Catherine Sheppard

I see myself as a behavioural ecologist in a marine world, applying behavioural theory and lessons learned from terrestrial systems to coral reefs in new and creative ways. 

In my current position, I am developing artificial intelligence tools to monitor biodiversity and studying how fish social cognition is modulated by their physical and social environment. 

I received my PhD from Lancaster University, UK, where I studied the role of aggressive territorial farming damselfish Stegastes in mediating the spatial distribution and behaviour of other reef inhabitants. I enjoy experimenting with and using novel technologies to open new avenues of research.  

I love to run and travel, and generally enjoy any activity that involves being in, on, or near water. I am also a keen baker, and regularly bring weekend bakes to the office to brighten up Monday mornings.

E-mail: celsheppard@ciencias.ulisboa.pt

Google Scholar:https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3Xqu-dIAAAAJ&hl=pt-PT&oi=ao 

Publications:

C.E. Sheppard, L. Boström-Einarsson, G.J. Williams, D.A Exton, S.A. Keith(2024) Variation in farming damselfish behaviour creates a competitive landscape of risk on coral reefs. Biology Letters 20:20240035

C. E. Sheppard, G. J. Williams, D. A. Exton, S. A. Keith (2023) Co-occurrence of herbivorous fish functional groups correlates with enhanced coral reef benthic state. Global Ecol Biogeogr. Open Access

C. E. Sheppard, R. Heaphy, M. A. Cant, H. H. Marshall (2021) Individual foraging specialization in group-living species. Anim Behav 182: 285-294 Link

C. E. Sheppard, H. H. Marshall, R. Inger, F. J. Thompson, E. I. K. Vitikainen, S. Barker, H. J. Nichols, D. A. Wells, R. A. McDonald, M. A. Cant (2018) Decoupling of Genetic and Cultural Inheritance in a Wild Mammal. Curr Biol 28(11): 1846-1850 Open Access

C. E. Sheppard, R. Inger, R. A. McDonald, S. Barker, A. L. Jackson, F. J. Thompson, E. I. K. Vitikainen, M. A. Cant, H. H. Marshall (2018) Intragroup competition predicts individual foraging specialisation in a group‐living mammal. Ecol Lett 21(5): 665-673 Open Access

Catherine's work is supported through a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship under Special Regime within the project "ATLANTICDIVERSA – Use emergent technologies to understand the role of cleaning mutualisms in Atlantic biodiversity conservation" Ref. 2024/0028 funded by FLAD - Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento.