ACADEMIC TRAINING

Field-to-satellite ecosystem health assessment for dryland restoration in northwestern Saudi Arabia (Ongoing)

Salvador Nanvonamuquitxo

PhD thesis - University of Porto  

Landscape connectivity and Remote Sensing applications for assessing biodiversity patterns in desert environments (2018)

João Campos

PhD thesis - University of Porto   

Water detection in desert environments: Evaluating the performance of Normalized Difference Water Indexes to identify potential dispersal corridors for Nile crocodiles in Mauritania (2011)

João Campos

MSc thesis - University of Porto  

A cross-system framework for understanding how intraspecific diversity is structured across space (Ongoing)

Maria João Paúl 

PhD thesis - University of Porto   

Improving eDNA methodologies to detect amphibians in turbid waters (2018)

Sara Peixoto

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Spatial patterns and environmental drivers of bird diversity in North-Western Saudi Arabia (Ongoing)

Jaime Sousa 

PhD thesis - University of Porto 

Genetic diversity in biodiversity conservation planning: implications for spatial prioritization using Arabian Desert Squamata as a model system (Ongoing)

Breno Pietz Nogueira

MSc thesis - University of Porto 

Drivers of regional and local dominance effects in hyperarid reptile communities of northwestern Saudi Arabia (2025)

Miguel Cruz 

Internship - Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência

Atlas of the terrestrial reptiles of Oman: a geospatial and statistical analysis of their distribution and conservation (2016)

M Xipell-Lopez 

MSc thesis - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

A genetic overview of the evolutionary potential of understudied wolf populations (Ongoing)

Maryam Mostajeran 

PhD thesis - University of Porto 

Desert webs: exploring spider diversity in the northwestern Arabian peninsula using morphological and genetic approaches (Ongoing)

Fenja Noller

MSc thesis - University of Porto 

Mechanisms that produce speciation: description of stable isotopes of Socotran Reptiles (2014)

Sergi Martínez 

MSc thesis - University of Barcelona, Spain

Delimitation of the Sudanian Savanna Phyloregions using Rodents as a Model Group (Ongoing)

Laura Brosseau-Acquaviva 

Internship - Masaryk University, Czech Republic  

Predator gut parasite diversity along an aridity gradient (2025)

Tea Zulčić 

MSc thesis - University of Porto 

Validating the transferability of ecological models under global change scenarios with Holocene rock-art (2019)

Luis Silveira  

MSc thesis - University of Porto 

Biogeography in Northwestern Africa: distributions and ecological niches of Gerbillus rodents (2017)

Ricardo Guerreiro  

MSc thesis - University of Porto 

Diversity, distribution and conservation of reptiles in the West Sahara-Sahel (2017)

Margarida Henrique  

MSc thesis - University of Porto 

Conservation biogeography of amphibians in Mauritania: integrating DNA Barcoding and spatial analyses for the identification of cryptic diversity and phylogenetic units (2017)

Marta Sampaio  

MSc thesis - University of Porto 

Predictability of population density by past weather conditions on Sahara desert (2016)

Margarida Barros 

Internship - University of Porto

Historical biogeography and climate change: application of ecological niche-based models and GIS to the conservation of African elephants and giraffes (2015)

Joana Nogueira 

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Testing niche divergence between Saharan rodents (Jaculus jaculus and J. deserti) (2015)

Manuela Rodrigues 

Internship - University of Porto

Habitat variation and its relation to distribution of Saharan rodents (2015)

José Luís Cunha 

Internship - University of Porto

Biogeographical analyses of the distribution of large endangered mammals in the Sahara-Sahel ecosystem in the 20th century (2014)

Abdulah Nagy Said 

MSc thesis - University of Kiel, Germany

Biodiversity distribution in the western Sahara-Sahel: the role of environmental variation (2014)

Ricardo Guerreiro 

Internship - University of Porto

Diversity patterns in West Africa: the case of specious Gerbillus rodents (2014)

José Maria Dias 

Internship - University of Porto

Evolutionary ecology of adaptation in extreme environments - camouflage in Sahara-Sahel rodents (Ongoing)

Tiago Macedo 

PhD thesis - University of Porto   

Phylogeography of the diademed sand snake (Colubridae: Lytorhynchus) from Saharo-Arabian deserts (Ongoing)

Ricardo Mota 

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Metapopulation dynamics and landscape connectivity in African vertebrates across aridity gradients (2025)

Cristian Pizzigalli 

PhD thesis - University of Porto   

Daily heterothermy in arid adapted rodents, its genetic background and climatic relevance (2025)

Bárbara Noronha Bastos 

PhD thesis - University of Porto   

Comparative phylogeography of the Sahara-Sahel: integrating spatial and temporal approaches to understand biodiversity dynamics in deserts and arid regions (2024)

