Submitted by editor on 7 August 2025.

We are happy to welcome Dr. Isabel Donoso, from Basque Country, Spain, to the Oikos Editorial Board. To know more about her, read our interview below!

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/isa-donoso/contact-cv?authuser=0

What's your main research focus at the moment?

My main research focus is on understanding the structure and functioning of ecological communities under global‑change drivers such as habitat loss, defaunation, invasive species and climate change. Although for many years I have worked on frugivory interactions, seed dispersal, and forest regeneration, in recent work I’m broadening that scope to encompass other biotic interactions like herbivory, pollination, predator–prey, and even host–epiphyte associations. I’m particularly interested in how these diverse interaction layers combine to determine ecological complexity and ecosystem multifunctionality.

To tackle these questions, I combine empirical studies of interaction networks, mostly in tropical and temperate ecosystems (including island systems), with theoretical and simulation modelling approaches. This allows me to explore how ecological communities and the functions they support might respond under different global change scenarios.

My goal now is to explore how network-based approaches could help design more effective restoration strategies, turning our insights on negative ecological transformations into positive outcomes for degraded ecosystems.

Can you describe your research career? Where, what, when?

I’m originally from the Basque Country (northern Spain), where my interest in understanding nature began during my Environmental Science studies. Early in my career, I moved abroad to grow as a scientist, starting with a Leonardo da Vinci fellowship at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute (Scotland), which sparked my interest in ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. I later completed a master's in Global Change, studying climate change impacts on phenological asynchrony in plant–butterfly interactions, and a PhD at the University of Oviedo on mutualistic plant–animal interactions in fragmented forests.

Since then, I’ve worked as a Humboldt Fellow at Senckenberg (Germany) combining ecological networks and movement ecology to better understand the impacts of global change on the structure and functioning of ecological communities. Later, as a Marie Curie Fellow in Mallorca, I expanded my research to island ecology and also had the chance to collaborate with physicists, an experience that broadened my appreciation for interdisciplinary work.

Along the way, I’ve also spent some time on research stays in New Zealand, Germany, the UK, and the Galápagos Islands, experiences that have allowed me to learn from a wide variety of research cultures and models. One of the things I value most in my career is precisely this: the chance to keep learning and being intellectually nourished through collaboration and diverse perspectives.

In 2024, I returned home as an Ikerbasque fellow to start my own projects at BC3 (Basque Center for Climate Change). My work aims to integrate species interactions into ecological restoration and to produce science that is both rigorous and applicable to real-world challenges. A broad and complex question underlying much of my work could be summarized as: How can we improve our understanding of ecosystem complexity to restore fully functional ecosystems?

How come that you became a scientist in ecology?

I’ve always found it hard to choose a single path, as I consider myself a very curious person with wide-ranging interests. That’s why I chose to study Environmental Science: it allowed me to explore different disciplines like physics, sociology and biology, understand how they connect, and learn a bit about everything. Although the degree was often oriented toward administrative or business careers, I realized I preferred a path focused on advancing knowledge that could also have meaningful impact. During my master’s in Global Change, working in Anna Traveset’s lab inspired me deeply to work on interactions. Just as I enjoy human relationships and understanding how we’re all connected, I became fascinated by how and why species interact in nature. My curiosity, and the fact that I keep learning something new every day, fuels my passion for science. Although ecology could be a complex or challenging discipline, that’s exactly what makes it so intellectually engaging and fulfilling for me.

What do you do when you're not working?

When I’m not out in the field gathering data, modelling or writing, I enjoy spending time outdoors. I’m lucky to come from a region where the sea and mountains meet, which perfectly suits my passion for both swimming and climbing peaks. I love listening to music and going to concerts (in another life, I might have done something with it), dancing, cooking, and sharing good meals with family and friends, something we take seriously (and joyfully!) in the Basque culture. I’ve practiced yoga for many years, and I’m always curious about discovering new places and learning from different cultures. I guess I just enjoy life, especially when it keeps me moving, grounded, and connected to nature, people, and myself.

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