Dr Martim Melo

MSc (UCT); PhD (Edinburgh)

Martim Melo is based at CIBIO (Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources) and at the Natural History and Science Museum, both from the University of Porto, Portugal. He is in the steering committee behind the recently created Gulf of Guinea Biodiversity Centre and on the board of SPEA, the Portuguese BirdLife International partner.

Martim has been a keen birder ever since he can remember and a ringer since his early teens. He completed a Biology degree at the University of Lisbon, and went on to work for one-year as a volunteer for a UNDP project on the island of São Tomé, which triggered a long-lasting interest in the endemic avifauna of the Gulf of Guinea. This was followed by the Conservation Biology MSc at the FitzPatrick Institute, UCT, with a thesis on the Grey Parrot from Príncipe Island, and a PhD on bird speciation in the Gulf of Guinea at the University of Edinburgh. A string of post-docs ensued at the CEFE-CNRS (Montpellier, France), at the FitzPatrick Institute, and at CIBIO.

Martim is interested in the processes generating diversity – from identifying the factors that drive population divergence to the evolution of reproductive isolation (speciation). Research has focused on the diversification of the bird fauna of Africa, and in particular in its oceanic and ecological islands – natural speciation centres that are amenable for the study of this complex process. The outputs of Martim's research feed directly into his long-standing and active interest in conservation, by providing a better understanding of the diversity patterns within centres of endemism. Martim is currently assisting in the development of education and capacity building programs in biodiversity hotspots – namely in the Gulf of Guinea and in Southern Africa, with a special focus on Angola.

Peer-reviewed publications

2022

Barthe, M., Doutrelant, C., Covas, R., Melo, M., Illera, J.C., Tilak, M-K., Colombier, C., Leroy, T., Loiseau, C. and Nabholz, B. 2022. Evolution of immune genes in island birds: reduction in population sizes can explain island syndrome. Peer Community Journal 2, e67. doi: 10.24072/pcjournal.186

Freitas, B., Melo, M., Bom Jesus, C., Costa, S.R., Santos, Y., Crottini, A. and Lima, R.F. 2022. The recently discov­ered Principe Scops-owl is highly threatened: distribution, habitat associations, and population estimates. Bird Conservation International. doi: 10.1017/S0959270922000429

Melo, M., Freitas, B., Verbelen, P., da Costa, S., Pereira, H., Fuchs, J., Sangster, G., Correia, M., de Lima, R. and Crottini, A. 2022. A new species of scops-owl (Aves, Strigiformes, Strigidae, Otus) from Príncipe Island (Gulf of Guinea, Africa) and novel insights into the systematic affinities within Otus. ZooKeys 1126, 1-54. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1126.87635

Robert, A., Lengagne, T., Melo, M., Gomez, D. and Doutrelant, C. 2022. Evolution of vocal performance and song complexity in island birds. Journal of Avian Biology 2022, e02726. doi: 10.1111/jav.02726

Porcel, X., Dubos, N., Nöel, J., Lava, H., Velo, J.H., Georges, Melo, M., Rosa, G.M., Andreone, F. and Crottini, A. 2022. Male parental care in Malagasy stream-dwelling frogs of the Mantidactylus femoralis group (Anura: Manteliidae: Ochtomantis). Herptology Notes 15, 55-61.

Co-Edited Book

Ceríaco, L.M.P., Lima, R.F., Melo, M. and Bell, R.C. eds. 2022. Biodiversity of the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands. Springer, Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-06153-0_0

Book Chapters

Bell, R,C., Ceríaco, L.M.P., Lima, R.F. and Melo, M. 2022. A thriving future for the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands. In: Biodiversity of the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands (Ceríaco, L.M.P., Lima, R.F., Melo, M. and Bell, R.C., eds.). pp. 1-12. Springer, Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-06153-0_26

Ceríaco, L.M.P., Lima, R.F., Bell, R.C. and Melo, M. 2022. Biodiversity in the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands: a synthesis. In: Biodiversity of the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands (Ceríaco, L.M.P., Lima, R.F., Melo, M. and Bell, R.C., eds.). pp. 1-12. Springer, Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-06153-0_1

Ceríaco, L.M.P., Santos, B.S., Lima, R.F., Bell, R.C., Norder, S.J. and Melo, M. 2022. Physical geography of the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands. In: Biodiversity of the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands (Ceríaco, L.M.P., Lima, R.F., Melo, M. and Bell, R.C., eds.). pp. 1-12. Springer, Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-06153-0_2

Melo, M., Ceríaco, L.M.P. and Bell, R.C. 2022. Biogeography and evolution in the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands. In: Biodiversity of the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands (Ceríaco, L.M.P., Lima, R.F., Melo, M. and Bell, R.C., eds.). pp. 1-12. Springer, Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-06153-0_6

Melo, M., Jones, P.J. and Lima, R.F. 2022. The avifauna of the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands. In: Biodiversity of the Gulf of Guinea Oceanic Islands (Ceríaco, L.M.P., Lima, R.F., Melo, M, and Bell, R,C,, eds.). pp. 555-592. Springer, Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-06153-0_21

Pre-prints

Freitas, B., Bas, Y., Robert, A., Doutrelant, C., and Melo, M. 2022. Passive Acoustic Monitoring in difficult terrains: the case of the Principe Scops-Owl. doi: 10.31219/osf.io/mfubj

Stervander, M*., Melo, M*., Jones, P. and Hansson, B. 2022. Genomic signatures of isolation, hybridization, and selection during speciation of island finches. bioRxiv, 2022.2001.2005.474904. doi: 10.1101/2022.01.05.474904 (* joint first authors)

2021

Bourret, V., Gutiérrez López, R., Melo, M. and Loiseau, C. 2021. Metabarcoding options to study eukaryotic endoparasites of birds. Ecology and Evolution, 11(16), 10821-10833. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7748

Lima, R.F. and Melo, M. 2021. A revised checklist for the oceanic islands of the Gulf of Guinea (Príncipe, São Tomé and Annobón). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 141(2), 179-198.

Reis, S., Melo, M., Covas, R., Doutrelant, C., Pereira, H., Lima, R.d. and Loiseau, C. 2021. Influence of land use and host species on parasite richness, prevalence and co-infection patterns. International Journal for Parasitology, 51, 83-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2020.08.005

Robert, A., Melo, M., Lengagne, T., Julien, S., Gomez, D. and Doutrelant, C. 2021. Patterns of bird song evolution on islands support the character release hypothesis in tropical but not in temperate latitudes. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 34, 1580-1591. https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13928

Valle, S., Collar, N.J., Melo, M. and Marsden, S.J. 2021. What can the abundance of Grey Parrots on Príncipe Island tell us about large parrot conservation? Journal of Tropical Ecology, 36(6), 293-297.  https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467421000031

2020

Valente, L., Phillimore, A.B., Melo, M., Warren, B.H., Clegg, S.M., Havenstein, K., . . . Etienne, R.S. 2020. A simple dynamic model explains the diversity of island birds worldwide. Nature, 579(7797), 92–96. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2022-5

2019

Dean, W. R. J., Melo, M., and Mills, M.S.L. 2019. The Avifauna of Angola: Richness, Endemism and Rarity. In B. J. Huntley, V. Russo, F. Lages, & N. Ferrand (Eds.), Biodiversity of Angola: Science & Conservation: A Modern Synthesis (pp. 335–356). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Flood, R., de Lima, R., Melo, M., Verbelen, P. and Wagstaff, W. 2019. What is known about the enigmatic Gulf of Guinea band-rumped storm-petrels (Hydrobates cf. castro)? Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 139, 173–186. DOI:10.25226/bboc.v139i2.2019.a10

Loiseau, C., Melo, M., Lee, Y., Pereira, H., Hanemaaijer, M., Lanzaro, G., . . . Gilbert, F. 2019. High endemism of mosquitoes on São Tomé and Príncipe Islands: evaluating the general dynamic model in a worldwide island comparison. Insect Conservation and Diversity 12, 69–79.  https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12308

Robert, A., Lengagne, T., Melo, M., Gardette, V., Julien, S., Covas, R., . . . Doutrelant, C. 2019. The Theory of Island Biogeography and Soundscapes: species diversity and the organization of acoustic communities. Journal of Biogeography, 46, 1901–1911.  https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13611

Stervander, M., Ryan, P.G., Melo, M., and Hansson, B. 2019. The origin of the world’s smallest flightless bird, the Inaccessible Island Rail Atlantisia rogersi (Aves: Rallidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 130, 92–98. 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.007

2018

Hering, J., Hering, H., de Lima, R. and Melo, M. 2018. Little-known African bird: Príncipe White-eye Zosterops ficedulinus–a rare island endemic. Bulletin of the African Bird Club, 25, 75–81.

