Photos by: Francesco Valerio; Roberto Sánchez; Gonçalo Ferraz; João Gameiro

Steppe Birds MOVE

Our group is within CIBIO/ BIOPOLIS/ University of Porto. We carry out ecological studies of endangered steppe birds in Iberia, which is a hotspot for steppe bird diversity but vulnerable to environmental and climate change. Most of our research combines GPS tracking data from tagged birds with high-resolution environmental and climatic data from remote sensing, to provide an in-depth understanding into a wide range of ecological processes. Overall, we aim to give insight into the functioning of these unique and important ecosystems.

Our specific aims are to:

  • Understand the ecological implications of animal movement patterns and behaviours
  • Examine the influence of environmental factors such as climate, topography, and habitat structure on animal movement at high spatial and temporal scales
  • Investigate the impacts of human activities such as effects of infrastructures, habitat destruction, fragmentation, and climate change on animal movement
  • Develop models and tools to predict animal occurrence in response to changes in the environment and climate

Check out our latest publications!

Crispim-Mendes, T., Marques, A. T., Valerio, F., Godinho, S., Pita, R., & Silva, J. P. (2025). Using spatially explicit individual-based models to prioritize conservation strategies: A case study on the little bustard. Journal of Environmental Management, 379, 124790.

Pérez-Granados, C., Benítez-López, A., Díaz, M., Gameiro, J., Lenzner, B., Roura-Pascual, N., Gómez-Catasús, J., Tarjuelo, R., Barrero, A., Bolonio, L., Bota, G., Brambilla, M., Bravo, C., Brotons, L., Bustillo-de la Rosa, D., Cabodevilla, X., Antonio Calvo Búrdalo17, Casas, F., Concepción, E.D., Constán-Nava, S., Crispim-Mendes, T., Giralt, D., Golivets, M., Latombe, G., Leiva, A., López-Iborra, G. M., López-Poveda, G., Mañosa, S., Martín, C. A., Morales, M. B., Moreira, F., Mougeot, F., Nikolov, B., Olea, P. P., Onrubia, A., Reverter, M., Revilla-Martín, N., Rigal, S., Ruiz Jiménez, G., Sáez-Gómez, P., Šálek, M., Salgado, I., Santangeli, A., Santos, C., Sanz-Pérez, A., Serrano, D., Silva, J. P., Torrijo, A., Traba, J., Tryjanowski, P. ,Václav, R., Valera, F., Vögeli, M., Zurdo, J., & Marques, A.T. (2025). Key conservation actions for European steppes in the context of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Sustainability Science , 1-11. 

Santana, J., Leitão, P.J., Ribeiro, P.F., Beja, P., Lomba, A., Pedroso, R., Morgado, R., Catry, I., Marques, A.T., Reino, L., & Moreira, F. (2025). Effects of farming specialisation on grassland birds in Mediterranean High Nature Value farmland. Global Ecology and Conservation, e03418.

Latest outreach initiatives

Público: Abandono do cultivo de cereais em Portugal põe em risco águia-caçadeira (6 September 2024)
Wilder: Saiba por que já há tão poucas águias-caçadeiras em Portugal (5 September 2024)
Público: Portugal enfrenta uma “crise de biodiversidade” nas aves de meios agrícolas, alertam cientistasPúblico:

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📌 Movement Ecology of Steppe-land Birds in Southwestern Europe 📌 Based at @CIBIO_InBIO #MovementEcology #LittleBustard #Sandgrouse #StoneCurlew

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