On-going projects
Effects of anthropogenic food subsidies on the health and movements of opportunistic avian species: a One Health approach
Postdoctoral Fellow
French Institute for Research and Development (IRD) PI: Marta Acácio, Karen D. McCoy
This project aims to understand how anthropogenic food resources influence the early-life health and movement behaviour of two opportunistic species frequently found in urbanised areas of southern Europe: the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis), and the white stork (Ciconia ciconia).
Project funded by Campus France, through the Make Our Planet Great Again (MOPGA) Fellowhsips
Consequences of early-life conditions on first-year migratory decisions of a partially migratory species
Principal Investigator
co-PI: Inês Catry
In this project, we aim to understand to what extent early-life conditions, during the pre-fledging period, impact juveniles physiological and health profiles and ultimately shape their migratory strategy.
Project funded by the British Ecological Society
Past research experience
2022 – 2024: Uncovering how links between social and spatial interactions affect ecological processes. Postdoctoral researcher. Tel Aviv University, Israel. PIs: Orr Spiegel and Noa Pinter-Wollman (University of California, LA). Funding: U.S. National Science Foundation – Israel Binational Science Foundation (NSF-BSF).
2022-2023: Ageing in nature: Lifelong changes in the movement and social behavior of the endangered Griffon Vulture. Postdoctoral Fellow. Funding: George S. Wise Postdoctoral Fellowship.
2018 – 2022: The determinants of migratory and dispersal movements of long-lived birds. PhD candidate. University of East Anglia, UK. Supervisors: Aldina Franco, Phil Atkinson, João Paulo Silva. Funding: Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), via the NEXUSS CDT Training in the Smart and Autonomous Observation of the Environment (NE/N012070/1).
2018 – 2022: Birds on the Move: Adaptive migratory behaviour in response to global environmental change. PhD candidate. PI: Inês Catry. CIBIO, University of Porto, Portugal. Funding: Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028176.
2014 – 2017: Movetech Telemetry – Proof of concept of GPS/GPRS loggers. Research Associate. PI: Aldina Franco, Phil Atkinson, João Paulo Silva. University of East Anglia, UK.
2015: Satellite tracking of Houbara Bustards in Uzbekistan. Research Assistant. PI: Paul Dolman. University of East Anglia, UK.
2014: Effects of tropical forest fragmentation on Amazonian bats and birds. Field Assistant. PI: Jorge Palmeirim, Christoph Meyer. University of Lisbon, Portugal. Funding: Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia.
2014: Study of the migration of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Leonardo Da Vinci Internship. Institute for Avian Research, Germany. Funding: Leonardo da Vinci EU programme.
2011 – 2013: Effect of grazing on the birds and bats of Montado forests. MSc student and Research Assistant. University of Lisbon, Portugal. Funding: Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia.