Vítor Almada was undoubtedly one of the most learned, inspiring and charismatic biologists of his generation in Portugal. His intelligence, generosity and charm attracted many students and colleagues to his chosen field of fish behaviour, a topic a bit surprising in a person who was born blind. But his blindness was never a defining feature, rather an inconvenience that he surpassed elegantly, with the help of family, friends and technology. And when one talked to the man, sometimes it was unbelievable that he could not actually see whatever he was discussing. His love of nature was expressed in his detailed knowledge of animals and plants; although he was comfortable in a classroom, his office or the lab, he clearly felt much better on a beach, a mountain river bank or a forest. Vítor was an enthusiastic and contagious thinker, infinitely curious about evolution, a lover of good living, of savoury foods (hence his famously robust waistline…), of art, history, politics and lively conversation.
With a PhD from the University of Lisbon (1990), Vítor Almada was a full Professor at ISPA-Instituto Universitário, where he came to work in 1974. Here, he built up one of the first ethological research programmes in Portugal, focusing on littoral fish, and started an enduring tradition of behavioural biology teaching. ISPA also owes him several higher education programmes in biology up to the PhD level and an internationally renowned laboratory, working in the areas of marine biology and conservation, behaviour, genetics, evolution and biogeography. Scores of Portuguese students of behaviour, ecology or phylogeny (present writer included) benefited from his wise and knowledgeable supervision.
In 1987, he was a co-founder of the Portuguese Ethological Society (the cradle of acta ethologica), and he chaired the Board of the Society through multiple terms. He authored and co-authored more than 160 papers and book chapters (mainly on marine fish, but also on fresh water fish, lampreys, echinoderms, birds and dolphins—see a sample of his publications below). Due to health issues, Vítor was recently semi-retired from teaching (but never from studying, writing and doing research!).
Vítor was the proud father of Ana (a psychologist), Pedro (a biologist) and Clara (an artist).
I thank Joana Robalo for helping me in our grateful tributes to this remarkable scholar and unforgettable man.
Selected references in reverse chronological order
Almada VC, Almada F, Francisco SM, Castilho R, Robalo JI (2012) Unexpected high genetic diversity at the extreme northern geographic limit of Taurulus bubalis (Euphrasen, 1786). PLoS One 7(8):e44404
Francisco SM, Gongiu L, von der Heyden S, Almada VC (2011) Multilocus phylogenetic analysis of the genus Atherina (Pisces: Atherinidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 61:71–78
Levy A, Wirtz P, Floeter SR, Almada VC (2011) The Lusitania Province as a center of diversification: the phylogeny of the genus Microlipophrys (Pisces: Blenniidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 58:409–413
Almada VC, Sousa-Santos C (2010) Comparisons of the genetic structure of Squalius populations (Pisces, Cyprinidae) from rivers with contrasting histories, drainage areas and climatic conditions. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 57:924–931
Pereira AM, Robalo JI, Freyhof J, Maia C, Fonseca JP, Valente A, Almada VC (2010) Phylogeographical analysis reveals multiple conservation units in brook lampreys Lampetra planeri of Portuguese streams. Journal of Fish Biology 77:361–371
Robalo JI, Almada VC, Levy A, Doardrio I (2007) Re-examination and phylogeny of the genus Chondrostoma based on mitochondrial and nuclear data and the definition of 5 new genera. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 42:362–372
Silva K, Vieira MN, Almada VC, Monteiro NM (2007) The effect of temperature on mate preferences and female-female interactions in Syngnathus abaster. Animal Behaviour 74: 1525–1533
Henriques M, Gonçalves EJ, Almada VC (2007) Rapid shifts in a marine fish assemblage follow fluctuations in winter sea conditions. Marine Ecology Progress Series 340:259–270
Faria C, Almada VC (2006) Patterns of spatial distribution and behaviour of fish on a rocky intertidal platform at high-tide. Marine Ecology Progress Series 316:155–164
Domingues VS, Santos RS, Brito A, Almada VC (2006) Historical population dynamics and demography of the eastern Atlantic pomacentrid Chromis limbata (Valenciennes, 1833). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40:139–147
Almada F, Almada VC, Guillemaud T, Wirtz P (2005) Phylogenetic relationships of the north-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean blenniids. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 86:283–295
Amorim MCP, Almada VC (2005) The outcome of male-male encounters affects subsequent sound production during courtship in the cichlid fish Oreochromis mossambicus. Animal Behaviour 69:595–601
dos Santos ME, Almada VC (2003) A case for passive sonar: foraging by bottlenose dolphins in a turbid estuary. In: Thomas J, Moss C, Vater M (eds) Advances in the study of echolocation: comparison between bats and dolphins. University of Chicago Press, Chicago (pp. 400–403)
Almada VC, Oliveira RF, Gonçalves EJ, Almeida A, Santos RS (2001) Patterns of diversity of the North-Eastern Atlantic blenniid fish fauna (Pisces: Bleniidae). Global Ecology and Biogeography 10:411–422
Gonçalves EJ, Almada VC (1998). A comparative study of territoriality in intertidal and subtidal blennioids (Teleostei: Blennioidei). Environmental Biology of Fishes 51:257–264
Oliveira RF, Almada VC (1998) Androgenization of dominant males in a cichlid fish: androgens mediate the social modulation of the expression of male sexual traits. Ethology 104:841–858
Almada VC, Gonçalves EJ, Oliveira RF, Santos AJ (1995) Courting females: ecological constraints affect sex roles in a natural population of the blenniid fish, Salaria pavo. Animal Behaviour 49:1125–1127
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dos Santos, M.E. Vítor C. Almada. acta ethol 17, 129–130 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-014-0186-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-014-0186-4