Joana freitas

I completed my Bachelor degree in Biology, in 2017, and Master degree in Biodiversity, Genetics and Evolution, in 2019, at the Faculty of Sciences of University of Porto. During my master's thesis, I focused mainly on ecological interactions between predator and prey species and the conservation of an endangered autochthonous free-ranging pony breed, the Garrano, and endangered large carnivore, the Iberian wolf. I am interested in continuing to explore conflicts between rural communities and predators, to promote the conservation of large carnivores and provide new management practices to reduce conflicts with people. Currently, I am a PhD student and my project aims to assess the ecosystem services and disservices provided by the endangered Garrano pony. My goal is to quantify the ecological and sociocultural contributions of free-ranging Garranos, in order to understand the potential of free-ranging livestock breeds in terms of their ecological, sociocultural and economic values to people.