معرفی
Rita Covas is a Principal Researcher at CIBIO-InBIO, Universidade do Porto, with a focus on behavioural and evolutionary ecology. Her work explores the causes and consequences of sociality and cooperation in avian species, particularly in island environments. She leads long-term studies on the Sociable Weaver (Philetairus socius) in South Africa, investigating cooperation dynamics and population responses to climate extremes. Collaborations include institutions like the University of Cape Town, CNRS France, and the University of Zurich.
- Key Projects
- Cooperation and population dynamics in Sociable Weavers (ERC-funded)
- Conservation implications of sociality in Southern Ground-Hornbills
- Island adaptation mechanisms in birds (global comparative studies)
- Research Themes
- Physiological costs of dominance (oxidative stress in females)
- Signaling in cooperative behaviors
- Host-parasite interactions in island and mainland ecosystems
- Maternal effects on offspring begging behavior
Funding sources include the ERC, FCT, DST/NRF (South Africa), and Marie Curie programs. Her recent publications (2024-2018) emphasize cooperative breeding, social dominance trade-offs, and island-specific evolutionary patterns. She supervises students in programs like the Mestrado em Biodiversidade, Genética e Evolução at the University of Porto and Cape Town.
Collaborative Networks: Claire Doutrelant (CNRS), Matthieu Paquet (Swedish Agricultural University), Martim Melo (CIBIO-InBIO), and Susie Cunningham (University of Cape Town). Her lab work at CIBIO-InBIO integrates field data from Africa, France, and the Gulf of Guinea islands.
