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Rosa Chefaoui
PhD 2010, Univ. Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
FCT Posdoctoral Research Fellow, (2013- )

CCMAR, CIMAR - Laboratório Associado
Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (F.C.T.)
Universidade do Algarve
Campus de Gambelas
P-8005-139 Faro, Portugal
E-mail: rmdiaz@ualg.pt

Tel : (351) 289 800 900 ext: 7355
Fax: (351) 289 818 353

Main Research Area
My research has been focused on exploring the possibilities of species distribution modelling (SDM) as a tool for conservation of endangered and threatened Iberian invertebrates. I studied the divergence between actual and potential distributions for biogeographical and conservation purposes and also evaluate model performance. Databases, GIS tools and statistical analysis have been key components to explore these topics:

  • Characterization of environmental niches to evaluate species environmental responses, identify suitable habitats and the primary factors affecting species’ distributions.
  • Applications of SDM to assess conservation status of threaten invertebrates: identifying environmentally suitable regions still not colonized, or where the species has become extinct, connectivity among populations, possible reintroductions, etc.
  • Hypothesize on the biogeographic causes that shape species’ actual distribution.
  • Methodological issues concerning the choice of method for generating pseudo-absence data for GLM-logistic regression models, and assess the effects of data and ecological characteristics on the accuracy of SDM techniques.

    • Projects
    INTERSEA (SFRH/BPD/85040/2012) is a multidisciplinary project integrating SDM with genetics in order to investigate the response of seagrasses and algae to environmental changes in the intertidal ecosystem along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. My interests lie in applying SDM techniques to identify the ecological and evolutionary factors regulating the range limits of marine species. I am conducting my post doctoral research at CCMAR with Prof. Ass. Dr. Ester A. Serrão.

    COMDUNES Do inland sand dune communities follow strict ecological sucession? (EXPL/BIA-BIC/2311/2013) COMDUNES aims to evaluate whether local communities growing on an extreme environment follow a coherent ecological succession throughout a large geographical extent or are driven by the individualistic responses of the species present in the pool of each locality, providing support for local processes or regional constrains as the main driver of community assembly.