About

Kim Valenta is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Florida within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Her areas of interest and research include plant-animal co-evolution, sensory ecology, evolutionary ecology, and conservation, with a focus on Madagascar. She is engaged in studying the interactions between plants and animals, exploring how sensory systems influence ecological relationships, and contributing to conservation efforts through her research.

Research topics

• Biology
• Ecology
• Zoology
• Evolutionary biology
• Food science
• Demography
• Botany

Selected publications

• Unlocking fruit dimensions: Quantification of functional traits driving plant–frugivore interactions

  Applications in Plant Sciences · 2026-01-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Fleshy fruits attract animals to ingest fruit, swallow the seeds, and release them in the landscape, thus facilitating seed dispersal and plant regeneration. Attraction of animal dispersers is achieved via attractants such as color or scent, and rewards like sugars, lipids, and micronutrients. In addition to these attractants and rewards, a plethora of fruit and seed functional traits, including size, hardness, and chemistry, can affect the accessibility and attractiveness of fruits to seed‐dispersing animals. These functional traits form the interface between animals and fruits and, through trait matching, act as filters in dispersal networks. Yet, despite their critical roles in shaping seed dispersal networks, many fruit traits are not quantified in a standardized fashion, if they are quantified at all. As such, the existing databases of fruit traits used for syntheses lack many functional dimensions. We review the latest developments in fruit trait analysis, focusing on traits relevant for plant–frugivore interactions (i.e., morphology, color, chemistry), as well as some of their drivers (DNA, RNA, and microbial communities). We provide an overview of many existing methods, their advantages and disadvantages, and their application in field conditions.

  PublisherDOI

• The effect of chronic, latent <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> infection on human behavior: Testing the parasite manipulation hypothesis in humans

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-03-20

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Parasitism is one of the key, structural, interspecific interactions in ecology. One remarkable parasitic strategy that has been documented in multiple systems is the behavioral manipulation of hosts to increase parasite fitness. While not yet documented in humans, we propose that a ubiquitous zoonotic parasite – Toxoplasma gondii – may change human behavior to favor the parasite by increasing the fitness of the parasite’s definitive host - cats. Specifically, we assess the possibility that human behavioral changes resulting from chronic, latent T. gondii infection lead to measurable changes in attitudes, actions and dopaminergic responses towards cats that function to increase domestic cat fitness. We assessed the potential role of humans in the T. gondii lifecycle by identifying and testing behavioral changes in humans that benefit the parasite; specifically, human affection for cats. We assessed T. gondii infection status in 68 participants using T. gondii serum antibody testing, and assessed their attitudes towards cats in three ways: i) surveys, ii) participant behavior in the presence of domestic cats, and iii) participant oxytocin levels before and after interactions with cats to assess dopaminergic changes. Only 2 of 68 participants were positive for T. gondii antibodies, limiting statistical power. However, our results indicated that T. gondii -positive participants both reported a greater affection for cats in surveys, and spent more time engaged with cats during behavioral trials than T. gondii -negative participants (87% of study time engaging with cats vs 75%). Oxytocin results were inconclusive.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Multilevel variation in sugar profile of wild figs supports the dispersal syndrome hypothesis

  2026-03-16

  articleOpen access

  Plant–frugivore mutualisms are shaped by suites of fruit traits that evolve in tandem with the preferences of seed dispersers, a concept encapsulated by the dispersal syndrome hypothesis. While morphological characteristics (e.g., size, color, firmness) have been extensively studied, the nutritional dimension, and particularly sugar profiles, remains comparatively understudied. This is despite its role as a primary reward influencing frugivore foraging decisions and despite the fact that these are the primary attractants driving animal feeding and ultimately seed dispersal. Here, we investigated the evolutionary and ecological drivers of sugar profile diversity in the ripe fruits of 15 animal-dispersed wild fig (Ficus) species. We sampled 1019 ripe fruit samples of 50 individual trees at 4 different field sites in Madagascar. Fruits were oven-dried and analyzed using High‑Performance Liquid Chromatography to quantify the abundances of sugars. We addressed three questions: (Q1) Are sugar-composition profiles species-specific? (Q2) Is the sugar profile phylogenetically conserved? (Q3) Do sugar profiles covary with other fruit traits in ways that support dispersal syndromes? Our results demonstrate fig species exhibit certain distinct sugar profiles, alongside substantial intraspecific variability; we did not find a phylogenetic signal in sugar profiles, suggesting that sugar profiles are not strongly constrained by shared ancestry but have likely diverged under ecological selection; and sugar profiles covary significantly with other fruit traits. Species with smaller fruits, different/multiple coloration, and mixed aromatic profiles rich in terpene and ester exhibited elevated sucrose concentrations, whereas larger, more conspicuous, and ester-rich fruits tended to contain higher fructose levels. Together, these findings lend support for the dispersal syndrome hypothesis by demonstrating that sugar profile, like other non-sugar traits, such as morphology, has evolved in association with frugivore preferences.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Sustaining Workers Who Sustain the World: Assets-Based Design for Conservation Technologies in Madagascar

  Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · 2025-10-16

  articleOpen access

  Local workers and their knowledge are essential for sustainable and effective conservation efforts. However, many technology-assisted conservation programs are guided by global benchmarks (e.g., forest cover) and industry metrics (e.g., cost per acre), which often devalue local knowledge and fail to consider the economic and conservation goals of local workers. Assets-based design is well-suited to center workers and their strengths, yet it may fail to fully address the complexities of long-term conservation programs by not explicitly emphasizing workers' goals or bolstering their assets. We extend recent approaches in assets-based design literature that address these limitations through our case studies of reforestation, biodiversity monitoring, and carbon sequestration programs in three protected areas in Madagascar. We leverage a mixed-methods approach of direct reactive observations, unstructured interviews, and an informal design workshop, revealing emergent themes surrounding economic sustainability and the value of local ecological knowledge in conservation. Finally, we explore examples, tensions, and design considerations for worker-centered conservation technology to: (1) prioritize local knowledge, (2) foster love of nature, (3) center economic goals, and (4) embrace local autonomy. This work advances the dialogue on assets-based design, promoting the co-creation of equitable and sustainable conservation technologies with workers in Global South settings by centering local economic priorities and enhancing workers' strengths.

  PublisherDOI

• The impact of free-roaming dogs on lemurs in Madagascar: a decade of research and intervention

  Folia Primatologica · 2025-01-10 · 2 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Lemurs are the most endangered group of mammals on earth, and invasive species, including domestic dogs, are considered to be the second greatest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss. Here, we describe and summarize the challenges and results of a decade of research aimed at understanding the impact of dogs on lemurs, and efforts to humanely reduce dog populations in protected areas in Madagascar, to reduce their impact on lemurs and other wildlife, via the non-profit the Mad Dog Initiative. We have found that free-roaming domestic dog populations living in and around Madagascar's protected areas both predate and displace native wildlife, and that the presence of dogs in forests drives a reduction of wildlife in forests. Additionally, dogs vector a number of pathogens that can have lethal consequences for lemur populations, as well as serving as important vectors of anti-microbial resistance. We propose several future directions for research, outreach, and capacity building in Madagascar and other low and middle income countries aimed at better quantifying the threat of domestic species on wildlife, and mitigating its impact.

  PublisherDOI

• Sources of variation in plant chemical diversity: Lessons from Malagasy <i>Ficus</i>

  American Journal of Botany · 2025-09-01 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  PREMISE: Plants produce a tremendous variety of secondary compounds that are crucial to interspecific and intraspecific interactions and for adaptation to environmental changes. This chemical diversity has been attributed to multiple factors, including interactions with herbivores or pollinators, tissue-specific needs, and evolutionary constraints. The interplay between a vast array of factors driving plant chemodiversity remains unclear, mainly because most studies have focused on a single organ-mostly leaves-or, when comparing different organs, have been limited to single taxa. Thus, the relationship between functional and phylogenetic factors remains unresolved. We use a model system of Ficus from Madagascar to examine the extent to which phytochemical diversity is shaped by tissue-specific function and the degree to which phylogenetic relatedness explains variation in fruit and leaf chemodiversity. METHODS: We applied an untargeted metabolomics approach to unripe fruits (the syconium, a hollow structure containing numerous small flowers) and leaves from eight species of wild figs (Ficus spp.) sampled in a tropical rainforest in Madagascar. We characterized their chemical profiles using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and reconstructed their phylogeny using six genetic markers to understand the patterns of chemodiversity. RESULTS: Fruit and leaf metabolomes were more similar to the same organ in other species than to the other organs within the same species. There was a significant but moderate phylogenetic correlation in fruit and leaf chemodiversity. CONCLUSIONS: Although phylogenetic relatedness influences plant chemodiversity in Malagasy figs, functional convergence of tissue-specific metabolites may be a major evolutionary driver.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Primate foraging strategies modulate responses to anthropogenic change and thus primate conservation

  HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · 2024-01-01

  preprintOpen access

  International audience

  PublisherOA PDF

• Friends or foes? Plant-animal coevolutionary history is driven by both mutualistic and antagonistic interactions

