Neftalí Sillero is a spatial biologist interested in analysing and identifying biological spatial patterns, from species distributions to populations and individuals, using GIS, Remote Sensing, Ecological Niche Modelling, and Spatial Statistics. His main research lines are related to Earth Observation, spatial ecology, biogeography, biodiversity modelling and conservation, road ecology, and distribution atlases.

Since 2007, Neftalí Sillero is the chairman of the Mapping Committee of the Societas Europaea Herpetologica and coordinates the Atlas of Europe. He is currently the PI of the MontObEO project.

I am an ecologist and a cave biologist with a particular interest in quantitative methods, population ecology, population dynamics, structure and diversity patterns of species communities, cave-dwelling species behavior, biodiversity monitoring and conservation. Additionally, my work involves the application and development of ecological models to enhance our understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes.

PhD in Natural and Human Sciences (2021) at Muséum National d´Histoire Naturelle. My background includes a degree in History (2013), a Master degree Erasmus Mundus in Quaternary and Human evolution (2015), a Master degree in Secondary School (2016) and a Master in Planning and Management of Destinations and Tourist Products (2022). 

My research career has been focused on the study of small mammals as a primary paleoenvironmental proxy. Initially, I conducted research on small mammals in the North-Western Iberian Peninsula. During my PhD and postdoctoral positions, I primarily focused on small mammals in Western Asia, including taxonomy, taphonomy, two-dimensional geometric morphometrics, palaeoecology, and paleoclimatology.

I am currently working on the the assumption that rodents exhibit limited adaptability to the cyclic environmental changes. To achieve this, a multifaceted approach will be adopted, combining traditional and cutting-edge methodologies.

João Campos is a post-doc researcher interested in exploring remote sensing, GIS, ecological models and other spatial analyses to evaluate how environmental and landscape factors restrains species and habitat diversity under global change. My main research interests include biogeography, landscape ecology and connectivity, and biodiversity conservation.

I obtained a degree in Biology at the University of Valencia (Spain) in the itinerary of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology. After that, I completed the master’s degree in Human Evolution from the University of Burgos and Alcalá de Henares (Spain). I earned my PhD at the University of Valencia within the Doctoral Program in Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology in 2020. My research career has focussed on the study of late Pleistocene small mammals, including Taxonomy, Paleoecology and Paleoclimatology. My main scientific goals, both in the previous post-doc (APOSTD from Generalitat Valenciana, Spain), together with the current one (Margarita Salas, Ministerio de Universidades, España) are a continuation of my previous research on a quantitative reconstruction of climate changes during the Pleistocene, using small vertebrates in order to build up more precise tools for palaeoclimatic reconstructions.

Diana Sousa Guedes is a Ph.D. student in Biology at the University of Porto. My current research is about understanding how plastic pollution is affecting the nesting beaches of loggerhead turtles in Cabo Verde. I'm interested in biogeography, island ecology, and spatial analysis. I also enjoy using technological tools for wildlife conservation purposes.

I am a graduated biologist and, currently, a MSc student in Environmental Sciences and Technologies at Faculty of Science, University of Porto (FCUP). 

I studied ​​Electrical Engineering, having completed a BSc in Electronics and a degree in Information and Telecommunications Technologies. Currently, I am doing specialized training mainly in subjects related to Networks and Communications Systems, an area in which I have developed most of my professional career.

I am currently studying a BTS in Nature Management and Protection in the south of France. During my internship, I help Neftalí and Diana in different projects by doing mapping, inventorying the reptiles of Montesinho Park and learning the use of R.

I am a student in Nature Management and Protection in the south of France, I am very interested in wildlife. During my two-month internship at the observatory, we helped Neftalí S. and Diana S.G. mainly with cartography, accompanying them on inventories in the Montesinho park and learning the basics of the R software.

Albert is a PhD candidate from Spain with strong interest in evolutionary biology and biogeography. He holds a BSc in Biology and a MSc in Terrestrial Ecology and Biodiversity Management. Broadly, his work is focused on understanding how many species shape the Madagascan herpetofaunal inventory and where they are distributed to understand their biogeographic origin and phylogenetic relationships.  

I am a master student in Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation at the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Brazil. I am currently interested in understanding how climate change impacts the diversity patterns of anurans in the Central Corridor of the Atlantic Forest, Brazil.

I am herpetologist focused on the Balkan Peninsula and interested in online mapping/databases. I founded and designed the online species occurrence database of Amphibians and Reptiles of the Balkans (Balcanica.info). My PhD thesis topic is "The potential of species occurrence databases for modelling of distribution and diversity of terrestrial vertebrates using Earth observation data". Currently working on the development of advanced subsampling of the Target Group Observers Background (TGOB) method to correct SDMs uneven sampling effort. I work at the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic (software developer, GIS, Geodatabases).

