Our research investigates the long-term exploitation of marine resources and the ways human activities have influenced the population dynamics of key marine species. By integrating archaeological, genomic, and ecological data, we aim to reconstruct historical patterns of resource use and their ecological consequences. Previous work has focused on the exploitation and decline of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis), Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus), and the population dynamics of European sardine (Sardina pilchardus). Building on this foundation, current projects such as SEACHANGE and PALEOHAKE extend this approach to multiple pelagic species, including sardine, mackerel, and hake, from the Roman era to the present. Using advanced genomic and bioinformatic methods, this research provides a long-term perspective on human–marine interactions, offering valuable insights for sustainable management and conservation today.
Paula Campos is a researcher specialized in ancient DNA applications to archaeological, paleontological and conservation biology questions. She received her degree in Biology in 2000, her MSc in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources in 2005 from the University of Porto and her PhD in Evolutionary Biology in 2009 from University of Copenhagen. As of January 2020, her publications include 2 theses, 4 book chapters, 1 technical report and 48 papers in international peer review journals. Of these, 15 were published in major multidisciplinary scientific journals including PNAS, Science and Nature, but also in specialized journals like Journal of Archaeological Science and Molecular Ecology. Paula is funded through FCT’s Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus, CEEC2017.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Applied Biology by the University of Minho and I am currently doing my master’s in Molecular Genetics by the same University. I have previously worked together with Minho’s School of Sciences in projects of scientific dynamization and communication, having been awarded a scholarship for my collaboration. I also have a special interest in History, Anthropology and Evolutionary Genetics, having done an internship in Population Genetics during my bachelor’s senior year.
Paula Campos is a researcher specialized in ancient DNA applications to archaeological, paleontological and conservation biology questions. She received her degree in Biology in 2000, her MSc in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources in 2005 from the University of Porto and her PhD in Evolutionary Biology in 2009 from University of Copenhagen. As of January 2020, her publications include 2 theses, 4 book chapters, 1 technical report and 48 papers in international peer review journals. Of these, 15 were published in major multidisciplinary scientific journals including PNAS, Science and Nature, but also in specialized journals like Journal of Archaeological Science and Molecular Ecology. Paula is funded through FCT’s Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus, CEEC2017.
Rute Fonseca is an Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. She received her degree in Biochemistry in 2000 and her PhD in Computational Chemistry in 20016 from University of Porto. Rute uses computational tools to study molecular evolution in a variety of organisms. My recent work involves exploring large-scale genomic information on both modern and ancient DNA data sets. I am particularly interested in protein function evolution and how this impacts phenotypes.
Subramaniam Vijayakumar is a master’s student specializing in marine biotechnology and bioinformatics, currently conducting his master thesis at the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), University of Porto. His research focuses on uncovering the diet and gut microbiome of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) from the Desertas (Madeira) population using metabarcoding and metagenomic analyses. He also investigates the relationship between the seals’ diet and gilt-head seabream aquaculture production in Ribeira Brava.
With a strong background in chemistry, having completed a Master’s in Chemistry, Subramaniam is currently studying in the Joint Master’s Programme in Marine Biotechnology under the prestigious Erasmus Mundus EU-CONEXUS program, gaining valuable international research experience. His expertise spans a broad range of areas, including organic, physical, and analytical chemistry, microbial cultures, genetic analysis, structural biology, and computational drug discovery, leveraging advanced computational tools for data analysis and modeling.”
As a voting member of the EU-CONEXUS JMPMB Student Board and patent holder for anti-cancer aminothiazole derivatives, Subramaniam is passionate about advancing research in marine bioactive compounds, with a focus on health, aquaculture, and sustainability
Espregueira Themudo, G., Fernández-Fernández, A., Abad, P.V., Nóvoa, A.A.R., Fernández-Rodriguez, C., de Agüero, E.G.-G., da Fonseca, R.R., Campos, P.F.
2025Espregueira Themudo, G., Rey-Iglesia, A., Campos, P.F.
2024Mar Biol 171, 195da Fonseca, R.R., Campos, P.F., Rey-Iglesia, A., Barroso, G. V., Bergeron, L.A., Nande, M., Tuya, F., Abidli, S., Pérez, M., Riveiro, I., Carrera, P., Jurado-Ruzafa, A., G. Santamaría, M.T., Faria, R., Machado, A.M., Fonseca, M.M., Froufe, E., C. Castro, L.F.
