Catarina Castela Dos Santos Rato
Researcher
Population Genetics, Hybridization and Speciation
CIBIO, Centro de Investigacao em Biodiversidade e Recursos Geneticos
Portugal
Biography
"Currently, my line of research consists on the investigation of the divergence patterns, taxonomy and evolutionary history of the Mediterranean geckos of the genus Tarentola​. I am also conducting a study on the patterns of sex determination in the Tarentola mauritanica species complex. In this group, environmental temperature determines sex allocation and I am interested in understanding which temperatures determine each sex and also discovering the genes triggered during this process."
Research Interest
My main interests are focused on several aspects of evolutionary biology and ecology, using reptiles as model species.
Publications
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Rato C, Harris DJ, Carranza S, Machado L, Perera A (2016) The taxonomy of the Tarentola mauritanica species complex (Gekkota: Phyllodactylidae): Bayesian species delimitation supports six candidate species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 94(A): 271-278.
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Rosado D, Rato C, Salvi D, Harris DJ (2017) Evolutionary History of the Morocco lizard-Fingered Geckos of the Saurodactylus brosseti Complex. Evolutionary Biology, 44(3): 386-400.
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Massetti F, Gomes V, Perera A, Rato C, Kaliontzopoulou A (2017) Morphological and functional implications of sexual size dimorphism in the Moorish gecko, Tarentola mauritanica. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 122(1): 197-209.
