Raquel Susana Brazão Xavier

Biography

"I carried out my undergraduate studies at the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and afterwards my Masters degree and PhD at CIBIO-InBIO. During my PhD, under the supervision of Drs AM Santos and M Branco, I studied the impact of the geological and climatic history of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea on the evolution of marine isopods from the genus Stenosoma, and contributed to clarify the taxonomy of the group. In 2011, I was awarded a post-doctoral grant to work with Dr J Cable (Cardiff University) and M Perez-Losada (CIBIO-InBIO) to investigate host-parasite interactions and parasite spill-over between fish hosts within a phylogenetic framework. In open marine and freshwaters habitats, fish can easily come into contact with new parasites, often compromising their fitness. In addition, most aquatic environments are heavily affected by anthropogenic pressures leading, for example, to habitat degradation. Environmental stressors, such as pollution and climate warming, may induce changes in parasite prevalence and may even influence the diversity of parasite communities. Evaluating levels of parasite spill-over, as well as identifying which factors contribute to the emergence of diseases is paramount, especially when hosts are used for human consumption. Moreover, this knowledge can be used to improve conservation and habitat management measures."

Research Interest

Although my main research focus has shifted in the last years, I have an ongoing collaboration with AM Santos and M Branco to continue to clarify the taxonomy of marine isopods, as well as to investigate what shapes their evolution.