I am herpetologist at the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and my studies are mainly in the fields of ecology, behaviour and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. In 2014 I defended my PhD at Sofia University with the thesis "Vocal communication and relations in anuran amphibians from the Ranidae family in Bulgaria". I have also a strong interest in amphibian and reptile faunistics and phylogeography, as a better understanding of the species' geographical distribution is essential for their conservation. In recent years, I have led and participated in a number of scientific projects focused on various aspects of amphibian and reptile speciation, distribution and ecology, incl. mating behaviour, species range extensions and the negative effects of human activities.

I am a Marine Biologist from Chile, interested in taxonomy and biogeography of marine mollusks. I am currently a PhD(c) from the Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Chile. In my doctoral thesis I am studying the Chilean mussel Mytilus chilensis (Mollusca, Bivalvia), one of the most important molluscs for the aquaculture in Chile. In my research, I am evaluating how climate change is altering the environmental conditions where this aquaculture takes place, including where the natural populations of the mussels are, where mussel larvae are caught, as well as the growing sites where they are cultivated. With my research, I want to forecast the climate change impact on this and other marine species of ecological and economic importance.

I am a PhD candidate (grant FI-AGAUR, Generalitat de Catalunya) in Prehistory at the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Barcelona (UB). I am also a researcher at the Seminari d'Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques (SERP-UB) and at the Institut d'Arqueologia de la Universitat de Barcelona (IAUB-UB). I graduated with a degree in Archaeology from the UB in 2016, and I also graduated with a master’s degree in Quaternary Archaeology and Human Evolution from the University of Rovira and Virgili (URV) in 2018. My research focuses on charcoal analysis (Anthracology), spatial archaeology, and modelling of past landscapes in prehistoric times. I am mainly interested in human behaviour and human-environment interactions from a palaeoenvironmental perspective.

My research interests include biogeography, macroecology, distribution modelling, comparative phylogeography, biodiversity patterns, and conservation. So far I have worked mainly on mammals and amphibians, but also on birds, reptiles, insects and other invertebrates, and occasionally on plants. I’m particularly interested in integrating different scientific fields in multidisciplinary approaches and in developing and applying innovative methodologies, or adapting those traditionally used in other fields.

During the last years, Dr. Salvador Arenas-Castro (PhD Biology) has gained experience in different disciplines as population ecology and conservation biology, with a deeply knowledge on dendroecology, biogeography and spatial ecology, as well as remote sensing and GIS techniques applied to environmental sciences. He then obtained several postdoctoral contracts at the University of Cordoba (Spain), the Czech University of Life Sciences (Prague, Czech Republic), and the CIBIO-Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (Vâirao, Portugal). Currently, his research focus on the detection of changes in biodiversity patterns, from the species to the ecosystem and landscape levels, according to forecasted climate and land uses at different multi-scale approaches. Specifically, among other aims, he is interested in understanding how global change is influencing on distribution pattern of species across-scales, and what consequences it may have for the species conservation and the stability of ecosystems, as well as the socio-ecological benefits that they provide.

Ana Cláudia Teodoro was born in Porto, Portugal, in 1974. She received the BS., MSc., PhD and Habilitation degrees in Surveying Engineering from Faculty of Science, University of Porto (FCUP), in 1998, 2001, 2007 and 2016 respectively. During 1998-2007 she was a teaching assistant in Applied Mathematics Dep., in FCUP, and since 2007 she is Assistant Professor at FCUP (between 2007 and 2010 in Applied Mathematics Dep., and since 2010 in Geosciences, Environment and Land Planning Dep.). Between 1999 and 2015 she was a researcher at Geo-Space Sciences Research Centre, FCUP. Since 2015 she is a senior researcher at the Earth Sciences Institute, University of Porto, Portugal. Her research interests include remote sensing (environmental applications), GIS, image processing, coastal zones, and geological applications. She has published more than 40 journal articles in peer review journals (ISI WoS) and eight book chapters. She is Editor of two journals and Guest Editor in several Special Issues of different international peer-review journals. Her publications reflect her research interests in remote sensing and GIS area. She is also a member of the Scientific Committee of IEEE/GRSS International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium and SPIE Remote Sensing. She is a reviewer for more than 40 journals, having reviewed more than 200 manuscripts in total. She has also experience in project evaluation (EU Projects). Now, she is vice-director of the Dep. Geoscience Environment and Land Planning; Director of first degree in Geospatial Engineering (FCUP) and coordinator of North Region of Engineers Association.

