Behavioural Ecology and Evolution Group

Our group, the Behavioural Ecology and Evolution Group, has a diverse team with members from various nationalities and backgrounds. Our research mainly focuses on the study of animal behaviour, its relation to ecology, and how it has evolved over time. We aim to comprehend the mechanisms underlying animal behaviour, and we pay particular attention to animal cognition, how individuals form social relationships, and how they make decisions. We employ multiple methods to study animal behaviour in the wild and controlled laboratory environments.

Our team conducts field research in different parts of the world, including Hawaii, French Polynesia, Lizard Island, and Portugal. We also have a cutting-edge laboratory for behavioural and cognitive research at Laboratório Marítimo da Guia (Cascais, Portugal), where we perform experiments to understand animal behaviour in controlled environments.

Apart from conducting our research, we are committed to sharing our findings with the scientific community and reaching out to the public to raise awareness about animal behaviour significance. 

If you are interested in our research or would like to join our team, please contact us via email at jrpaula [at] ciencias.ulisboa.pt. We look forward to hearing from you!

Our work is supported by:
FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia:PTDC/BIA-BMA/0080/20212021.01030.CEECINDUIDB/04292/2020 (MARE)LA/P/0069/2020 (AR-NET)
FLAD - Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento:R&D@USA 2022/0193Science Award Atlantic 2024/0028
la Caixa FoundationJunior Leader Fellowship 2024
British Ecological Society:LRB21/1004
SPECO - Sociedade Portuguesa de Ecologia:ECRG2020