  2023-04-19 · 4 citations

  preprintOpen access

  Coevolution played a central role in shaping biodiversity. However, coevolutionary events driving reciprocal diversification between interacting partners lack empirical evidences. Examples of diversification arising from mutualisms and antagonisms at different trophic levels are scarce, which limits our understanding on how complex relationships between species arise within communities. By adopting a cophylogenetic framework, we investigated whether congruence in plant-lemur phylogenies are driven by mutualisms and antagonisms in Madagascar, where endemic species have evolved within a unique isolated biogeographical context. Although we found weak support for coevolution, this is not to say that lemurs and plants did not share evolutionary history. Weak cophylogenetic signals do not necessarily imply lack of co-diversification. Rather, our results suggest that vertebrates and plants influenced each other evolution, but in a multi-specific context where the cophylogenetic process leaded to spatio-temporal asymmetries and shifts between periods of coevolution and independent evolution, ultimately resulting in a weak, continuous and diffuse process.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• What drives seed dispersal effectiveness?

  Ecology and Evolution · 2023-08-31 · 13 citations

  articleOpen access

  Seed dispersal is a critical phase in plant reproduction and forest regeneration. In many systems, the vast majority of woody species rely on seed dispersal by fruit-eating animals. Animals differ in their size, movement patterns, seed handling, gut physiology, and many other factors that affect the number of seeds they disperse, the quality of treatment each individual seed receives, and consequently their relative contribution to plant fitness. The seed dispersal effectiveness framework (SDE) was developed to allow systematic and standardized quantification of these processes, offering a potential for understanding the large-scale dynamics of animal-plant interactions and the ecological and evolutionary consequences of animal behavior for plant reproductive success. Yet, despite its wide acceptance, the SDE framework has primarily been employed descriptively, almost always in the context of local systems. As such, the drivers of variation in SDE across systems and the relationship between its components remain unknown. We systematically searched studies that quantified endozoochorous SDE for multiple animal species dispersing one or more plant species in a given system and offered an integrative examination of the factors driving variation in SDE. Specifically, we addressed three main questions: (a) Is there a tradeoff between high dispersal quality and quantity? (b) Does animal body mass affect SDE or its main components? and (c) What drives more variation in SDE, seed dispersal quality, or quantity? We found that: (a) the relationship between quality and quantity is mediated by body size; (b) this is the result of differential relationships between body mass and the two components, while total SDE is unaffected by body mass; (c)neither quality nor quantity explain more variance in SDE globally. Our results also highlight the need for more standardized data to assess large-scale patterns in SDE.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Red fruits exhibit lower colour diversity than red flowers as perceived by birds

  Functional Ecology · 2023-10-08 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Pollination and seed dispersal are crucial processes for plant reproduction, sharing ecological relevance and similarities, yet they have rarely been considered together. Flowers appear to express greater phenotypic diversity than fruits due to multiple confounding factors, which pose challenges for comparative analyses. The colours of flowers and fruits are important visual signal traits in pollination and seed dispersal, evolving under different selective pressures from their respective pollinators and seed dispersers. Birds constitute a unique plant‐interacting group that participates in both pollination and seed dispersal events. In this study, we focus on red flowers and red fruits associated with avian mutualists to gain insight into the intrinsic differences between flowers/pollination and fruits/seed dispersal. We conducted comparisons of colouration between 94 red flowers pollinated by birds and 99 red fruits dispersed by birds. The colour diversity was compared in both the spectral space and the avian colour vision spaces. Colour conspicuousness was analysed using avian colour vision models, as well as bee models. Pigeon colour preference was tested by controlled experiments utilizing red stimuli with and without secondary peaks at short wavelengths. Red fruits had lower colour diversity than red flowers, with redder hues and fewer secondary reflectance peaks. Avian colour vision models illustrated that fruits were more conspicuous than flowers achromatically, but not chromatically. Pigeons did not show preference for red with or without a secondary peak. Although both are red, there are significant differences between flowers and fruits in terms of colour diversity, spectral properties and colour perceptions. As we exclusively considered avian mutualists, these differences cannot be attributed to the differences in interacting animal groups or to their colour vision properties. This implies that the differences in evolutionary history between flowers and fruits may deserve further attention to understand the colour evolution. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Colin A. Chapman

  George Washington University

  108 shared

• Omer Nevo

  German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research

  43 shared

• Amanda Melin

  University of Calgary

  17 shared

• Manfred Ayasse

  Universität Ulm

  16 shared

• Kevin A. Brown

  Public Health Ontario

  16 shared

• Andrea L. Baden

  The Graduate Center, CUNY

  14 shared

• Radoniaina R. Rafaliarison

  Association Vahatra

  13 shared

• Zach J. Farris

  Appalachian State University

  12 shared