Dr. Maira Cardoso
Research interests
I investigate how anthropogenic pressures, particularly land-use change and socioeconomic drivers, shape biodiversity patterns and extinction risk in vulnerable systems such as islands and tropical forests. My research combines biodiversity data with spatial analyses at both landscape and macroecological scales, ecological modelling, and conservation planning approaches, often integrating taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity, with a primary focus on birds.
I hold a PhD in Zoology, Biodiversity, and Conservation and have expertise in tropical ecology, including extensive fieldwork experience in Amazonia, as well as island biogeography and global macroecology. My work integrates geographic, environmental, and socioeconomic data to address applied conservation questions and strengthen links between science, conservation practice, and policy.
In addition to research, I am committed to teaching and mentoring in the MSc programmes Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (EEC) and Climate, Earth, Water and Sustainability (CLEWS).
Main areas of interest
- Anthropogenic drivers of extinction risk
- Island biogeography and insular systems
- Landscape ecology, landscape management in tropical ecosystems
- Multidimensional biodiversity - taxonomic, functional, phylogenetic diversity
Dr. Maira Cardoso
Dr. Maira Cardoso
Links
Academic Career
2025 – Present Postdoc Researcher at the Ecology/Macroecology Group, University of Potsdam, Germany.
2021 – 2025 Postdoc Researcher at Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Germany.
2016 – 2020 PhD. Zoology, Ecology and Conservation at the Univ. Federal do Pará- Brazil.
2018 – 2019 PhD. Visiting Researcher at the University of Sheffield – UK.
2014 – 2016 Research Assistant at the Emilio Goeldi Museum – Brazil.
2012 – 2014 MSc. Zoology, Ecology and Conservation at the Univ. Federal do Pará- Brazil.
2008 – 2012 BSc. Biological Sciences at the Univ. Federal do Pará- Brazil.
Publications
Cardoso, M. R., Almeida, S. M., Matos, F. A. R., Edwards, D. P., & Santos, M. P. D. (2025). Limited evidence of biodiversity spillover from forest fragments into oil palm plantations in the Amazon. Journal of Applied Ecology, 62, 1939–1952. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70098
Cardoso, M. R., Matos, F. A. R., Almeida, S. M., Silva, L. C., Cerqueira, P. V., Santos, M. P. D., & Edwards, D. P. (2021). Connected riparian reserves retain high avian phylogenetic diversity in Amazonian oil palm. Biological Conservation, 259, 109171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109171
Knowlton, J. L., Halvorsen, K. E., Flaspohler, D. J., Webster, C. R., Abrams, J., Almeida, S. M., Arriaga-Weiss, S. L., Barnett, B., Cardoso, M. R., Cerqueira, P. V., et al. (2021). Birds and bioenergy within the Americas: A cross-national, social–ecological study of ecosystem service trade-offs. Land, 10(3), 258. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10030258
Knowlton, J. L., Phifer, C. C., Cerqueira, P. V., Barro, F. de C., Oliveira, S. L., Fiser, C. M., Becker, N. M., Cardoso, M. R., Flaspohler, D. J., & Santos, M. P. D. (2017). Oil palm plantations affect movement behaviour of a key member of mixed-species flocks of forest birds in Amazonia, Brazil. Tropical Conservation Science, 10, https://doi.org/10.1177/1940082917692800
Almeida, S. M., Silva, L. C., Cardoso, M. R., Cerqueira, P. V., Juen, L., & Santos, M. P. D. (2016). The effects of oil palm plantations on the functional diversity of Amazonian birds. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 32, 510–525. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467416000377
Data Contribution
Carvalho, R. L., Resende, A. F., Barlow, J., França, F. M., Moura, M. R., Maciel, R., Alves-Martins, F., Shutt, J., Nunes, C. A., Elias, F., Silveira, J. M., Stegmann, L., Baccaro, F. B., Juen, L., Schietti, J., Aragão, L., Berenguer, E., Castello, L., Costa, F. R. C., Guedes, M. L., Leal, C. G., Lees, A. C., Isaac, V., Nascimento, R. O., Phillips, O. L., Schmidt, F. A., Steege, H., Vaz-de-Mello, F., Venticinque, E. M., Vieira, I. C. G., Zuanon, J., Synergize Consortium, & Ferreira, J. (2023). Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research. Current Biology, 33(16), 3495–3504.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.077