Lecturer

My research aims to study those mechanisms involved in the expression of carotenoid-based ornaments. I am also interested in the behavioral ecology of birds, with the main focus on sexual selection and parent-offspring conflict.

During the first years of my scientific career I focused my research interest on animal behaviour, trying to understand the mechanisms underlying adaptations for nest site selection and defense, for determining nest structure and composition, for defense against ectoparasites and for female nutrition. My second line of research is the study of those mechanisms involved in the expression of sexual signals generated by carotenoid pigments and the role of the mitochondrial respiratory chain in assuring the reliability of colorations as signals of individual quality. At present I have integrated different skills obtained during my postdoctoral experience to develop innovating, timely and original experimental set ups combining basic and applied knowledge of evolution, behavioural ecology and natural history. Many of the topics that I address also have direct implications for conservation and are of cross-disciplinary interest to evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology.

My teaching activity in the Veterinary and Food Science and Technology Degrees focuses on the subjects of Zoology and Biology, respectively.

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