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ISABEL DAMAS MOREIRA
Behavioural Ecologist
24.06.2025
Beyond predator and prey
This is the first evidence ever of an association between ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) individuals. Check out our new paper, published in Ecosphere, and with great media attention worldwide.
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02.04.2025
Tokay geckos can discriminate human individuals
...but it depends on the context!
Our new paper is out today in Scientific Reports!
Read more.
05.06.2024
Sailing in the Galápagos for marine iguanas
I joined the Captain Darwin project in 2024 to study the iconic Galápagos marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) aboard a sailing boat. A dream.
Read more.
29.03.2024
Smarter lizards in the city?
In this new paper out in Current Zoology we investigated this question using the Italian wall lizard, Podarcis siculus, and the common wall lizard, Podarcis muralis, are two successful lizards in anthropogenic habitats that thrive in urban locations.
Find the answer here.
31.09.2023
Teaching in the Amazon
Together with a team of researchers, we went to Cocha Cashu Biological Station (Manu National Park, Peru) to teach some of the brightest Peruvian biology students, while living in the heart of the Amazon. We also had the chance to connect with other amazing researchers at the station and visit local communities. This expedition to Cocha Cashu was an unforgettable experience, with "unbelievable" research output. Stay tuned.
20.08.2023
This Conference was a success
The "Behaviour" is an international conference for outstanding research in the field of animal behaviour. Bielefeld hosted the International Ethological Congress, as it was known back then, once before in 1977, and we are thrilled to have made 2023 an equally exciting and stimulating event.
Know more about it here.
03.03.2022
Review on wild animal cognition
Together with amazing researchers - Dr. Birgit Szabo, Dr. Anyelet Valencia-Aguilar and Pro.f Dr. Eva Ringler (from the University of Bern) - we were invited by the Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences to write a short review about the most recent studies on animal cognition in wild settings. And this interesting review was published today!
Read publication here.
03.02.2022
PhD call
Great great news! My project was just awarded with funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)! This means I have a 3-year PhD position available for anyone who is interested in the following PhD formula:
Lizards + behavioural experiments + urban ecology + field + lab + publish papers = doing awesome science
All field (Croatia) and lab (Bielefeld University) work is fully funded. Apply!
30.08.2021
First field season complete!
We have just finished three months of intensive fieldwork in Croatia, during a pandemic! With the help of Prof. Dr. Duje Lisičić and his team at the University of Zagreb, we managed to locate the lizard populations we needed. We then spent these months conducting behavioural field studies. Despite the heat, mosquitoes, tourists, van breakdowns, and frustrations, data collection was successful. Mission accomplished!
01.10.2020
New position at Bielefeld Universität, Germany
The next adventure is here! I am very happy to be starting an Assistant Professor position at Bielefeld University at the Department of Behavioural Ecology, with Prof. Dr. Barbara Caspers. We have exciting projects and ideas ahead of us - more lizard news coming soon!
12.09.2020
Competing through Eating
Our new study published in the journal Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology compared the behaviour of two lizards living together – the invasive Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) and the native green Iberian wall lizard (Podarcis virescens) – to understand if and how they compete with one another.
Read publication here.
01.06.2019
Officially a doctor!
My PhD diploma and printed thesis have finally arrived! I feel extremelly proud looking at these documents! My thesis and I had a very pleasant afternoon discussing all our results and remembering the amazing journey we had together!
Click here if you want to share our happiness.
16.04.2019
Fortune favours the bold
Our new paper is out! Published in Animal Behaviour, we tested if specific behaviours can give an advantage for an invasive species, by comparing different behavioural traits between the invasive Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) and the non-invasive green Iberian wall lizard (Podarcis virescens).
Read publication here.
18.10.2018
Learn from others
Hot off the press! I am very excited to share this paper published in Biology Letters, which was part of my PhD. We found that an invasive lizard (Podarcis siculus) migth use knowledge from other individuals (regardeless of species) to its advantage.
Read publication here.
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