I have been working intensively on predatory vertebrates since when I was 20 years old, setting-up studies on more than 15 species of diurnal and nocturnal raptors, in areas from fully urban to highly mountainous, and from temperate to tropical, collaborating with scientists from 13 nations and four continents. My main research interests focus on the causes and consequences of individual and habitat quality, on the effects of interspecific interactions, on the fitness implications of behavioural strategies (such as signalling or migration tactics) and on the role of predatory species in ecosystems and its conservation implications. Most of my current research deals with the demography and conservation of medium-sized raptors in Doñana National Park, which is examined through a combination of bio-logging, eco-physiological, eco-toxicological and genetical techniques.

I have conducted research on dozens of avian and mammalian species over the last 40 years, working as a full-time researcher at the Estación Biológica de Doñana since 1987. Overall, my research has focused on a large number of ecological themes, such as: • modelling the demography of endangered populations and metapopulations; • evaluating the causes and consequences of nestlings’ growth rates; • examining the effect of food availability on predator diet and distribution; • assessing the eco-physiological and fitness effects of morphology and behaviour; • monitoring the contamination of biota by several toxic agents. Throughout, my research has been highly multi-disciplinarily, mixing elements of classical ecology with eco-physiology, genetics and chemistry. My current interests focus on the ecosystem role of predator and frugivorous species, such as raptors and parrots, with a strong emphasis on its conservation implications.

I am a Ramon y Cajal researcher with a strong interest in eco-physiology and behavioural endocrinology. I have worked for the past 20 years on several avian species, from bee-eaters to storks and birds of prey, in Europe and Canada, integrating field-based behavioural data with lab-based physiological measures in order to investigate the endocrine link between behavioural performance and its fitness consequences. Most of my current research focuses on the way in which wild avian populations adapt to global change, with particular emphasis on the physiological mechanisms that enable resilience to human-impacts (e.g. through modulation of stress-physiology).