ECOLOGY
OF
STEPPE BIRDS
ABOUT US
Research Team
Students and Collaborators
Inês Catry
Postdoc Researcher CEABN/CIBIO
e-mail: inescatryatgmail.com
Web: http://www.isa.utl.pt/ceabn/membro/2/48/ines-catry
My research focuses on understanding the impacts of environmental changes on the breeding biology, habitat quality and population dynamics of steppe-land birds. I am particularly interested in quantifying the effects of climate change on the behaviour, distribution and demography of bird populations as well as in evaluating birds’ plasticity to adapt to climate change. I am also interested in predicting their response to the most likely scenarios of agricultural changing practices, such as intensification and land abandonment. Another topic of my research lies in bird migration ecology and in tackling the mechanisms through which migratory behaviour can be altered and the influence of climate change and habitat loss on these mechanisms. I address these questions by combining standard field methods (monitoring, ringing, etc) and new approaches (GPS loggers, geolocators, stable isotopes). My model species include the Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni), the European Roller (Coracias garrulus), the White-Stork (Ciconia ciconia) and the Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax). The ultimate goal of my research aims at improving the delivery of effective conservation measures for the targeted species.
Aldina Franco
Senior Lecturer, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia
e-mail: A.Francoatuea.ac.uk
Web: https://www.uea.ac.uk/environmental-sciences/people/profile/a-franco
I am a conservation ecologist interested in movement ecology and ecological responses to global change. During my PhD I explored which factors were responsible for an endangered species (lesser kestrel) decline, determined what was limiting population growth and identified measures needed to reverse population declines. I used this information to develop EU LIFE-Nature funded conservation projects for lesser kestrels in Portugal. These projects were extremely successful, the species population tripled in a few years. The lesser kestrel is no longer a globally endangered species due to the implementation of targeted conservation efforts done in several European countries. I am convinced that scientific research and conservation in practice can work together to provide successful conservation outputs.
As a postdoctoral researcher I looked at the effects of habitat loss and climate change on the distribution of northern butterfly species, at different spatial scales. We found that the southern range margin of northern butterfly species is retracting and this has been associated with recent temperature increases. As a postdoctoral researcher at Washington State University I worked on butterfly movement in fragmented and heterogeneous landscapes. In 2009 I returned to the UK and became a lecturer in Ecology at UEA.
Francisco Moreira
Principal Researcher CEABN/CIBIO
e-mail: fmoreiraatisa.utl.pt
Web: https://cibio.up.pt/people/details/fmoreira
I have a PhD degree in Biology (University of Lisbon, 1996). During the first stages of my academic career, I carried out ecological studies on marine and estuarine fish (food, growth and breeding ecology). My PhD was on wetland bird ecology, namely the role of waders and gulls on energy fluxes on a southern European estuarine food web. My current research interests include 3 major topics:
(i) links between farmland and forest management and biodiversity: I am interested on predicting how policy changes affect the management of agricultural and forest ecosystems (from field to landscape levels), and how this is reflected on biodiversity and the provisioning of ecosystem services. Within this topic, I have been focusing on grassland birds as biodiversity indicators;
(ii) fire ecology: the research focus is evaluating the impacts of wildfire on plants (cork oak in particular) and landscapes, as well as on the effectiveness of different post-fire ecosystem restoration approaches.
(iii) biodiversity impacts of anthropogenic linear infrastructures: focus is on power lines, and how they impact, through disturbance, collision and electrocution, bird population dynamics.
I am the principal investigator of the InBIO research group “Biodiversity in Agricultural and Forest Ecosystems”. I am also the chair holder of the REN Invited Research Chair in Biodiversity.
Teresa Catry
Assistant Researcher at CESAM/FCUL, University of Lisbon
e-mail: teresa.catryatgmail.com
Web: http://www.cesam.ua.pt/teresa_catry
My main research is focused on key state-of-the-art aspects of the ecology of coastal and marine birds in the contrasting ecological contexts of tropical, sub-tropical and temperate estuarine/marine ecosystems. In paralel, I have been involved in long-term studies of steppe birds, namely with the European Roller, the Lesser Kestrel and the Little Bustard. Research topics include migratory behaviour, trophic and demographic ecology.
