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Patrícia Medici is a world-leading expert in Brazil’s lowland tapirs, large herbivores whose seed dispersal function is fundamental to rainforest ecosystems, including the Amazon. “Tapirs move very long distances and they connect different habitats,” she says. “They’re the gardeners of the forest, very powerful seed dispersers.” Medici leads the , which works to protect these animals – currently listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species – in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, Pantanal wetlands, Cerrado grasslands and, since 2022, the Amazon.