About the talk

Invasive species are one of the main drivers of global change, but it remains unclear how their vocalisations modify soundscapes. My PhD investigates how the vocal activity of alien parakeets alters the acoustic environment in Seville, using passive acoustic monitoring, AI detection and playback experiments. My work aims to build on emerging evidence that loud invasive species interfere with communication in birds and anurans.

About Loréna Boisseau

Loréna Boisseau is a PhD student, working at the Biological Station of Doñana since December 2023. After a Bachelor in Biology (2019), she pursued a master in Fundamental Ethology (2021) and a master in Bioacoustics (2023), both awarded with high honours. In 2021, she studied red junglefowl female choice for her first master thesis at the department of biology in Oxford University (UK). For her second master thesis in 2023, she worked on multimodal turn-taking in zebra finches, in the Institute of Biology in Leiden (Netherlands). 

About the talk

Most naturalized alien plants are introduced in recipient countries with horticultural purposes. Therefore, it is important to understand which factors influence the planting of some species over others, and the naturalization of ornamental alien plants. In this seminar, I will present my PhD plan, in which I aim to (1) investigate if there are differences in taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity of ornamental woody species according to their origin and invasion status; (2) explore the influence of geographic, climatic, socioeconomic and historic variables in shaping these diversity metrics; and (3) compare these results at different geographical scales. 

About Raúl Morón López

Raúl developed a strong interest in nature when he was a child. This led him to get involved in several environment conservation projects with local associations while he was still in middle school. Understanding the connection of urban population and nature made him want to develop a career in Urban Ecology. Therefore, he studied Biology at the University of Seville, followed by a Master's degree in Conservation Biology and Biodiversity at the University Pablo de Olavide. Then, he worked as a research support technician at EBD-CSIC in Montserrat Vilà's Lab, where he is currently conducting a PhD tesis in Invasion Ecology and Urban Ecology.