:: Research interests and Current Tasks

- Hormonal assays in migrating shorebirds using radioimmunoassays. This is an immunological technique that allows the measurement of steroids concentration using specific antibodies labeled to radioisotopes.

- Life history trade-offs: parentage and reproductive success of alternative reproductive morphotypes of the peacock blenny Salaria pavo.

:: Current research project

MigraTagis project - "Wintering and migrating shorebirds as indicators of the quality of estuarine environments"

This project is coordinated by Centro de Biologia Ambiental of FCUL and involves the Instituto de Oceanografia and Unidade de Investigação em Eco-Etologia as partners. The project sets out to examine the key factors determining the use of tidal flats and high-tide roosts by shorebirds, particularly those that might negatively affect the carrying capacity of the estuary for these species. The main interest is to develop quantitative indicators of the quality of feeding areas and roosting sites for shorebirds. For this purpose, in addition to total number of birds and several performance measures, eco-physiological stress measurements in living birds (gluco-corticosteroid hormones) will be used.
 
Funded by: FCT - PTDC/MAR/66319/2006

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