Computational Ecology Lab Members

Miguel obtained his BEng in Computer Engineering in 2003 at the Simón Bolívar University (Caracas, Venezuela), for which he was awareded Cum Laude honours. He did his thesis, entitled: A Constraint Programming Language for C++ under the supervision of Dr. Héctor Palacios. He was a member of the Artificial Intelligence Group, working on robotics, neural networks, genetic algorithms and individual-based models.

In 2004, Miguel moved to Brighton, UK and completed an MSc in Evolutionary and Adaptive Systems at the University of Sussex. At Sussex, under the supervision of Dr Inman Harvey, he investigated the role of Classical Conditioning in Evolutionary Robotics.

In 2009, Miguel joined the School of Informatics of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, as a Marie Skłodowska Curie Research Associate. Under the supervision of Dr Dave Robertson, Miguel developed the foundations of an ecologically inspired multi-agent system borrowing ideas from ecology and evolution. These efforts granted him an MRes in Artificial Intelligence and seeded his interests in what would become his main research focus to date: networks of ecological interactions.

In 2011, Miguel received a PhD scholarship from Microsoft Research to complete his PhD studies at the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Marine Sciences Institute of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) under the supervision of Dr José Montoya and Dr Bernat Claramunt-López. For his thesis The Assembly and Disassembly of Ecological Networks in a Changing World, Miguel obtained his PhD with Cum Laude honours in 2014.

Right after finishing his PhD (2014), Miguel took a postdoctoral position at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Adelaide, Australia. During his time in Australia, he investigated the effects of invasive species management on ecosystems through a complex networks modelling approach. In 2016, his Australian experience came to an end, and Miguel returned to Europe to join his former advisor and good friend Dr José Montoya as a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling of the Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station of the CNRS in Moulis, France. At the CNRS Miguel developed a comprehensive research programme into the assembly and disassembly of complex ecosystems across spatial scales and ecosystems.

In 2019, Miguel joined the Department of Biosciences at Swansea University, where he founded the Computational Ecology Lab. The research focus of the lab remains the fundamental understanding of the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms behind the assembly and disassembly of complex ecosystems. Miguel tackles these challenges using a combination of empirical analyses of large and complex datasets on both microbial and macrobial commuinities, and theoretical models incorporating dynamics in complex networks and the processes that are believed to be behind their emergence.

Outside of lab, Miguel enjoys birdwatching and mountain biking.

I’m a physicist with training in statistical mechanics. My research after graduating has been mainly concerned with modeling diverse questions in theoretical ecology while developing methods in population dynamics and evolutionary game theory.

My project at the Computational Ecology Lab consists of developing a metacommunity framework for the eco-evolutionary assembly of complex ecological communities and then applying these methods to the assembly of host-microbiome communities. In particular, we are interested in analyzing sponge microbiome data.

I like all things related to games and game design, both digital and board games, and I’m an indie game developer. I also play the keyboard and I’m a lover of ethnic percussion and minimal music.

I am a Year in Applied Research (YiAR) student with the SHOAL research group at Swansea University, under the supervision of Dr Andrew King. This is a sandwich year in between the second and final year of my BSc Marine Biology degree, in which I have been assisting with a number of research projects including those on collective movement and wildlife population modelling.

Currently I am working alongside Dr Miguel Lurgi, Dr Andrew King, and another YiAR student Jude Lynch to create a population model of chacma baboons, Papio ursinus, on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. To do so we are using census reports of managed troops within this geographically isolated population, aiming to understand it’s demographic processes and assess the sustainability of management practices.

Outside of my work I’m a big fan of wild swimming, I’ve been a committee member for my university’s scuba diving club for several years, and my biggest current travel goal is to free dive with humpback whales.

Elliot’s PhD is funded by the European Horizon Europe project ACTNOW. Elliot’s project tackles the effects of anthropogenic stressors on the feeding ecology of marine birds such as gannets, kittiwakes and shearwaters. Outside the lab, Elliot enjoys running and climbing.

Marco is a joint PhD student with the SHOAL group supervised by Dr Andrew King.

I graduated in Ecology and Evolution at the university of Groningen and did my thesis at the University of Lausanne, investigating collective decision-making in ants using individual-based simulations.

In Swansea, I am investigating the collective behavior of different model species, to see how individual heterogeneity impacts group behaviour. I plan to implement some of the insights gained form studying biological systems in robotic swarms.

When I am not busy playing with models, I am usually either rock-climbing, hiking, or looking at plants.

