Hugo Rebelo
Auxiliary Researcher
Conservation Genetics and Wildlife Management
CIBIO, Centro de Investigacao em Biodiversidade e Recursos Geneticos
Portugal
Biography
"Since 1999, I have been focusing my research in bat ecology themes in Portugal, Myanmar and West Africa. Areas of scientific interest include Bioacoustics, Conservation Biology and Population Genetics, Disturbance Ecology, Climate Change, Ecological Modelling, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Landscape Genetics and Bats. Present interests have a strong emphasis on the application of research to the conservation of species while using and combining state of the art methods in species distribution modelling, molecular analyses, landscape connectivity and bioacoustics. Specifically, main research lines are:1. The population effects of Climate Change on several Mediterranean bat species is being investigated in a multi-disciplinary approach, namely to predict future species viability, genetic structure and connectivity. This research will develop species distribution models for present, past and future climate change scenarios. Results will allow the estimation of population movements throughout time and the identification of ecological conditions that promoted species separation and/or structuring of populations;2. Effect of human activities on bat populations regarding the potential impact on those populations by wind farms, reservoirs, bridges and intensive forestry practices. This research is put into practice with the collaborations of both state and private institutions; 3. Using fecal metagenomics to understand pest control and general ecosystem services provided by bats. More specifically, to design solutions for eliminating or reducing the damage of such pest outbreaks by promoting predation by bats. This information has the potential for use in a number of additional applications, including the assessment of habitat loss and fragmentation effects on ecological networks organization in human-modified landscapes."
Research Interest
Application of research to the conservation of species while using and combining state of the art methods in species distribution modelling, molecular analyses, landscape connectivity and bioacoustics.
Publications
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MartÃnez-FreirÃa F , Tarroso P, Rebelo H, Brito JC (2016) Contemporary niche contraction affects climate change predictions for elephants and giraffes. Diversity and Distributions - Journal of Conservation Biogeography, 22(4):432-444.
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Cooper-Bohannon R, Rebelo H, Jones G, Cotterill F, Monadjem A, Schoeman MC, Taylor P, Park K (2016) Predicting bat distributions and diversity hotspots in southern Africa. Hystrix- Italian Journal of Mammalogy, 27(1).
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Bilgin R, Gurun K, Rebelo H, Puechmaille SJ, Maraci O, Presetnik P, Benda P, Hulva P, Ibanez C, Hamidovic D, Fressel N, Horacek I, Karatas A, Karatas A, Allegrini B, Georgiakakis P, Gazaryan S, Nagy ZL, Abi-Said M, Lucan RK, Bartonicka T, Nicolaou H, Scaravelli D, Karapandza B, Uhrin M, Paunovic M, Juste J (2016) Circum-Mediterranean phylogeography of a bat coupled with past environmental niche modeling: A new paradigm for the recolonization of Europe? Mulecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 99: 323-336.