2024Genes (Basel) 15, 170.Marques, JP, Alves, PC, Amorim, IR, Lopes RJ, Moura, M, Meyers, G, Sim-sim, M, Sousa-Santos, C, Alves, MJ, Borges, PAV, Brown, T, Carneiro, C, Carrapato, C, Ceríaco, L, Ciofi, C, Silva, L. Diedericks, G, Diroma, MA, Farelo, L. Formenti, G, Gil, F, Grilo, M, Ianucci, A, Leitão, H, Máguas, C, McCartney, A, Mendes, S, Moreno, J, Morselli, M, MOuton, A, Natali, C, Pereira, F, Rego, R, Resendes, R, Roxo, G, Svardal, H, Trindade, H, Vicente, S, Winkler, S, Alvarenga, M, Amaral, A, Antunes, A, Campos, PF, Canário, A, Castilho, C, Castro, LF, Crottini, A, Cunha, M, Themudo, G, Esteves, P, Faria, R, Fernandes, C, Ledoux, JB, LOuto, B, Magalhães, S, Paulo, O, Pearson, G, Pimenta, J, Pina-Martins, F, Santos, T, Serrão, E, Melo-Ferreira J, Sousa, V
2024npj Biodiversity5. Theissinger, K., Fernandes, C., Formenti, G., Bista, I., Berg, P.R., Bleidorn, C., Bombarely, A., Crottini, A., Gallo, G.R., Godoy, J.A., Jentoft, S., Malukiewicz, J., Mouton, A., Oomen, R.A., Paez, S., Palsbøll, P.J., Pampoulie, C., Ruiz-López, M.J., Secomandi, S., Svardal, H., Theofanopoulou, C., de Vries, J., Waldvogel, A.-M., Zhang, G., Jarvis, E.D., Bálint, M., Ciofi, C., Waterhouse, R.M., Mazzoni, C.J., Höglund, J., Aghayan, S.A., Alioto, T.S., Almudi, I., Alvarez, N., Alves, P.C., Amorim do Rosario, I.R., Antunes, A., Arribas, P., Baldrian, P., Bertorelle, G., Böhne, A., Bonisoli-Alquati, A., Boštjančić, L.L., Boussau, B., Breton, C.M., Buzan, E., Campos, P.F., Carreras, C., Castro, L.Fi.C., Chueca, L.J., Čiampor, F., Conti, E., Cook-Deegan, R., Croll, D., Cunha, M. V., Delsuc, F., Dennis, A.B., Dimitrov, D., Faria, R., Favre, A., Fedrigo, O.D., Fernández, R., Ficetola, G.F., Flot, J.-F., Gabaldón, T., Agius, D.R., Giani, A.M., Gilbert, M.T.P., Grebenc, T., Guschanski, K., Guyot, R., Hausdorf, B., Hawlitschek, O., Heintzman, P.D., Heinze, B., Hiller, M., Husemann, M., Iannucci, A., Irisarri, I., Jakobsen, K.S., Klinga, P., Kloch, A., Kratochwil, C.F., Kusche, H., Layton, K.K.S., Leonard, J.A., Lerat, E., Liti, G., Manousaki, T., Marques-Bonet, T., Matos-Maraví, P., Matschiner, M., Maumus, F., Mc Cartney, A.M., Meiri, S., Melo-Ferreira, J., Mengual, X., Monaghan, M.T., Montagna, M., Mysłajek, R.W., Neiber, M.T., Nicolas, V., Novo, M., Ozretić, P., Palero, F., Pârvulescu, L., Pascual, M., Paulo, O.S., Pavlek, M., Pegueroles, C., Pellissier, L., Pesole, G., Primmer, C.R., Riesgo, A., Rüber, L., Rubolini, D., Salvi, D., Seehausen, O., Seidel, M., Studer, B., Theodoridis, S., Thines, M., Urban, L., Vasemägi, A., Vella, A., Vella, N., Vernes, S.C., Vernesi, C., Vieites, D.R., Wheat, C.W., Wörheide, G., Wurm, Y., Zammit, G.,
2023McIvor, A.J., Pires, R., Lopes, C., Raimundo, J., Campos, P.F., Pais, M.P., Canning-Clode, J., Dinis, A.,
2023Science of The Total Environment 856, 159077.Gopalakrishnan, S., Ebenesersdóttir, S.S., Lundstrøm, I.K.C., Turner-Walker, G., Moore, K.H.S., Luisi, P., Margaryan, A., Martin, M.D., Ellegaard, M.R., Magnússon, Ó.þ., Sigurðsson, Á., Snorradóttir, S., Magnúsdóttir, D.N., Laffoon, J.E., van Dorp, L., Liu, X., Moltke, I., Ávila-Arcos, M.C., Schraiber, J.G., Rasmussen, S., Juan, D., Gelabert, P., de-Dios, T., Fotakis, A.K., Iraeta-Orbegozo, M., Vågene, Å.J., Denham, S.D., Christophersen, A., Stenøien, H.K., Vieira, F.G., Liu, S., Günther, T., Kivisild, T., Moseng, O.G., Skar, B., Cheung, C., Sandoval-Velasco, M., Wales, N., Schroeder, H., Campos, P.F., Guðmundsdóttir, V.B., Sicheritz-Ponten, T., Petersen, B., Halgunset, J., Gilbert, E., Cavalleri, G.L., Hovig, E., Kockum, I., Olsson, T., Alfredsson, L., Hansen, T.F., Werge, T., Willerslev, E., Balloux, F., Marques-Bonet, T., Lalueza-Fox, C., Nielsen, R., Stefánsson, K., Helgason, A., Gilbert, M.T.P.
2022Current Biology.Rey-Iglesia, A., Gaubert, P., Espregueira Themudo, G., Pires, R., De la Fuente, C., Freitas, L., ...Campos, P. F.
2020Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.Rey-Iglesia, A., Martínez-Cedeira, J., López, A., Fernández, R., Campos, P.F. (2018).
2018JAS Reports, 18, (393-398).