I am a PhD student at the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, under the supervision of Dr Bernat Claramunt-López, head of the MountainLab and Dr Miguel Lurgi. I hold a BSc degree in Biology and a MSc degree in Ecology and Environmental Management and Restoration, both from the University of Barcelona. During the final year of my BSc degree, I did my thesis in Plant Ecology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

I started working at CREAF with my MSc thesis, analysing a Pyrenean river basin as a mountain social-ecological system. I am interested in understanding current and future sustainability challenges in mountain areas. In my PhD, I am studying the interactions between social, economic and environmental components in different mountain social-ecological systems in Europe. Our approach involves both analysing empirical mountain data and system dynamics modelling.

When I am not at my computer, I enjoy cooking, hiking and learning new crafts.

I previously studied Marine Biology (BSc) and took part in multiple field projects including one studying the territorial behaviour of Damselfish. I also conducted my third year research project on the impact of environment vs genetics on the behaviour of the self fertilising killifish Kryptolebias marmoratus.

For my masters research project I am conducting field research in saline ponds looking at community composition during different stages of flooding.

Outside of university I enjoy surfing and swimming, I also enjoy diving and recently went to Fiji where I saw zebra sharks and manta rays.

In my prior education, I gained a BSc (Hons) in Biosciences at Swansea University, researching the effect that regular habitat disturbance had on grassland habitats. I also undertook a number of professional conservation reports including Preliminary Ecological Appraisal Reports, Phase 1 Habitat Surveys and a River Habitat Survey.

During my masters research project, under the supervision of Dr Penny Neyland and Miguel, I undertook a modelling study to analyze the distribution of nine rare endemic hyperoceanic bryophytes in the UK. The research consisted of modelling the current distribution of these species in the UK and the anticipated distributions under a future adverse climate change scenario.

In my spare time I enjoy the process of active management of several investment portfolios, utilizing optimization strategies and employing rigorous risk management techniques. I am also committed to my physical wellbeng through long distance running and weightlifting activities.

Lucia is a joint PhD student with the SHOAL group supervised by Dr Andrew King.

I completed both my BSc and my MSc at the University of Strasbourg and specialized in animal behaviour also through my master’s thesis on the individual development of social rank in male Alpine ibex.

In October 2023 I started my PhD, supervised by Andrew King and Miguel Lurgi, on bioherding, using drones to herd animal flocks for conservation efforts, for example enhancing animal welfare or solving human-wildlife conflicts.

I like to spend my free time exploring the outdoors. I go climbing and mountaineering as soon as I get the chance, or I just hike in the hills around home.

I completed an engineering degree in agronomy at L’Institut Agro and a master in ecological modelling at the university of Rennes (France). I specialise in spatial ecology and ecological networks, with a growing interest for theoretical and system ecology.

Alongside Dr Miguel Lurgi, Prof. Emily Shepard and Dr Konstans Wells, we use empirical (bird occurrence data) and theoretical approaches (metacommunity models) to understand how anthropogenic disturbances modulate food web assembly. Our work focuses notably on the capacity of protected areas at shielding food webs from disturbances.

I am a big outdoors lover and can usually be found running, swimming or climbing outside office hours.

I received my Bachelor’s in Biology with an emphasis in Marine Biology at San Diego State University (USA) in 2019. I completed my Honor’s project, characterizing the skin microbiome taxonomy and functional composition of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), under Dr. Elizabeth Dinsdale’s supervision during my final year.

My current project focuses on identifying microbial taxa from marine and Crustose Coralline Algae biofilms that induce or inhibit coral larval settlement. This work aims to aid reef restoration coral larval sexual propagation efforts by improving coral larval settlement in aquaculture for a variety of Great Barrier Reef coral species.

Outside the lab I enjoy free-diving and videoing marine life with my gopro (preferably, sharks), but my dream is to one day dive with a Mola Mola and in the Monterey Bay Aquarium kelp tank. When I’m not in the water, I try to travel and read as much as I can.

I am a Ph.D. candidate in ecology at São Paulo University (USP, Brazil) currently conducting research at the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS-HZDR), in Görlitz, Germany. With a background in physics (BSc and MSc), I have been constructing mathematical and computational models to understand ecological systems since my undergraduate studies.

My research focuses on understanding the population and community-wide consequences of organism-level behavior, particularly in relation to movement. Alongside Miguel Lurgi and Ricardo Martinez-Garcia, we are investigating how local interactions between conspecifics can change broad scale dispersal patterns. I believe that interdisciplinary collaboration is the only way we can make sense of a complex world, and I have presented my work at various conferences and events.

In my free time, I enjoy traveling, meeting new people, and experiencing different cultures. I also enjoy hiking, drinking tea, and playing chess, although I admit to being quite uninspired in the latter.