Expertise

Coastal and estuarine Ecology - Population dynamics - Climate Change - Dynamic Energy Budgets - Predator-prey interactions - Flatfish - Epibenthos

CV

2013           Post-doc fellowship from FCT (Portuguese Science Foundation); host institutes: CIIMAR (Porto) & NIOZ

2011-2012    Post-doc  NIOZ (ZKO project: Monitoring the Wadden Sea fish fauna: Structure and trophic functioning)

2011             Ph.D. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (thesis: Climate-induced changes in estuarine predator-prey systems: a DEB approach)

2003             Licenciate degree (MSc) in Biology, Faculty of Sciences Porto University (FCUP Porto, Portugal)

Research Interests

Shallow-water systems are of enormous importance due to the ecological interactions they support. Keeping in mind potential impacts of climate change on estuarine communities, most of my research has been on how temperature changes can affect the interactive relationships among species. During my PhD project, I focused on the potential regulating effect of predation by epibenthic fish and crustaceans on shallow water systems, and the impact of temperature on this regulatory capacity. A few key species dominate epibenthic assemblages in estuaries and other shallow coastal areas and occur over a large geographical range. This provided the basis for analyzing latitudinal trends in growth of the various predator species (fish, crustaceans) and on their (bivalve) prey at different scenarios of temperature and food conditions. This project involved extensive sampling in Norway, in Portugal and in the Netherlands, in combination with a modeling (Dynamic Energy Budget models) component. During my postdoc I got involved in a project exploring changes in the carrying capacity of the Wadden Sea, namely in the quality and quantity of the western Wadden Sea as an important nursery area for juvenile flatfish. Taking advantage of available data from demersal fauna surveys carried out since the 1960s, I am currently looking at temporal trends in distribution and growth in relation to changes in habitat suitability (food availability and/or environmental factors). In parallel, I am also involved in characterizing the trophic relationships among fish fauna and its contribution to the overall food web using stable isotope analyses.

Participation in Projects

2005-2008: Latitudinal variation on the biology of estuarine key-species as a tool to predict climate change effects.  Funded by Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) in collaboration with Joana Campos (NIOZ, CIIMAR), Sérgia Costa-Dias (CIIMAR) & José Carlos Antunes (CIIMAR, http://www.ciimar.up.pt/). 

2010-2011: Managing effects of global climate on estuarine biodiversity and productivity. Funded by EEA financial mechanism.

Internships and BSc/MSc projects

MSc and BSc students as well as students looking for short internships are welcomed. Opportunities include a combination of field studies, analysis of preexisting data and/or literature-oriented studies.

Outreach

Next door unknown: What lives in the open Wadden Sea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj39NhF1A3o

Publications

Freitas V., Kooijman S.A.L.M., Van der Veer H.W. (2012) Latitudinal trends in habitat quality of shallow water flatfish nurseries. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 471, 203-214

Freitas V. (2011) Climate-induced changes in estuarine predator-prey systems: a DEB approach. PhD dissertation. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Link to thesis: http://dare.ubvu.vu.nl/bitstream/handle/1871/18988/dissertation.pdf?sequence=1

Freitas V., Lika K., Witte J.IJ., Van der Veer H.W. (2011) Food conditions of the sand goby Pomatoschistus minutus in shallow waters: An analysis in the context of Dynamic Energy Budget theory. J. Sea Res. 66, 440-446

Lika K., Kearney M.R., Freitas V., Van der Veer H.W., Van der Meer J. Wijsman J.W.M., Pecquerie L., Kooijman S.A.L.M. (2011) The "covariation method" for estimating the parameters of the standard Dynamic Energy Budget model I: Philosophy and approach. J. Sea Res. 66, 270-277

Van der Veer H.W., Koot J., Aarts G., Dekker R., Diderich W., Freitas V., Witte J.IJ. (2011) Long-term trends in juvenile flatfish indicate a dramatic reduction in nursery function of the Balgzand intertidal, Dutch Wadden Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 434, 143-154

