The Behavioural Complexity Lab (BCL) at MARE - University of Lisbon explores how complexity connects behaviour, ecosystems, and technology. We investigate the multilayered ways that animals interact with one another and with their environment—and how cutting-edge tools can help decode those dynamics.
Our Three Pillars of Complexity
Complex Behaviour
Interactions • Cognition • Collective dynamics
By decoding the rules that individuals follow—and the cognitive machinery that lets them learn, decide and cooperate—we uncover the “behavioural toolbox” that maintains biodiversity. Why it matters: Behaviour is often the first trait to shift under stress; recognising those early warning signals lets managers intervene while there is still time to avert ecosystem collapse.
Complex Ecosystems
Social complexity • Structural complexity
Networks of interactions scale up to shape whole reefs. By linking individual and collective behaviour to habitat architecture and community structure, we expose the threads that hold ecosystems together. Why it matters: conserving species alone is not enough—preserving behavioural diversity and the physical and social environment is essential for long-term ecosystem resilience and the services human societies rely on.
Complex Technology
Artificial-intelligence development & deployment
We design and adapt AI-powered tools—autonomous cameras, drone surveys, machine-learning trackers and large-scale data synthesis—to watch nature at resolutions impossible a decade ago. These systems turn terabytes of raw footage into actionable information and predictive models. Why it matters: high-resolution, real-time data allow us to understand complex behaviour, answer questions at an individual and macro scale, detect behavioural shifts and forecast cascading effects.
Core Research Questions
Evolution & Development – How does complex marine animal behaviour both evolve across species and develop within an individual’s lifetime?
Behavioural Mechanisms – What neural, genomic, physiological and sensory processes generate and regulate those behaviours?
Behaviour–Biodiversity Feedbacks – How does behavioural diversity create, maintain and depend on healthy, resilient ecosystems?
Anthropogenic Sensitivity – How quickly and how profoundly do human stressors disrupt behavioural networks, and what cascading effects follow?
Technology for Discovery & Solutions – How can emerging tools be harnessed to address behavioural, ecological and conservation challenges?
How We Work
Integrated Methodology: Reef manipulations, mesocosm and field experiments, high-throughput molecular assays, and custom computer-vision pipelines.
Scale-Sensitive: From milliseconds (neuronal firing) to decades (community turnover).
Open & Collaborative: We share data, code and protocols.
Lab Culture
We foster a supportive, interdisciplinary environment where curiosity is celebrated and rigorous science meets real-world impact. Monthly Complexity Cafés keep us learning together.
