LIBRe - Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research

Name: LIBRe - Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research
Address: Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade de Lisbon, Lisbon, 1649-004, PT
Telephone: +358294128854

Página Inicial
Portugal
Lisbon
LIBRe - Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research

Research group of the Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes - University of Lisbon

We are a multidisciplinary group working under the Finnish Museum of Natural History – University of Helsinki. Working on ecology, biogeography, conservation biology and artificial intelligence, we also host the IUCN Spider & Scorpion Specialist Group.

14/01/2026

Species functional traits provide critical insights into how organisms interact with and respond to their environment. Key characteristics, such as body size, dispersal ability and trophic specialisation influence species' survival, reproduction and adaptability. Island ecosystems, particularly ocea...

10/01/2026

Agricultural expansion, a leading driver of biodiversity loss, has widespread effects on ecosystem services, particularly in tropical regions. In West Africa, the impact of intensified agriculture on local biodiversity – especially predator and decomposer species like spiders and ants – is under...

24/10/2025

🕷️ High-Altitude Forests, High Diversity!
A new study in the African Journal of Ecology reveals that spider diversity within habitats increases with elevation in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains.
Higher-elevation forests host smaller, less dispersive species — showing how mountain “islands” create pockets of unique biodiversity.

🌿 Protecting and connecting these habitats could help preserve countless small-range endemic species.
📖 Within‐Habitat β Diversity Increases With Elevation in Tropical Forest Spider Assemblages
🔗 https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.70111

01/10/2025

🌍🐝 Exciting news for biodiversity and sustainability in Portugal!

The new publication Theory of Change for a National Pollinator Strategy in Portugal, has just been published by Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra.

This groundbreaking work is the result of a collaborative process involving researchers including Mário Boieiro and Carla Rego from LIBRe , NGOs, policymakers, farmers, and citizens. It lays the foundation for Portugal’s first Action Plan for the Conservation and Sustainability of Pollinators.

👉 Why it matters:

Over 78% of Portugal’s flora and more than 57% of crops depend on pollinators.
Pollination contributes over €800 million per year to national agriculture.
Yet, pollinators face threats from land use changes, pesticides, climate change, and habitat loss.

The document identifies four key pathways for change:
1️⃣ Policy & funding
2️⃣ Research & knowledge
3️⃣ Practices & management (farming, forestry, urban areas, beekeeping)
4️⃣ Awareness & ecoliteracy

Together, these actions aim for one shared vision:
✨ A world in which pollinators and the ecosystem services they provide are promoted across all landscapes – natural, forest, agricultural, and urban.

📖 Read the full publication here: https://doi.org/10.14195/978-989-26-2627-7

29/09/2025

European Researchers Night - part 2

Pollinators and their importance was the topic of our second participation in visitors had the oportunity to learn about this important group of organisms, as well as some of the portuguese initiatives to promote their conservation, like network and the project .pt

Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência
Mário Boieiro SPEN - Sociedade Portuguesa de Entomologia
.entomologia
Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes - ce3c

29/09/2025

Last Friday we participated in the European Researchers Night at the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência in Lisbon. Together with we talked about the project BioMonitor4CAP, presenting its goals and methodologies used and inviting our visitors to play games.

Ana Farinha

14/09/2025

Today at the Motelx Festival in Lisbon, we invited kids and their parents into the fascinating world of spiders! 🕷️✨
We started with a performance and storytelling session, followed by a short presentation. Afterwards, participants got the chance to see our spiders up close under the microscope. 🔬
To wrap it up, the short film Atom & Void by Gonçalo Almeida — and even brought along the real star of the film, the Zoropsis spinimana! 🎥

Img 2 & 3: Performance and Story telling by Andreia Albernaz.
Img 4, 5 & 6: Presentation and questioning with Pedro Cardoso and Gonçalo Almeida.
Img 7, 8, 9 & 10: Mikroskope session
Img 11: Screening Atom & void
Img 12: Gonçalo Almeida talking about his project.

10/09/2025

We attended the .
IMG 2: Nuria Marcías-Hernández spoke about community assembly and drivers of diversity.
IMG 4: Miguel Sousa focused on environmental filterung under global warming.
IMG 5: Caroline Fukushima discussed the dynamics of the pet trade and how it affects spiders.
IMG 6: Pedro Cardoso highlighted ecosystem services provided by spiders.
We presented two posters:
IMG 7: Nuria Marcías-Hernández presented her research on spider diversity in the Canary Islands.
IMG 8: Ruth Neeßen showcased her result on the conservation of endemic Hogna species in Madeira.

04/08/2025

💡Did you know?

There are spiders that hunt using a technique that resembles the “bolas” used by gauchos.

Unlike most orb-weaver spiders, the bolas spider (genus Mastophora and close relatives) has abandoned the classic web. Instead, it uses a truly unique method to catch its prey: it hunts at night with a single silk line tipped with a sticky, gluey drop—the “bolas,”(much like the throwing weapon used by South American gauchos) to snag flying moths right out of the air.

The female sits patiently with her super-sticky bolas, she emits chemicals that mimic the scent (pheromone) of female moths, fooling male moths into thinking they’ve found a mate. When a moth approaches, she swings her bolas with pinpoint accuracy, ensnaring the moth mid-flight. Then the caught moth is reeled in for a fresh meal.

The pheromone trick is so sophisticated that some bolas spiders lure several moth species, even timing scents to match different species, active at different times of night.

Their hunting style is tailor-made for moth prey: the super-sticky glue and precise swinging motion overcome the moths’ notoriously slippery scales, which usually let them escape other spider webs.
The bolas spider’s combination of chemical mimicry and “fishing” skills makes it one of nature’s most creative and specialized hunters!

Check the video in the first comment to see bolas spider in action, and tag a friend who loves weird wonders of the wild!

30/07/2025

Did you know?

🕷️💦Argyroneta aquatica, also known as the diving bell spider, is the only spider that lives entirely underwater! All its major activities—hunting, eating, mating, and raising spiderlings—happen below the surface.

It doesn’t have gills! Instead, the diving bell spider creates a silk web “bell” between underwater plants, then ferries air down from the surface using tiny hairs on its abdomen and legs. 😮
This air bubble acts like a physical gill, allowing it to breathe underwater for hours or even days at a time. Females build larger diving bells, which serve as nurseries for eggs and spiderlings, while males are more active and spend more time outside their smaller bells.
It can be found in in freshwater ponds, lakes, and marshes across Europe and northern Asia, the diving bell spider is a rare sight and an indicator of clean water.

🫧🌊Nature's tiny underwater architect!

📸: ©Josef Hlasek

Endereço

Faculdade De Ciencias Da Universidade De Lisbon
Lisbon
1649-004

Telefone

+358294128854

Website

http://biodiversityresearch.org/

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