Hunsicker M.E., Ciannelli L., Bailey K.M., Buckel J.A., White J.W., Link J.S., Essington T.E., Anderson, T., Brodeur R., Chan K-S, Chen K. Englund G., Frank K.A., Freitas V., Gaichas S, Hixon M.A., Hurst T., Johnson D., Kitchell J.F., Reese D., Rose G.A., Sjodin H., Sydeman W.J., Van der Veer H., Vollset K., Zador S. (2011) Functional responses and scaling in predator-prey interactions of marine fishes: contemporary issues and emerging concepts. Ecology Letters 14, 1288-1299

Freitas, V., Cardoso, J.F.M.F., Lika, K., Campos, J., Peck, M., Kooijman, S.A.L.M., Van der Veer, H.W. (2010) Temperature tolerance and energetics: a dynamic energy budget-based comparison of North Atlantic marine species. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 365, 3553–3565

Troost, T.A., Wisjman, J.W.M., Saraiva, S., Freitas, V. (2010) Modelling shellfish growth with dynamic energy budget models: an application for cockles and mussels in the Oosterschelde (southwest Netherlands). Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 365, 3567–3577

Van der Veer, H.W., Freitas, V., Koot, J., Witte, J.IJ., Zuur, A.F. (2010) Food limitation in epibenthic species in temperate intertidal systems in summer: analysis of 0-group plaice Pleuronectes platessa. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 416, 215–227

Freitas, V., Campos, J., Skreslet, S., Van der Veer, H.W. (2010) Habitat quality of a sub-arctic nursery ground for 0-group plaice (Pleuronectes platessa L.). J. Sea Res. 64, 26–33

Dolbeth, M., Martinho, F., Freitas, V., Costa-Dias, S., Campos, J., Pardal, M.A. (2010) Multi-year comparisons of fish recruitment, growth and production in two drough-affected Iberian estuaries. Mar. Fresh. Res. 61, 1399–1415

Costa-Dias, S., Sousa, R., Freitas, V., Antunes, C. (2010) Factors influencing epibenthic assemblages in the Minho estuary (NW Iberian Peninsula). Mar. Pollut. Bull. 61, 240–246

Freitas, V., Cardoso, J.F.M.F., Santos, S., Campos, J., Drent, J., Saraiva, S., Witte, J.IJ., Kooijman, S.A.L.M., Van der Veer, H.W. (2009) Reconstruction of food conditions for Northeast Atlantic bivalve species based on Dynamic Energy Budgets. J. Sea Res. 62, 75–82

Freitas, V., Costa-Dias, S., Campos, J., Bio, A., Santos, P., Antunes, C. (2009) Patterns in abundance and distribution of juvenile flounder, Platichthys flesus, in Minho Estuary (NW Iberian Peninsula). Aquatic Ecology 43:1143–1153.

Campos, J., Freitas, V., Pedrosa, C., Guillot, R., van der Veer, H.W. (2009) Latitudinal variation in growth of Crangon crangon (L.): Does counter-gradient growth compensation occur? J. Sea Res. 62, 229–237

Campos, J., van der Veer, H.W., Freitas, V., Kooijman, S.A.L.M. (2009) Contribution of different generations of the brown shrimp Crangon crangon (L.) in the Dutch Wadden Sea to commercial fisheries: A dynamic energy budget approach. J. Sea Res. 62, 106–113

Freitas V., Bailey K., Van der Veer, H.W. (2008) Population regulation of epibenthic species in coastal ecosystems, with implications for latitudinal patterns. Journal of Sea Research 60: 105-116

Sousa R., Dias S., Freitas V., Antunes C. (2008) Subtidal macrozoobenthic assemblages along the River Minho estuarine gradient (north-west Iberian Peninsula). Aquat. Conserv.: Mar. Freshwat. Ecosyst. 18, 1063–1077

Freitas V., Campos J., Fonds M., Van der Veer H.W. (2007) Potential impact of temperature change on epibenthic predator–bivalve prey interactions in temperate estuaries. J. Thermal Biol. 32, 328–340

Cabral H.N., Vasconcelos R., Vinagre C., França S., Fonseca V., Maia A., Reis-Santos P., Lopes M., Ruano M., Campos J., Freitas V., Santos P.T., Costa M.J. (2007). Relative importance of estuarine flatfish nurseries along the Portuguese coast. J. Sea Res. 57, 209–217