ABOUT ME
I'm a husband and a father. I'm easy going and like to have a good laugh. I like the outdoors, to be close to the sea, and I love travelling with my family. Other favourites include friends, yoga and sports.
On a professional level, I have a forward-thinking spirit, and I'm interested in research-led teaching and cutting-edge discoveries. I am also a highly motivated person with great learning and creative capabilities, and I am good at getting things done.
My research and teaching interests have been fostered by several team-based, international ventures. I obtained my degree in Marine Biology from the University of Lisbon, Portugal (UL), and then worked for a year on several monitoring and impact assessment projects before continuing my research.
I did my PhD on environmental constraints on crab populations in collaboration with the UL and the Marine Biological Association of the UK, and simultaneously engaged in a couple of projects dealing with restoration and conservation of mangrove forests in East Africa.
Since mid-2008 I develop postdoctoral research at MARE-UL and Macquarie University (Australia), looking at the impacts of estuarine acidification on mangrove ecology.
I'm the Managing Editor of Restoration Ecology since March 2014. It has been a fantastic and very rewarding experience. I love what I do and look forward to continue learning about restoration science and practice.
EDUCATION
2003 – 2008
PhD in Marine Biology and Aquaculture
University of Lisbon, Portugal
Marine Biological Association of the UK
1996 – 2001
Degree in Biology Applied to Marine Animal Resources
University of Lisbon, Portugal
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research is directed towards combining ecological and molecular tools to understand the response of biodiversity and ecosystems to global changes and disturbances, such as ocean acidification, sea surface warming and human-induced degradation. The ultimate goal is to inform restoration and conservation actions.
I am currently investigating how the acidification of estuaries due to runoff from acid sulfate soils affects mangrove invertebrates and, using proteomics, at what extent it might help inform future impacts of CO2-acidification.
I am interested in all aspects of the population structure, regulation and evolutionary adaptation of marine and coastal biota. I have addressed several environmental questions regarding patterns of population distribution, abundance, size-structure and physiological condition of intertidal assemblages and populations of species of molluscs and crabs. I have used a wide range of sampling techniques in the field, conducted manipulative experimentation both in the field and laboratory mesocosms, and extracted and quantified RNA/DNA ratios and protein signatures using different techniques and procedures.
