My main research interests have been temporal and spatial phenological patterns and their causes with special interest in the effects of climate change in Mediterranean populations. I started my career studying migratory phenology of the Spanish populations of some common bird species, but I extended quickly my interest to other groups, such as insects and plants. Overall, my results demonstrate an alteration of life cycles during the last decades in response to climate change in the Mediterranean and suggest a decoupling between trophic levels.

As far as I remember, I have been interested on birds. For this reason, I have focused most of my research in this group and I am developing new studies using birds as models to test my hypotheses under an evolutionary and ecological perspective. My current research has led me to study migratory phenology in bird populations from Japan and Slovakia. My aim is to understand better patterns and causes of inter-population variability in phenological responses to climate. Moreover, I am studying how spatial variability at micro-scale may help migratory birds to adapt to climate change.

|Publications|Ongoing projects|

Ongoing projects:

2011-2011: Variation in abundance and body condition of house sparrows Passer domesticus in relation to urban development in Central Spain (GR35/10-A, BSCH-UCM, PI: José I. Aguirre).

2011-2011: Use of an elevational gradient as a mechanism for adaptation to climate change in a migratory bird. (CCG10-UCM/AMB-4916, Universidad Complutense de Madrid - Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid, PI: Oscar Gordo).

Selected publications:

Gordo, O. & Sanz, J.J. 2010. Impact of climate change on plant phenology in Mediterranean ecosystems. Global Change Biology 16: 1082-1106. [PDF]

Gordo, O. & Sanz, J.J. 2009. Long-term temporal changes of plant phenology in the Western Mediterranean. Global Change Biology 15: 1930-1948. [PDF]

Carrascal, L.M., Galván, I. & Gordo, O. 2009. Partial least squares regression as an alternative to current regression methods used in ecology. Oikos 118: 681-690. [PDF]

Doi, H., Gordo, O. & Katano, I. 2008. Heterogeneous intra-annual climatic changes drive different phenological responses in two trophic levels. Climate Research 36: 181-190. [PDF]

Gordo, O., Sanz, J.J. & Lobo, J.M. 2008. Geographic variation in onset of singing among populations of two migratory birds. Acta Oecologica 34: 50-64. [PDF]

Gordo, O. & Sanz, J.J. 2008. The relative importance of conditions in wintering and passage areas on spring arrival dates: the case of long-distance Iberian migrants. Journal of Ornithology 149: 199-210. [PDF]

Gordo, O. 2007. Why are bird migration dates shifting? A review of weather and climate effects on avian migratory phenology. Climate Research 35: 37-58. [PDF]

Gordo, O., Sanz, J.J. & Lobo, J.M. 2007. Spatial patterns of white stork migratory phenology in the Iberian Peninsula. Journal of Ornithology. 148: 293-308. [PDF]

Gordo, O., Sanz, J.J. & Lobo, J.M. 2007. Environmental and geographical constraints on common swift and barn swallow spring arrival patterns throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Journal of Biogeography 34: 1065-1076. [PDF]

Gordo, O. & Sanz, J.J. 2006. Climate change and bird phenology: a long-term study in the Iberian Peninsula. Global Change Biology 12: 1993-2004. [PDF]