My thesis is centered on understanding how arthropod community composition, as well as natural biocontrol potential and pest infestation, are influenced by olive farming intensification in the Mediterranean region. Management measures will be recommended to help reconcile olive production with the conservation of arthropod diversity and the provision of natural biocontrol.
Main supervisor:
Pedro Beja (CIBIO-InBIO, Porto University)
Co-supervisors:
Mattias Jonsson (Department of Ecology, SLU)
Ruben Heleno (CEF, Coimbra University)
After completing an MSc in Conservation Biology at the University of Évora (Portugal) in 2011, I worked as a research fellow under the partnership between CIBIO-InBIO and the former Lisbon Tropical Research Institute (2012-2016), conducting taxonomic revisions of Afrotropical butterfly collections. In parallel, I carried out research focused on the ecology and conservation of arthropods, with collaborations in projects examining the biodiversity impacts of cashew monoculture expansion in West Africa (Guinea-Bissau), and of EU afforestation schemes in Mediterranean open farmland (Portugal).
Vasconcelos S, Jonsson M, Heleno R, Moreira F & Beja P. 2022. A meta-analysis of biocontrol potential and herbivore pressure in olive crops: does integrated pest management make a difference? Basic and Applied Ecology, 63, 115-124.
Herrera JM, Silva B, Jiménez‑Navarro G, Barreiro S, Melguizo‑Ruiz N, Moreira F, Vasconcelos S, Morgado R & Rodriguez‑Pérez J. 2021. A food web approach reveals the vulnerability of biocontrol services by birds and bats to landscape modification at regional scale. Scientific Reports, 11, 23662.
Costa A, Silva B, Jiménez-Navarro G, Barreiro S, Melguizo-Ruiz N, Rodríguez-Pérez J, Vasconcelos S, Beja P, Moreira F & Herrera JM. 2020. Structural simplification compromises the potential of common insectivorous bats to provide biocontrol services against the major olive pest Prays oleae. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 287, 106708.
Vasconcelos S, Pina S, Reino L, Beja P, Moreira F, Sánchez-Oliver JS, Catry I, Faria J, Rotenberry JT & Santana J. 2019. Long-term consequences of agricultural policy decisions: How are forests planted under EEC regulation 2080/92 affecting biodiversity 20 years later? Biological Conservation, 236, 393-403.
Cancela JP, Vasconcelos S. 2019. Ornamental plantings of Arbutus unedo L. facilitate colonisations by Charaxes jasius (Linnaeus, 1767) in Madrid province, central Spain. Nota Lepidopterologica, 42, 63-68.
Mendes LF, Bivar-de-Sousa A, Vasconcelos S, Lopes LF. 2018. On the butterflies of genus Precis Hübner, 1819 known in Angola, with description of a new species (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Nymphalinae). SHILAP Revista de Lepidopterología, 46, 653-672.
Pina S, Vasconcelos S, Reino L, Santana J, Beja P, Sánchez-Oliver JS, Catry I, Moreira F, Ferreira S. 2017. The Orthoptera of Castro Verde Special Protection Area (Southern Portugal): new data and conservation value. ZooKeys, 691, 19–48.
Bivar-de-Sousa A, Vasconcelos S, Mendes LF, Larsen TB, Baker J & Guilherme JL. 2016. Butterflies of Guinea-Bissau: VIII. New data, new reports, corrections and biodiversity (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea). Zootaxa, 4201, 001-007.
Pinho P, Correia O, Lecoq M, Munzi S, Vasconcelos S, Gonçalves P, Rebelo R, Antunes C, Silva P, Freitas C, Lopes N, Santos-Reis M & Branquinho C. 2016. Evaluating green infrastructure in urban environments using a multi-taxa and functional diversity approach. Environmental Research, 147, 601-610.
Vasconcelos S, Rodrigues P, Palma L, Mendes LF, Palminha A, Catarino L & Beja P. 2015. Through the eye of a butterfly: Assessing biodiversity impacts of cashew expansion in West Africa. Biological Conservation, 191, 779-786.
Vasconcelos S, Mendes LF, Beja P, Hodgson CJ & Catarino L. 2014. New records of insect pest species associated with cashew, Anacardium occidentale L. (Anacardiaceae), in Guinea-Bissau. African Entomology, 22, 673-677.
