Hugo Díez Santaolalla

Hugo Díez Santaolalla is conducting a Ph.D. in Biodiversity, Genetics and Evolution by the University of Lisbon starting in 2025 within the Conservation Ecology & Society research group of CE3C. He is conducting the project Integrating species interactions into distribution models: applications to carnivore conservation in the Iberian Peninsula, under the supervision of Dr. Alejandra Zarzo Arias (CE3C), Dr. Luis Miguel Rosalino (CE3C), and Dr. Guillermo Fandos (Complutense University). Hugo Díez Santaolalla Ph.D. project aims are: Review the current state-of-the-art in ecological modeling approaches that incorporate biotic interactions into occupancy and species distribution models (SDMs), to generate more realistic predictions of species distributions; 
Develop and evaluate a novel modeling framework that hierarchically integrates biotic interactions by starting with interacting species and subsequently incorporating these model dynamics into models of the target species;
Apply the new methodology to carnivores in the Iberian Peninsula, using case studies such as the stoat (Mustela erminea), European mink (Mustela lutreola), Iberian wolf (Canis lupus), and Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus);
Field testing of the stoat model outputs, to validate the results and improved predictions;
Assess the conservation implications of interaction-based models to inform management and policy decisions, especially under global change scenarios.