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!

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.

Valerio, F., Godinho, S., Ferraz, G., Pita, R., Gameiro, J., Silva, B., Marques, A.T., & Silva, J.P. (2024). Multi-temporal remote sensing of inland surface waters: A fusion of sentinel-1&2 data applied to small seasonal ponds in semiarid environments. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 135: 104283

Silva, J.P.; Soares, F.C.; Guzmán, J.M.; Marques, A.T.; García de la Morena, E.; Juhlin, C.M.; Guisado, R.R.; Crispim-Mendes, T.; Valerio, F.; Gameiro, J.; García-Baltasar, S.; Correia, R.; Godinho, S.; Abad-Gómez, J.M.; Moreira, F.; Pacheco, C.; Palmeirim, J.; Pita, R.; Safara, J.; Silva, A.; Venâncio, L.; Calvo, A.; Palacios, M.J.; Sánchez, A.; Delgado, E., Moreno, J. y Carrasco, A.C. 2024. El sisón común (Tetrax tetrax) en Extremadura: Población y Ecología. Serie Monografías de la Dirección General de Sostenibilidad: Especies Protegidas. Junta de Extremadura, Mérida, España.

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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