Juliana Valencia Ruiz

Biography

"I started conducting research when doing my studies in Biology at the University of Extremadura (Spain). My research interests focused on behavioural and evolutionary ecology. I participated mainly in two research lines: (i) Mating systems and sexual selection, and (ii) Cooperative breeding. My Ph.D. research was carried on the cooperative breeding behaviour of the Azure-winged magpie (Cyanopica cooki). Along my career I have obtained several grants and contracts in different research centers (University of Extremadura, Spain; University of Pisa, Italy; CNRS in Paris, France; CSIC in Almería, Spain). I have been studying cooperative breeding in birds for a long time, but still, the reason why helpers contribute to rearing other birds' offspring has remained elusive."

Research Interest

My principal research interest now focus on the benefits gained by non-kin helpers and the relative roles of indirect and direct benefits, which represents the main current challenge to explain the evolution of cooperatively breeding systems.