Researcher Vânia Baptista, from the Center for Marine Sciences of the University of Algarve, is the big winner of the 5th edition of the FLAD Science Award Atlantic. The researcher will receive 300 thousand euros of funding over three years to develop the project Finding Home – Discovering the lost phase of fish species.

This project aims to increase knowledge about which processes control the fate of fish larvae during migrations between spawning and nursery areas, known as the “lost phase”, and will be developed in four regions: Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe, on the east coast; and the United States and Dominica, on the west coast. Professor Claire B. Paris, a researcher at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami, will be the American institutional partner of this project, to which she will add a distinguished background in larval ecology, coastal oceanography, and numerical modeling. This innovative project aims to fill gaps in knowledge, including a better understanding of recruitment variability, the impacts of climate change, and the development of strategies for sustainable management, protection, and conservation of important marine resources and ecosystems in the Atlantic. In addition to scientific development, this project will contribute to a better understanding of local communities in relation to ecosystem protection, contributing to the progress of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), such as São Tomé and Príncipe, through the involvement of these communities in planning, data collection, debate of results, and the development of management measures, thus allowing an appreciation of local knowledge.

“The winning project of the FLAD Science Award Atlantic 2024 will allow us to increase the knowledge we have in a scientific area in which there is still so much to explore, with tremendous potential gains for scientific research, but also for the management, protection and conservation of the Atlantic’s resources and ecosystems. By involving local communities in developing states – such as São Tomé and Príncipe and Dominica – Vânia Baptista’s project will allow this knowledge to be translated into concrete actions and development of these communities, ensuring that the gains are shared with all.” – Michael Baum, member of the Executive Board in charge of Science.

About the Award

The study of the Atlantic is fundamental to understand very diverse and multidisciplinary areas with an impact on the sustainability of the planet and on our quality of life, from the interaction between the oceans, the atmosphere and space, to climate change, natural phenomena and sustainability.

With the creation of this award, FLAD intends to promote the new generation of Portuguese scientists, and support projects with a strong focus on obtaining practical results, such as the creation of engineering and technologies, which facilitate our understanding and exploration of Atlantic ecosystems.

The evaluation of the applications was made by a jury of excellence composed of four elements. The scientific committee, which is part of that same jury, consists of:

  • Miguel Miranda, Full Professor at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon.
  • Pedro Camanho, Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, and president of LAETA.
  • Rui Ferreira dos Santos, Professor at CENSE – Center for Research in Environment and Sustainability, Faculty of Science and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon.
  • Elsa Henriques, Associate Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon.