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| Francisco Teixeira Batista Silva |
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I studied BSc at in Lisbon then undertook my MSc in the at the University of Lisbon. During my MSc in Conservation Biology I became increasingly interested in Evolutionary Biology and used bioinformatic methods to explore population genomics of the western chimpanzee and the western red colobus. I analysed and compared the genetic diversity, genetic structure and demographic history of these two primates native to sub-sarahan west Africa, deepening both my knowledge in the field and my love for it. I have also contributed to research on climate and nutrient interactions among aquatic ectotherms applying isotopic and metagenomic analyses.
Now in my PhD, I鈥檓 studying the unusual evolutionary strategy of some insects to survive the cold, in which they freeze and later thaw out unharmed. Combining different genomic methods and analyses, I will assess whether this strategy was evolved independently in several independent lineages living in the same alpine habitat, or whether the agents responsible for this ice tolerance are shared among them.
Insects in the northern hemisphere boreal zone usually avoid freezing in cold conditions by producing antifreeze compounds that block the formation of ice crystals that would otherwise damage their tissues. In New Zealand, however, most alpine insects are freeze tolerant and can freeze solid then reanimate in warmer conditions throughout their lives. This comes about because ice nucleating agents inside their bodies cause freezing at high subzero temperatures.
A key first question is to find out if the insects produce ice nucleating agents themselves, or whether they are produced by the environment in their food or the microbial community associated with them. Although the acquisition of this same freeze tolerant trait in different sympatric insect species (Celatoblatta cockroach, Sigaus grasshopper, and Hemideina w膿t膩) might have occurred through independent convergent evolution, this is not yet known. This shared trait might have been transferred horizontally between species through the sharing of ice nucleating agents that would confer the same adaptation.
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Qualifications
Bachelor Degree in Biology, Instituto Universit谩rio de Ci锚ncias Psicol贸gicas, Sociais e da Vida, Lisbon, Portugal (2020)
Master Degree in Conservation Biology, Faculdade de Ci锚ncias da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal (2024)
Publications
Maria Ferreira da Silva, Filipa Borges, Federica Gerini, Rui M. S谩, Francisco Silva, et al. Estimating the effective population size across space and time in the Critically Endangeredwestern chimpanzee in Guinea-Bissau: challenges and implications for conservation management.
Evolutionary Applications. |
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