With seabirds I have used a combination of traditional (e.g. stomach content analysis, ringing) and modern (e.g. stable isotope analysis, tracking devices) techniques to perform a detailed exploration of the relationship between oceanography and seabird ecology during both the breeding and non-breeding seasons. Study areas include the Portuguese Mediterranean coast, Madeira archipelago (West Atlantic) and Seychelles archipelago (western Indian Ocean).
Work with coastal birds (shorebirds) aims at implementing a long-term international program focused on intercontinental (African-European) migratory connectivity and the role of migrants in ecological networks, using estuarine birds as models. In particularly, research is focused in (1) developing methods to quantitatively assess the quality of foraging and roosting resources in both temperate and tropical estuaries, (2) characterizing migratory connectivity of shorebirds within the East Atlantic Flyway (Europe and Africa), (3) describing the structure and functioning of food webs leading to shorebirds and (4) assessing the role of these migrant birds on the dynamics of coastal ecosystems. Fieldwork has been carried out in Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau.
Research on steppe birds has been mostly focused on (1) describing previously unknown migratory journeys of the European Roller and the Lesser Kestrel, (2) understanding the mechanisms and consequence of breeding decisions in the Lesser Kestrel, (3) describing sexual and parent-offspring dietary segregation in the Lesser Kestrel and (4) assessing the consequences of extreme heat events for nestlings of the European Roller and the Lesser Kestrel in the scope of climate change, (5) undesrtanding habitat requirements of Little Bustards at different spatial scales.
João Paulo Silva
Postdoc Researcher CEABN/CIBIO
e-mail: silvajatsapo.pt
Web: http://www.isa.utl.pt/ceabn/membro/2/49/joao-paulo-silva
My research interests lie in the area of conservation biology, with particular focus on:
(i) applied ecology of agricultural birds – because these birds are of high conservation value, mostly dependent on manmade management it is crucial to understand their environmental requirements from which agro-environmental prescriptions can be outlined.
(ii) movement ecology – understanding the behavioural and environmental factors driving the ecology of movement. Being involved in the development of tracking devices that enable to study the animal’s movement and behaviour I have been actively involved in several studies with birds and mammals aiming to understand their migration
(iii) climate change – species’ response to changing environments is likely to be determined at a greater scale mostly by population responses at range margins. For this reason I am particularly interested in studying the effects of present and future climate on the Southern-western European grassland bird populations of Little Bustard. More specifically I am interested in understanding how changes in habitat quality and on the bird’s behavior potentially may affect the individual fitness and population dynamics.
(iv) impacts of linear infrastructures on birds – collision and electrocution constitute for many bird species the main cause on non-natural mortality. My interest here is to understand what factors expose the birds to higher risk of mortality and how we can address these problems to reduce the threat from hazardous utility structures.
Katharine Rogerson
PhD Student, University of East Anglia, UK
Web: www.enveast.ac.uk/student-profiles/Katharine_(Kate)_Rogerson
Thesis: "Determinants behind migratory behaviour and changes due to environmental change"
My PhD is looking at the migration of white storks (Ciconia ciconia) using GPS/GSM loggers that provide detailed information of their movements in order to understand differences between resident and migrant birds and the influence of landfill sites on these behaviours.
Nathalie Gilbert
During my PhD I focused my investigation on the impact of winter and breeding season habitat selection on distribution and productivity in partial migrants in Iberia, and the White Stork was my main study species. As well as tracking birds, I have used stable isotopes from feathers to determine wintering location (and hence degree of partial migration) in several species including the storks, Lesser Kestrel and European Roller.
Ana Sampaio
MsC Student, University of Lisbon, Portugal
Thesis: "Role of sex, age composition and season in determining diet composition and provisioning rates of the European Roller in an extensive agricultural landscape".