I am a Portuguese marine scientist specialized in marine ecology and conservation. Throughout my academic and professional career, I have contributed to a wide range of projects centred on marine conservation, from ecological modelling, fisheries bycatch, policy implementation, biotechnology, sustainable aquaculture, ecosystem restoration, and blue economy. My primary research interests lie in understanding human interactions with the marine environment and identifying effective strategies to prevent and mitigate impacts, focusing on species distribution modelling, marine protected areas, underwater noise, and ocean literacy.
This is the core of my current research, as a PhD candidate at the Marine and Freshwater Research Centre, ATU Galway, under the supervision of Dr. Joanne O’Brien and Dr. Martin Gammell. My project is divided into four overarching objectives: (i) model spatio-temporal patterns of cetacean habitat suitability within the Irish EEZ; (ii) identify high risk areas of overlapping cetacean occurrence with hotspots of anthropogenic activity, as well as priority areas for conservation; (iii) assess noise impacts of prospected offshore wind farms in the Irish southeast coast; and finally, (iv) evaluate the level of ocean literacy among Irish residents and its relation to attitudes towards the marine environment.
Ultimately, this research aims to improve our understanding of human pressures on marine species (particularly cetaceans) and provide evidence-based recommendations to inform conservation management and policymaking. The title of my PhD is “Assessing impacts of anthropogenic activity and noise pollution on marine mammals: a species distribution modelling approach”.