RYC2019-028066-I - Programación acústica del desarollo y ad

I am a Behavioural Ecologist, working on the evolution of heat adaptation strategies, developmental plasticity and acoustic communication, and their implications for species persistence under global change. Recently, my work has focused on how prenatal sounds can shape developmental trajectories in animals and on heat adaptation strategies in birds.

My recent work has revealed that avian parents can program the development of their offspring for high temperatures, via prenatal acoustic communication. This led to the establishment of a new field of research coined Acoustic Developmental Programming on how sound information shapes development across taxa. During my Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (Jul2021- Jul2026), at the Estación Biológica de Doñana, I will, together with students and collaborators, continue to expend this line of research, including on the sensory, physiological and epigenetic underpinnings of this phenomena, and its ecological consequences. I also plan on continuing to work more broadly on the developmental effects of sound, vibration and noise (including from anthropogenic sources), and on heat adaptation in birds, including through developmental programming.