Biography
Steve is an Associate Professor of Animal Behaviour at the Department of Biological Sciences and a Tutorial Fellow for Biology at St Hugh’s College. He completed an undergraduate degree in Marine Biology and Zoology (University of Wales, Aberystwyth), an MSc in Ecology (University of Wales, Bangor), and a PhD in Avian Physiology (University of Birmingham). Following postdoctoral positions at Birmingham and the Royal Veterinary College, Steve was a Reader in Animal Behaviour and Physiology for a decade at Royal Holloway University of London before starting at The University of Oxford in 2024.
Teaching
Steve teaches various topics relating to animal behaviour and physiology, particularly flight, sensory ecology, metabolic physiology, collective behaviour and sociality. He welcomes enquiries from MBiol and prospective DPhil students interested in animal behaviour.
Research Interests
Steve’s research seeks to understand how environmental changes will impact animal behaviour and physiology, and critically, the interaction between the two. He uses a macroecology approach to understand what evolutionary drivers likely determine the traits we see today, to inform how species are likely to respond and adapt to global change in the future. Key priorities include finding a solution to avian collisions within a sensory ecological framework, and understanding the limits and responses of group behaviour and physiology under environmental stress. Other research projects aim to understand the role of the social environment in collective group decision-making, and look for potential biomimetic applications both from animal collective behaviour and the study of biological structural properties, such as eggshells. Other model research systems include Homing Pigeons, Northern Bald Ibis, Avian Brood Parasites, Naked Mole-rats and Siamese Fighting Fish. Steve’s research fuses laboratory studies with field-based work, with recent fieldwork taking place in Zambia, Panama, Australia, Costa Rica, South Africa, USA, Czech Republic, France, Cambodia and Malaysia. Steve has published over 100 academic papers in the field of Animal Behaviour, and in 2019 he was awarded the Bicentenary Medal of the Linnean Society of London, awarded annually in recognition of work done by a biologist under the age of 40 years.
Selected Publications
McClelland, S.C., Lund. J., Dixit, T., Hamama, S., McClean, L.A., Spottiswoode, C.N., White, C.R., Louder, M.I.M., Hauber, M.E., Honza, M. and Portugal, S.J. (2024). Highly-virulent brood-parasitic species show elevated embryonic metabolic rates at specific stages compared to less virulent and non-parasitic species. Biology Letters. In Press.
du Toit, C., Bond, A.L., Cunningham, S. J., Field, D.J. and Portugal, S.J. (2024). Tactile bill-tip organs in seabirds suggests conservation of a deep avian symplesiomorphy. Biology Letters. In Press.
Portugal, S.J., Ozturk, R., Potier, S., Murn, C.P. and Martin, G.R. (2023). Anomalous binocular vision in African Harrier-hawks. Current Biology. 33: R1127-R1143.
Cantlay, J.C., Martin, G.R., McClelland, S.C., Potier, S., O’Brien, M.F., Fernández-Juricic, E., Bond, A.L. and Portugal, S.J. (2023). Binocular vision and foraging in ducks, geese and swans (Anatidae). Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 290: 20231213.
Attard, M.R.G., Bowen, J. and Portugal, S.J. (2023). Surface texture heterogeneity in maculated bird eggshells. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 20: 20230293.
Potier, S., Roulin, A., Martin, G.R., Portugal, S.J., Bonhomme, V., Bouchet, T., de Romans, R., Meyrier, E. and Kelber, A. (2023). Binocular field configuration in owls: the role of foraging ecology. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 20230664.
King, A.J., Portugal, S.J., Strömbom, D., Mann, R.P., Carrillo, J., Kalise, D., Croon, G., Barnett, H., Scerri, P., Gross, R., Chadwick, D. & Papadopolou, M. (2022). Biologically inspired herding of animal groups by robots. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 14: 478-486.
Papadopoulou, M., Hildenbrandt, H., Sankey, D.W.E., Portugal, S.J. & Hemelrijk, C.K. (2022). Self-organization of collective escape in pigeon flocks. PLOS Computational Biology. 18(1): e1009772.
Portugal, S.J. and White, C.R. (2022). Externally attached biologgers cause compensatory body mass loss in birds. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 13: 294-302.
Sankey, D.W.E., Storms, R.F., Musters, R.J., Russell, T.W., Hemelrijk, C.K. & Portugal, S.J. (2021). Absence of “selfish-herd” dynamics in bird flocks under threat. Current Biology. 31: 1-7.
Attard, M.R.G. & Portugal, S.J. (2021). Climate variability and parent nesting strategies influence gas exchange across avian eggshells. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 288: 20210823
McClelland, S.C., Reynolds, M., Cordall, M., Hauber, M.E., Goymann, W., McClean, L.A., Hamama, S., Lund, J., Dixit, T., Louder, M.I.M., Safari, I., Honza, M., Spottiswoode, C.N. & Portugal, S.J. (2021). Embryo movement is more frequent in avian brood parasites than birds with other reproductive strategies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 20211137.
