Manuela G.
Forero
My research interests include the study of trophic ecology and interactions with human activities, primarily in seabirds, but also in other species such as fish, cetaceans, birds of prey and some mammal species. My projects examine the effect of various drivers of global change on these populations and the food webs of which they form part. To address these research topics, I combine the use of intrinsic markers, such as stable isotopes, with the deployment of remote tracking devices, and the extraction of environmental variables using Geographic Information Systems. This latter line of research enables us to assess how these species utilise anthropogenised habitats and their interaction with human activity and its consequences – for example, in terms of transport and movement between ecosystems, and the presence of anthropogenic material such as plastics, pollutants and associated bacteria – within a One Health framework. At the same time, I am very interested in long-term studies, using time-series data to assess the effect of global change on the populations under study. My interest in the application of stable isotopes to ecological studies and the development of this methodology has led me to become the principal investigator at the Stable Isotope Laboratory at the Doñana Biological Station (LIE-EBD). I sit on various management and conservation committees and am deputy director of research at the EBD.
The research carried out by my research team is of great relevance to those sectors of society responsible for making management decisions regarding both protected areas and habitats that have been significantly altered by human activity but are also used by the species under study (e.g. landfill sites, urban areas, etc.). These species, and the knowledge generated about their behaviour, often serve as indicators of the state of these ecosystems. Consequently, the results produced are of great interest and have a significant impact on various social groups and the general public. Similarly, the innovation and training activities carried out at the LIE have a direct impact on the employability of the staff we train and on the application of this methodology in other scientific and technical fields.
