About me

I am an Evolutionary Biology PhD fellow at the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) in Madrid (Spain) and at the Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l’Environnement (CRBE, Université Toulouse-CNRS) in Toulouse (France) under the supervision of Borja Milá and Christophe Thébaud. The main focus of the PhD is on the role of song in speciation processes of island birds. More specifically, I aim to investigate the role of natural and sexual selection on song divergence and its role in speciation, using two recent and well-studied bird radiations, the chaffinch from La Palma Island (Fringilla canariensis palmae) and the Reunion grey white-eye (Zosterops borbonicus) from Reunion.

Previously, I was working at the Center of Evolutionary and Functional Ecology (CEFE-CNRS) in Montpellier (France), through an Erasmus+ internship and under the supervision of Claire Doutrelant, Martim Melo, and Yves Bas. I analyzed acoustic recordings of the Principe Scops-owl to understand the performance of automatic sound recorders and automated song detection for owl monitoring in Príncipe and to investigate more deeply the characteristics of the vocalizations of this owl. I also investigated communication characteristics of the sociable weaver (Philetairus socius) within the nest, under the supervision of Pietro D’Amelio and Claire Doutrelant.

My MSc project was developed at the Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (CIBIO-InBIO) in Vila do Conde (Portugal), under the supervision of Martim Melo, Angelica Crottini, and Ricardo Lima. I developed a thesis focusing on an integrative taxonomic approach for the delimitation and description of the Principe Scops-owl (Otus bikegila) discovered in Príncipe Island, Africa. The project included morphometric, bioacoustic and genetic data, obtained after 3-month field season and visits to museum collections, as well as a strong component on the ecology of the owl.

In addition to my research interests, I enjoy participating in projects related to science communication such as “Pint of Science” and “Letters with Science”. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends, hiking, running, and climbing.