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RESEARCH
Physiology of coping
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My research entails developing interdisciplinary approaches to investigate physiological mechanisms underlying organismal responses to environmental challenges.
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I aim for my research to be a compendium of studies that together can shape novel approaches for a more integrative and mechanistic understanding of phenotypic plasticity and life-history decisions.
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I combine experimental and observational studies in the field and in the lab, merging ecophysiology, behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology. I usually call this combination of approaches and research goals ¨physiology of coping"
My current work focuses on three main research lines:
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The deep impact of early life
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I am fascinated by the physiological mechanisms by means of which early life experiences “footprint” the organisms for life, determining the function and plasticity of physiological systems, and the capacity to cope.
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I study molecular and physiological mediators of these processes, focusing on endocrine regulation, gene expression and epigenetic mechanisms, which are key mediators of developmental effects across vertebrates, and fundamental sources of phenotypic plasticity.
Revisiting the ecological interpretation of glucocorticoid hormones
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Hormones are good candidates as mediators of coping strategies because they orchestrate physiological and behavioral responses across life stages, determining the overall capacity of an organism to overcome challenges.
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Glucocorticoid hormones mediate organismal responses to external and internal, perceived or anticipated challenges. This has traditionally led to them being known as ‘stress hormones’, and widely considered indicators of animal welfare or fitness prospects.
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Despite this widespread interpretation, we know very little about the causes of the huge variation that these hormones show at different levels (e.g. within- and among- individuals, and among species). Largely overlooked so far by studies focusing exclusively on consequences of this variation, the underlying ecological processes and physiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. This is, however, a fundamental step towards an accurate interpretation of glucocorticoids, their ecological relevance, and their use in ecophysiology and conservation biology. Much of my work has focused on unravelling environmental and internal sources of variation in glucocorticoid hormones, both in the short (e.g. changes in metabolic demands) and in the long term (e.g. early life adversity). My latter research also stresses the need to turn our research focus and efforts towards estimates of glucocorticoids´ dynamic regulation (e.g. changes in receptor expression, stress resilience), instead of working with absolute hormone levels only.
Epigenetic potential as mediator of phenotypic plasticity and natal dispersal
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In an increasingly changing world, organisms need to adjust to environmental fluctuations, and life-history traits should evolve towards maximizing fitness in the face of this variability. Natal dispersal - the movement between the place of birth and first breeding - is a particularly relevant life history trait, and will determine fitness prospects,
population dynamics and species distributions. Despite previous evidence that not all phenotypes are equally likely to disperse, the mechanisms driving variation in natal dispersal remain poorly investigated.
Epigenetic mechanisms – changes in gene expression that do not involve changes in the DNA sequence – enable more rapid and plastic phenotypic responses than are possible via genetic change, and individual genomes may differ in their capacity to respond epigenetically – i.e. epigenetic potential. A high capacity for epigenetically-induced phenotypic plasticity may be a requirement for dispersing individuals to successfully establish in novel environments, and I predict that individuals with higher natal dispersal propensity will show greater epigenetic potential. In my recently started MSCA project, I will use a 37-year dataset from a free-living pied flycatcher population to address this question at broad spatial and temporal scales, including long-term individual data and samples from multiple Eurasian populations to track past colonization and current expansion events. With this research I aim to connecting molecular mechanisms, evolutionary processes and broad scale population dynamics.
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