We start by introducing you to the biographical note of the who belongs to the project hosting this workshop and who will be presenting the topic “LIFE BEETLES: the first insect conservation project in the Azores”:
Born in Lisbon, Maria Teresa Ferreira studied at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, graduating in Animal Biology (2005). After a year of working on an Initiation to Scientific Research scholarship at the University of the Azores (2006), she obtained a scholarship from the Foundation for Science and Technology to continue her studies abroad, obtaining a Master’s degree (2008) and later a PhD (2011) from the University of Florida in the United States, specializing in Entomology.
From an early age, she always felt a deep curiosity about insects and arthropods, and she did voluntary work while at university with the Entomology Laboratory, further stimulating her interest. Since then, she has worked in urban entomology with the Azores Biodiversity Group, tackling termites. Later, after her PhD, she researched the impact of climate change on the biodiversity of the Azores, both flora and arthropods, publishing several studies in this area (IMPACTBIO project).
She carried out a post-doctorate, analysing the impact of climate change on the production of mandarins, and led the application, as Principal Investigator, for the PASTURCLIM project, which analysed the impact of climate change on the production and nutritional character of pastures in the Azores.
Always following her interest in insects, she developed her research aimed at the study of entomology, having been invited in 2020 to manage the first insect conservation project in the Azores, the LIFE BEETLES project, coordinated by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change, where she focuses her interest not only on the conservation of the project’s target species but also on demystifying the negative perception usually associated with this group of living beings.
