Francisco ARENAS

Researcher and Team Leader, CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research. Matosinhos, Portugal.

Francisco Arenas Parra. Ph.D. in Marine Biology in 1999 by Univ. Oviedo (Spain). Dr Arenas is a Researcher and Team Leader in Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental. Proactive marine ecologist with over 25 years of experience in coastal ecosystem research. His research mainly involves experimental ecology and modelling tools to understand and predict the effects of global change on populations and communities of coastal ecosystems, from both structural and functional perspectives. He has explored the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, especially in light of the biodiversity crisis resulting from marine invasions and local extinctions. Leader of several National (FCT funded) and international projects like Blueforesting (www.blueforesting.com).