André Vicente Liz

PhD thesis - University of Porto   

Life in deserts: a genomic history of adaptation and introgression in North African foxes (2021)

Joana Rocha

PhD thesis - University of Porto 

Specialist vs generalist: a study on North African rodent’s camouflage through different spatial and temporal scales (2021)

Tiago Macedo

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Behavioural optimization of camouflage in two cryptic species of North African jerboas (Jaculus: Dipodidae) (2020)

Xabier Salgado

MSc thesis - International University Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP)

Genomic differences between desert specialist rodents (2020)

Pedro Alonso-Alonso

MSc thesis - International University Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP)

Phylogeography and systematics of the Mesalina olivieri species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa (2019)

Cristian Pizzigalli 

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Phylogeography and systematics of the Mesalina olivieri species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa (2019)

Cristian Pizzigalli 

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Reconstructing the evolutionary history of desert-adapted Cerastes vipers in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (2019)

Margarida Barros

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Integrative inference of evolutionary patterns of desert biodiversity: a spatial and temporal multiscale approach using herpetofauna from North-Africa (2018)

Duarte Gonçalves

PhD thesis - University of Porto

Phylogenetic and ecological characterization of monitor lizards in Northern Africa (2018)

João Pissarra

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Combining ecological niche modeling and phylogeographic analyses to address climatic stability and persistence in four Tarentola species across the West Sahara (2016)

José Pedro Melo

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Phylogenetic relationships and genetic variability in Monitor lizards (Reptilia, Varanidae, Varanus) from West Africa (2016)

João Pissarra

Internship - University of Porto

Evolutionary history of the Lesser Egyptian Jerboa, Jaculus jaculus, in Northern Africa using a multi-locus approach (2015)

Ana Filipa Moutinho

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Population history and taxonomy of African hares (genus Lepus) inferred from genetic variation (2015)

Sara Lado

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Phylogenetics and hybridization assessment of Acanthodactylus scutellatus species group in North Africa (2014)

Sara Lopes

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Population structure and gene flow in desert environment: an application of molecular tools to isolated fish populations in West Africa (2014)

Jolita Dilyté 

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Evolution and biogeography of Hedgehogs in North-West Africa: combining genetic variability with ecogeographical information (2013)

Vanessa Oliveira Lima 

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Mountain vicariance in gerboas, Jaculus spp., from North Africa (2013)

Ana Filipa Moutinho 

Internship - University of Porto

Taxonomy and systematics of North African hares (2013)

Sara Lado

Internship - University of Porto

Evolution and biogeography of Canids (Canis and Vulpes) in North-West Africa: combining genetic and ecogeographical information (2012)

João Vasco Leite

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Population structure and gene flow in desert environments: an application of molecular tools to isolated populations of crocodiles and monitor lizards in the mountains of Mauritania (2011)

José Miguel Cavadas

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Assessing the effect of climate change on the persistence of Saharan biodiversity in relation to taxonomic, threat and flagship status (2024)

Emma Aimée de Moll 

MSc thesis - University of Linköping, Sweden   

Ecotourism development for biodiversity conservation and local economic development in remote regions: a multi-scale approach in the Sahara-Sahel (2021)

Frederico Santarém

PhD thesis - University of Porto

Biodiversity, evolution and conservation of threatened desert ungulates (2019)

Teresa Luísa Ferreira da Silva

PhD thesis - University of Porto

Addressing landscape connectivity in biodiversity conservation strategies in the African Sahel (2019)

Marisa Naia

MSc thesis - University of Porto

Biodiversity conservation in arid environments under climate change (2016)

Cândida Vale

PhD thesis - University of Porto

Les reptiles du Parc National du Banc d’Arguin (Nord-Ouest Mauritanie): Chorologie, Biogéographie et Vulnérabilité au Changement Climatique (2014)

Andack Saad Sow 

PhD thesis - University Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Morocco

Biogeography and conservation of an endemic rodent, Felovia vae, from the mountains of Mauritania (2013)

Fábio Vieira de Sousa 

Internship - University of Porto

Diet of Mauritanian population of the west African crocodile (Crocodylus suchus) examined with stable isotopes (2014)

Sandra Navarro

MSc thesis - University of Barcelona, Spain

Lasts of their kind? Biogeography, ecology and action plan for the conservation of the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah (2021)

Leili Khalatbari

PhD thesis - University of Porto

Conservation Biogeography of terrestrial mammals in Iran: diversity, distribution, and vulnerability to extinction (2019)

G Hosein Yusefi

PhD thesis - University of Porto

Bruna Fonseca (2022). Do we ‘like’ or ‘unfollow’? A social media-based analysis of public perceptions on climate change. MSc thesis - University of Porto