Attard, M.R.G., Bowen, J., Corado, R., Hall, L.S., Dorey, R.A. & Portugal, S.J. (2021). Ecological drivers of eggshell wettability in birds. Journal of the Royal Society Interface.18: 20210488.
McClelland, S.C., Cassey, P., Maurer, G., Hauber, M.E. & Portugal, S.J. (2021). How much calcium to shell out? Eggshell calcium carbonate content is greater in birds with thinner shells, larger clutches, and longer lifespans. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 18: 20210502.
Portugal, S.J. (2020) Flocking in Birds. Current Biology. 30: R206-R210.
Portugal, S.J., Usherwood, J.A., White, C.R., Sankey, D.W.E. & Wilson, A.M. (2020). Artificial mass loading disrupts stable social order in pigeon dominance hierarchies. Biology Letters. 16: 20200468.
Taylor, L.A., Taylor. G.K., Biro, D., Lambert, B., Walker, J.A. & Portugal, S.J. (2019) Birds invest wingbeats to keep a steady head and reap the ultimate benefits of flying together. PLOS Biology. 17: e3000299.
McClelland, S.M., Jamie, G., Waters, K.S., Caldas, L., Spottiswoode, C.N. & Portugal, S.J. (2019) Convergent evolution of reduced eggshell conductance in avian brood parasites. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 374: 20180194.
White, C.R., Marshall, D., Alton, L., Arnold, P., Beaman, J.E., Bywater, C., Condon, C., Crispin, T., Janetzki, A., Pirtle, E., Winwood-Smith, H., Angilletta, M., Chenoweth, S., Franklin, C., Halsey, L., Kearney, M., Portugal, S.J. & Ortiz-Barrientos, D. (2019) The origin and maintenance of metabolic allometry: genetic constraint, random evolution, and multivariate selection. Nature Ecology and Evolution. 3: 598-603.
Portugal, S. J. and White, C. R. (2018) Miniaturisation of biologgers is not alleviating the 5% rule. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 9: 1662-1666.
Portugal, S.J., Ricketts, R., Chappell, J., White, C.R., Shepard, E.L. and Biro, D. (2017) Boldness traits, not dominance, predicts exploratory flight range and homing behaviour in homing pigeons. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 372: 20160234.
Guillemette, M., Woakes A.J., Larochelle, J, Polymeropoulos, E, Granbois, J-M, Butler, P.J., Pelletier, D., Frappell, P.D and Portugal, S.J. (2016) Does hyperthermia constrain flight duration in a short–distance migrant? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 371: 20150386.
Portugal, S.J., Murn, C.P., Sparkes, E.S. and Daley, M.A. (2016) The fast and forceful kicking strikes of snake-hunting Secretary Birds (Sagittarius serpentarius). Current Biology. 26: 58-59.
Biro, D., Sasaki, T. and Portugal, S.J. (2016) Bringing a time-depth perspective to collective animal behaviour. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 31: 550-562.
Voelkl, B., Portugal, S.J., Unsold, M., Usherwood, J.R., Wilson, A.M., & Fritz, J. (2015) Matching times of leading and following suggest cooperation through direct reciprocity during V-formation flight of Northern bald ibis. PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States). 112: 2115-2120.
Portugal, S. J., Hubel, T. Y., Hailes, S., Heese, S., Trobe, D., Voelkl, B., Fritz, J., Wilson, A. & Usherwood, J. (2014) Position and flap phasing between ibises in formation flight: evidence for upwash exploitation and downwash avoidance? Nature. 505: 399-402.
Portugal, S. J., Green, J. A., White, C. R., Guillemette, M. & Butler, P. J. (2013) Wild geese do not increase flight behaviour prior to migration. Biology Letters. 8: 469-472.
Martin, G. R., Portugal, S. J. & Murn, C. P. (2012) Visual fields, foraging and collision vulnerability in Gyps vultures. Ibis. 154: 626-631.
Portugal, S. J., Green, J. A., Cassey, P., Frappell, P. B. & Butler, P. J. (2009) Predicting the rate of oxygen consumption from heart rate in barnacle geese: effects of captivity and annual changes in body condition. Journal of Experimental Biology. 212: 2941-2948.
Portugal, S. J., Thorpe, S. K. S., Green, J. A., Myatt, J. P. & Butler, P. J. (2009) Testing the use/disuse hypothesis: pectoral and leg muscle changes in captive barnacle geese during wing moult. Journal of Experimental Biology. 212: 2403-2410.
