David Gonçalves

For some time now I develop studies on the biology and ecology of game bird species, for population management and conservation purposes, in insular and continental environments. Game bird species like Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago), Common quail (Coturnix coturnix) and Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus), and other nongame bird species like Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), are present in continental Portugal and archipelago of Azores and have one common feature: they are mainly migratory on the continent and sedentary on the islands. Therefore my research interests have been extended and include: insular adaptations; intraspecific variation in avian migration (evolutionary and regulatory aspects); functional morphology; biogeography of birds in the Macaronesian archipelagos; the use of ecological modelling techniques combined with geographic information systems for modelling bird population's dynamics.