Sofia Terzopoulou is conducting a Ph.D. in Ecology and Biogeography by the University of Athens starting in 2011 within the Azorean Biodiversity Group of cE3c. She is conducting the project “Taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of the Coleoptera of the Azores: an holistic approach”, under the supervision of Kostas Triantis (Assistant Prof. University of Athens). Aris Parmakelis (Assistant Prof. University of Athens) and Paulo A. Borges (Professor, University of Azores).
“Taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of the Coleoptera of the Azores: an holistic approach” Ph.D. project aims are: i) collect the key ecological traits that link the beetle species to the ecosystem’s functions (body size, life history traits), ii) the reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of the beetle species of the Azores, iii) to explore the links between the different components of biodiversity (taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic), iv) to probe into the mechanisms underlying biological diversity by combining species functional traits and their evolutionary history and v) to assess the relatedness of endemic and invasive species in the view of their functional traits and evolutionary history.
