Biography

I am a marine ecologist, specialized on the ecology of tropical and cold-water coral ecosystems. I earned my PhD in ‘Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Sciences’, at the University of Maryland, USA, in 2007 with funding from Fullbright, FLAD and FCT scholarships. During my MSc and PhD degrees I have studied the impacts global climate change and local stressors (pollution and overfishing) on the biological degradation (bioerosion) processes and carbonate balance of tropical coral reefs in Kenya (NE Indian Ocean) and Belize (Caribbean). In 2007, I joined IMAR, University of the Azores (IMAR-UAz, Portugal) as a post-doctoral fellow sponsored by FCT and Marie Curie fellowships, where I initiated a new line of research at IMAR-UAz on cold-water coral biology and physiology and impacts of climate change on these organisms. As part of this effort I have set-up a land-based laboratory dedicated to the experimentation with cold-water corals and other deep-sea organisms (DeepSeaLab); and an in situ natural laboratory using a shallow-water hydrothermal vent located in the Faial-Pico channel for long-term studies on the effects of ocean acidification on benthic communities (OceanA-Lab). At IMAR-UAz I also developed a strong background in marine robotics applied to coral research while working as a lead researcher in the FP7 project MORPH. My research activities include (1) aquaria-based experiments on the anthropogenic impacts (e.g. ocean acidification, deep-sea mining) on the physiology of cold-water corals; (2) in situ experiments on the biogenic dissolution of corals and other calcifiers in shallow CO2 vents; (3) cold-water coral biology (age, growth, reproduction); (4) taxonomy of corals and associated fauna, and (5) technological tools for coral habitat mapping. I have been involved in several national and international research projects on cold-water coral ecosystems as a team member or coordinator, including PI in one national project (DRCT, Azores), Marie Curie Individual Research project and IMAR PI in a FP7 project; Case Study leader in two EU FP7/H2020 projects. During my scientific career I developed a solid network of international collaborations and currently coordinate a small group of students (BSc, MSc, PhD), working on cold-water coral physiology, biology and ecology.