other echimyids are solitary' is my main conceptual orientation. I combine field methods and genetic techniques (microsatellite analyses) in order to characterize the social organization and the genetic mating system of T. yonenagae to grasp a better understanding of: (1) the potential factors driving the maintenance of group-living, (2) the roles of relatedness and ecological resources on philopatry and group formation, and (3) the effects of sociality on population dynamics and individual fitness.