Paulo A. V. Borges

Paulo A. V. Borges is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Azores, Portugal, where he has held academic positions since 1988, progressing from Assistant Professor to his current role as Associate Professor with Aggregation since 2020. He leads the Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation (IBBC) research group and serves as the leader of the Azorean Biodiversity Portal, a key E-Infrastructure associated with LIFE-Watch.

His educational background includes a Ph.D. in Insect Ecology from the University of London (Imperial College) completed in 1997.

Borges is a leading island macroecologist and biogeographer who focuses on understanding pathways that impact oceanic indigenous assemblages under global change for conservation purposes, with particular emphasis on arthropod biodiversity. His research involves collecting long-term ecological data to investigate processes affecting species diversity, abundance and distribution patterns across different spatial scales. He uses the Azores and broader Macaronesian islands as model systems to study ecological and evolutionary mechanisms shaping island biotas. His work spans multiple disciplines including island biogeography, arthropod ecology, Coleoptera taxonomy, and biospeleology.

His recent publications reveal a strong focus on island biodiversity monitoring, climate change impacts on arthropod communities, and the development of methodologies for assessing ecological patterns across vertical gradients and between native and exotic forest systems. His research frequently integrates data from multiple Macaronesian islands and contributes to global biodiversity databases including GBIF, IUCN RED LISTING, and AZORESBIOPORTAL.

• SSC-Chair's Citation of Excellence (2019) awarded by IUCN Species Survival Commission
• Honorable Mention in the 2010 BES BIODIVERSITY PRIZE for the Portugal Millenium Ecosystem Assessment Project
• Honorable Mention of the 2008 BES BIODIVERSITY AWARD for research on predicting extinctions on oceanic islands

Borges has an extensive record of academic mentorship, having supervised 24 Post-Doc projects, 14 Ph.D. students, and 32 MSc students throughout his career, and currently supervises four Post-Docs and seven Ph.D. Students. His research is well-funded, with coordination/participation in 40 projects over eight years (12 international, 12 national through FCT, and 16 regional), including five FCT projects totaling approximately 900,000 Euros in funding.

As leader of the Azorean Biodiversity Group and the Azorean Biodiversity Portal, Borges directs a significant research team focused on documenting and analyzing island biodiversity. He serves as Co-Chair of the IUCN/SSC Atlantic Island Invertebrates Specialist Group and participates in multiple IUCN specialist groups. His research infrastructure includes long-term monitoring plots across multiple islands and extensive biodiversity databases that support both local conservation efforts and global biodiversity assessments.