Leite, A., Cáceres, A., Melo, M., Mills, M. and Monteiro, A. 2018. Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in Angola: Insights from the scarp forest conservation ‘hotspot’. Land Degradation and Development 29, 4291–4300.

Lewis, T.C., Melo, M., de Lima, R.F. and Bremner-Harrison, S. 2018. Habitat associations of the critically endangered São Tomé Fiscal Lanius newtoni: Comparing standard and playback-confirmed point counts. African Journal of Ecology, 56(2), 404-408.  https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12445

2017

Cáceres, A., Melo, M., Barlow, J. O. S., Faustino De Lima, R. and Mills, M.S.L. 2017. Drivers of bird diversity in an understudied African centre of endemism: The Angolan Central Escarpment Forest. Bird Conservation International, 27, 256–268. 10.1017/S0959270917000119

Lewis, T.C., Melo, M., de Lima, R.F. and Bremner-Harrison, S. 2017. Habitat associations of the critically endangered São Tomé Fiscal Lanius newtoni: Comparing standard and playback-confirmed point counts. African Journal of Ecology https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12445

Loiseau*, C*., Melo*, M., Lobato, E., Beadell, J. S., Fleischer, R. C., Reis, S., Doutrelant, C. and Covas, R. 2017. Insularity effects on the assemblage of the blood parasite community of the birds from the Gulf of Guinea. Journal of Biogeography, 44(11), 2607–2617. 10.1111/jbi.13060 (* joint first authors)

Lobato, E., Geraldes, M., Melo, M., Doutrelant, C. and Covas, R. 2017. Diversity and composition of cultivable gut bacteria in an endemic island bird and its mainland sister species. Symbiosis, 71(2), 155–164. 10.1007/s13199-016-0419-6

Lobato, E., Doutrelant, C., Melo, M., Reis, S. and Covas, R. 2017. Insularity effects on bird immune parameters: A comparison between island and mainland populations in West Africa. Ecology and Evolution, 7, 3645–3656. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2788

Melo*, M., Stervander*, M., Hansson, B. and Jones, P.J. 2017. The endangered São Tomé Grosbeak Neospiza concolor is the world's largest canary. Ibis, 159, 673–679.  (* joint first authors) https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12466

Monteiro, M., Figueira, R., Melo, M., Mills, M.S.L., Beja, P., Bastos-Silveira, C., Ramos, M., Rodrigues, D., Queirós Neves, I., Consciência, S. and Reino, L. 2017. The collection of birds from Mozambique at the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical of the University of Lisbon (Portugal). ZooKeys, 708, 139-152.

2016

Cáceres, A., Melo, M., Barlow, J. and Mills, M.S.L. 2016. Radiotelemetry reveals key data for the conservation of Sheppardia gabela (Rand, 1957) in the Angolan Escarpment forest. African Journal of Ecology http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aje.12283

Lobato, E., Geraldes, M., Melo, M., Doutrelant, C. and Covas, R. 2016. Diversity and composition of cultivable gut bacteria in an endemic island bird and its mainland sister species. Symbiosis. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13199-016-0419-6

Monteiro, M., Reino, L., Melo, M., Beja, P., Bastos-Silveira, C., Ramos, M., Rodrigues, D., Neves, I.Q., Consciȇncia, S. and Figueira, R. 2016. The collection of birds from São Tomé and Príncipe at the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical of the University of Lisbon (Portugal). ZooKeys 600: 155-167. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.600.7899 

2015

Cáceres, A., Melo, M., Barlow, J., Cardoso, P., Maiato, F. & Mills, M.S.L. 2015. Threatened birds of the Angolan central escarpment: distribution and response to habitat change at Kumbira forest. Oryx 49: 727-734.

Mills, M.S.L. & Melo, M. 2015. As Aves Comuns de Luanda / Common Birds of Luanda. AvesAngola, Luanda & Birds Angola, www.birdsangola.org.

Lauron, E.J., Loiseau, C., Bowie, R.C., Spicer, G.S., Smith, T.B., Melo, M. & Sehgal, R.N. 2015. Coevolutionary patterns and diversification of avian malaria parasites in African sunbirds (Family Nectariniidae). Parasitology 142: 635-647.