Environmental Stress & Functional Ecology - ESFE

Sara Vicente

PhD Student

Acacia longifolia Invasive plants Molecular biology Ecology

Sara Filipa da Silva Lucas Sousa Vicente is conducting a Ph.D. in Biology and Ecology of Global Change (BEGC) at the University of Lisbon starting in 2018. She is conducting the project “The role of genetic variability and phenotypic plasticity on the invasiveness of Acacia longifolia” under the supervision of Helena Trindade (CESAM) and Cristina Máguas (ESFE, cE3c). The aims of the Ph.D are:

1.        Identify the differences in native vs. invasive acacias on a molecular level to better elucidate their invasion history;
2.        Clarify the roles of genetic diversity and phenotypic plasticity in the invasive process of A. longifolia;
3.        Characterize A. longifolia’s flower development and understand if and how it is influenced by environmental conditions, consequently affecting this species’ reproductive process.

Funding was awarded by the Participatory Budget of the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) 2018 (OP@CESAM 2018) for the initiative “Genetic variability in native and recently invaded ecosystems by Acacia longifolia: a global model species” included in her Ph.D project and running from July 2018 to July 2019.