Marc Franch, PhD (04/11/2016) in Biodiversity from the University of Barcelona (Catalonia) with the thesis “Problem and Conservation of Continental Aquatic Tortugues to Western Europe: the Roleol Tortuga House, Mauremys leprosa (Schweigger 1812 ), north-east of the Iberian Peninsula ”. His main lines of research are Biodiversity (herpetology, amphibians, reptiles, tortoises, invasive alien species), Ecology (of species, landscape, connectivity) and Conservation, with a particular interest in integrating information and technology into research and special motivation to find solutions for specific and immediate problems. He was Research Assistant in the Road-Kills (UMINHO / BI / 175/2013) and LIFE LINES (LIFE14NAT / PT / 001081) projects.

Olatz San Sebastián, PhD (11/02/2016) from the University of Barcelona with the thesis entitled: Multi-scale analysis of Discoglossus pictus auritus (Amphibia, Anura) invasiveness. Interested in the ecology of invasive species, she works as a CICGE collaborator in modeling the spatial and ecological niche of these species.

I am a PhD in agricultural science and biologist. I am interested in nature conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. With my research, I try to improve the understanding of ecological systems and their ecosystem services and, with that, contribute to minimizing the adverse effects of climate change and human perturbation on nature and human well-being. Particularly, I investigate the relationship of biodiversity with various drivers, such as ecological infrastructures, landscape structure, trophic resources, or human activities. Currently, I am a researcher at the “Observatório de Montesinho  - Dionísio Gonçalves” from the Mountain Research Center/Associate Laboratory for Sustainability and Technology in Mountains Regions (CIMO/SusTEC), which is focused on the biodiversity and climate change in Mountain areas, particularly of the Montesinho Natural Park.

Eirini Trypidaki is a Master's graduate in Environmental Biology from the University of Crete, Greece. My research interests include macroecology, biogeography and ecotoxicology. Currently, I am working on improvements and updates on the Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles of Europe on the scope of PERIAMAR cost action.

I was born in Porto, in 1999, and graduated in Biology in 2021. I am a master’s student in Ecology and Environment, at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto (FCUP). Currently, I am working on my master’s thesis “Landscape changes at Chernobyl”, to understand what changes occurred in the land uses inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone after the accident in 1986. The thesis is led by Dr. Neftali Sillero Pablos (CICGE) and Co-oriented by Professor Ana Teodoro (CICGE) and Dr. Zbyszek Boratynski (CIBIO).

I am an MSc student in Geographical Information Systems and Spatial Planning at Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto.  Despite having a background in Biology (BSc, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto) I briefly delved into Agronomical Sciences before undertaking the aforementioned MSc. My current work is related to the analysis of spatial and temporal biodiversity distribution trends. 

Joana Silva, Master in Conservation Biology from the University of Évora (2017). I have a particular interest in ecology and conservation of wildlife, particularly bats, with the title of thesis “The effect of hydroperiod on bat activity and diversity: comparison between Mediterranean temporary ponds and permanent ponds”. My experience working with bats continued as I was part of a project to evaluate, monitor, enhance and model the biocontrol services provided by insectivorous bats and birds in traditional intensified production systems.

I am currently a research fellow at the LIFE LINES project. I will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the effects / impacts of some of the conservation measures created under the linear infrastructure project.

Hélder Ribeiro mestre em engenharia electrónica industrial e computadores pela Universidade do Minho. Especialização em Sistemas de Informação e Segurança / Sistemas de Telecomunicações. Tese de Mestrado em Automação e Robótica / Coordenação e Cooperação de agentes autónomos recorrendo à utilização de inteligência artificial. Quando não estou a resolver problemas estou à procura de problemas para resolver.

I started my research activities during the last year of my degree in Biology, by studying the distribution and abundance of the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in Montalegre (Portugal). After finishing my B.C.s (2008), I enrolled in the M.Sc. program hosted by CIBIO/UP, followed by Ph.D. at CIBIO and Duke University, where I had the opportunity to address multiple issues related to biodiversity conservation in arid environments under climate change. After finishing the Ph.D., I’ve established collaboration with the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa), and integrated into the “Spatial Planning for Protected Areas in Response to Climate Change” project (http://www.sparc-website.org/). I have been developed continuous research on Biogeography, Biodiversity conservation, Ecological Niche Modeling, Spatial analysis, and GIS, over the last nine years.

Pedro Santos, degree in Biology (2016). Master student in Ecology and Environment, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto. He conducted his master thesis 'Landscape changes at Chernobyl', led by Dr. Neftali Sillero Pablos (CICGE) and Co-oriented by Professor Ana Teodoro (CICGE) and Dr. Zbyszek Boratynski (CIBIO).

Rémi dos Santos was a student of the Master in Ecology, Environment and Territory of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto. Graduated in 2014 in Biology from the University of Algarve. He conducted his master's thesis "Spatial Analysis of Escape Tactics in Iberian Lizards" led by Dr. Neftali Sillero Pablos (CICGE) and Co-oriented by Professor Ana C. Teodoro (CICGE) and Dr. Miguel A. Carretero (CIBIO) )