Nicolás Collazo

Hola! I’m Nico.

I’m from Vigo, a lovely city in the south of Galicia (northwest Spain).

I’ve always been fascinated by the sea and the creatures that live in it. Before joining the group, I collaborated on several different projects—from working in a food biotechnology lab and as a marine sampling technician, to studying the vulnerability of deep-sea shark populations in the Azores.

All these experiences have shaped my main research interests. I’m particularly interested in understanding how cognition and behaviour emerge, develop, and interact with the environment. This also includes exploring how anthropogenic pressures may alter fish behaviour and how these changes can affect their fitness and ecosystem functioning.

When I’m not (over)thinking about how a fish (or a human) works, I enjoy reading, going for walks, taking underwater photos, stargazing, watching sunsets, and spending time with my friends. I’ve been wanting to learn how to surf for a long time, and I keep postponing it—so moving to Lisbon feels like the perfect moment to finally start. Beavers have been my favourite animal since I was little, and I was very excited to see them in the centre of Leuven, a city in Belgium where I lived last year :)

Publications:

Carpena M, Garcia-Oliveira P, Pereira AG, Soria-Lopez A, Chamorro F, Collazo N, et al. Plant Antioxidants from Agricultural Waste: Synergistic Potential with Other Biological Properties and Possible Applications. Plant Antioxidants and Health. Reference Series in Phytochemistry. Springer; 2022.

Pereira AG, Otero P, Echave J, Carreira-Casais A, Chamorro F, Collazo N, et al. Xanthophylls from the Sea:Algae as Source of Bioactive Carotenoids. Marine Drugs. 2021;19(4):1–31. (IF 5.2).

Collazo N, Carpena M, Nuñezestevez B, Otero P, Simalgandara J, Prieto MA. Health promoting properties of bee royal jelly: Food of the queens. Nutrients. 2021;13(2):1–26. (IF 7.6)

Nico's work is supported through a fellowship within  the project "ATLANTICDIVERSA – Use emergent technologies to understand the role of cleaning mutualisms in Atlantic biodiversity conservation" Ref. 2024/0028 funded by FLAD - Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento