João Santos

I am a Post-Doc researcher with a focus on multi- and interdisciplinary approaches to addressing the complex challenges of wildlife management and conservation.

I have a Degree in Biology and a MSc in Ecology, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management from the University of Aveiro, Portugal. In 2015, I finished my Ph.D. in Biology (specialisation in hunting and aquatic resources) in the same academic institution in collaboration with the Institute for Game and Wildlife Research (IREC, CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Spain. During 2016-2017, in addition to research activities, I worked as external consultant and field technician for companies and NGOs in Portugal, where I provided biodiversity monitoring services. Since 2018, I work as research and conservation officer at the NGO Palombar – Associação de Conservação da Natureza e do Património Rural (Vimioso, Portugal).

My research career has been characterised by a broad range of experiences and collaborations, allowing me to explore various scientific disciplines and methodologies. This aspect has been key to enriching my perspective and fostering an interdisciplinary approach to my work. During my early career, I started studying the fascinating and secretive life of mammals at Aveiro’s salt pans by using different techniques, such as identification of signs of presence, live trapping, and scat analysis. Then, I moved to Montesinho Natural Park where I started to apply direct and indirect methods to estimating the abundance of wild ungulates, particularly red and roe deer. After this, my PhD thesis was dedicated to optimising procedures used to assess the physical condition of wild ungulates, and to identifying relevant management and environmental factors affecting the nutritional condition and stress physiology of red deer in the Mediterranean ecosystems of Iberia.

Recently, in addition to continuing to study aspects related to wild ungulates ecology, I have developed an interest in combining ecological research, social science, and policy analysis to help implementing effective strategies for sustainable wildlife conservation and management, with particular focus on carnivores, ungulates and avian scavengers.