ABOUT ME

I am an Assistant Professor at the Dep. of Behavioural Ecology, (PI Prof. Dr. Barbara Caspers) in Bielefeld University, Germany. Since my PhD (Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia), I have been deeply interested in understanding how animals cope with changing habitats. Thus, my research has focused on invasive (PhD) and urban lizards (Postdoc), as these are fascinating models for studying behavioural adjustments to novel or rapidly changing environments.

Currently, I am particularly interested in why species differ in their ability to endure anthropogenic conditions, and how expanding urban environments influence lizard behaviour, social dynamics and cognition.

CONTACT

isabeldamas.m [at] gmail.com

Dep. of Behavioural Ecology

Bielefeld University, Germany

Besides pursuing my main research topics, I also participate in different projects and conduct research on broadly diverse subjects, following where opportunities and my curiosity lead me. Moreover, I truly enjoy engaging with other researchers and students, and I have presented my work in more than 15 international conferences, given different lectures at schools and universities, participated in outreach projects, and organized several international seminars and conferences.

Since 2020, I have been teaching various courses at Bielefeld University. I find mentoring students and teaching highly rewarding, and it was thus a tremendous honour to be nominated by students and awarded the “2024 Karl Peter Grotemeyer Prize for outstanding achievements and personal commitment to teaching”, an award given to teachers across all disciplines of the university (video interview with students).

If you want to know more about me, let’s go back:

My research journey began at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, where I completed my degree in Biology with a Minor in Management (2006-2010). I then travelled to neighbouring Spain to undertake a year-long research internship (2010-2011) under a European Erasmus scholarship. Specifically, I joined the Ethology Lab of Prof. Dr. Enrique Font at the Institute of Cavanilles, Universitat de València. In this lab, I had the opportunity to work with animal behaviour and lizards for the first time – I fell in love with both the subject and these amazing creatures. I also discovered a thrilling part of me: a field biologist. There was no turning back.

I immediately went on to complete my Master's degree at CIBIO-InBIO, University of Porto, Portugal (2011-2013), where I continued to work with reptiles and amphibians, while also engaging in additional research projects. I worked as a research technician on two different projects: one about the molecular systematics of sponges, as part of the European SPECIAL Project, and another on the detection, identification, primer testing, and optimization of blood parasite species infecting reptiles. In the meantime, I was also involved in developing teaching materials for children.

In 2014, I was hired as a research assistant by the University of Cambridge to spend three months in the Greek islands studying Aegean wall lizard colouration. After this, I went to Australia in 2015 to undertake my PhD on the behaviour and cognition of an invasive lizard species, supervised by Prof Dr. Martin Whiting at the Lizard Lab. After finishing my PhD, I wanted to explore other sides of science, so I spent two years working in science and nature communication before starting my current position in Germany.

On a more personal note, I love to travel and spend time outdoors. I enjoy organizing events and managing the social side of the team. I like craftwork, labeling things, creating visual presentations, drawing, public speaking, biking, going to festivals, hiking, building things, reading, camping, and any activities that allow me to be outdoors or spark my imagination.