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Feel free to contact me:
ana.margarida.c.santos@gmail.com
Dpto. Ecología, Edificio de Biologia,
Universidad de Autónoma de Madrid,
Madrid, Spain
MAIN RESEARCH LINES
My main research goal is to strengthen the link between these biogeography and community ecology, focusing in understanding how processes occurring at different scales affect biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, in a context of global change.
My work can be grouped in three main research lines:
ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY
I have been working towards understanding species distributions and community assembly at the archipelago and island scales since the beginning of my career. This research line is intertwined with my second research line (see below), and indeed, a significant part of my research has focused on the distribution patterns of trait diversity on islands, both at global and regional scales, evaluating the effect of the regional pool on structuring island communities. I am also interested in understanding how traits evolve on island and how such changes translate into diversity patterns. Finally, I am also focus on understanding how global change affects island diversity.
MACROECOLOGY OF TRAIT AND FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY
I am interested in evaluating cross‐scale variations of species richness, and functional and phylogenetic structure of island and mainland extinct and extant communities, from the local to the regional and global scales, and also across time. I am also interested in identifying the environmental factors and other spatially structured effects (e.g. regional species pool, historical factors and human impacts) that influence the geographical variations in functional and phylogenetic diversity, evaluating if these relationships change with scale. Finally, I am evaluating how data quality and the scale at which the data and environmental drivers are obtained influence diversity patterns and their interpretation.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY AND ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING AND SERVICES
My most recent research line focuses on functional ecology and ecosystem functioning and services, being mostly centered on dung beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeioidea). I am using innovative field and laboratory-based experiments for evaluating the impacts of global change (temperature increase and habitat management) on the ecological functions and ecosystem services provided by dung beetles (e.g. dung removal, seed burial and nutrient supply).
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