José Valdebenito

Current Focus

I am currently conducting research on ecoimmunology using shorebirds as model study. My current project investigates how sex-specific investment in immunity is traded-off against mate attraction in the Two-banded plover (Charadrius falklandicus) and the Rufous-chested dotterel (C. modestus), two neotropical shorebirds breeding in Chile.

I am also involved in smaller-scale projects that use phylogenetic comparative methods to test hypotheses in the fields of evolutionary biology and sexual selection in birds, as well as the effect of environmental pollutants –like antibiotics and nanoplastics– in the bird’s physiology.

Previous Research and Other Interests

My previous research mostly involves work developed during my PhD, which aimed at finding possible culprits for the apparent higher mortality rates of females over males in wild birds. Here I examined likely pathogens such as bacteria and parasites, as well as immunocompetence of the host. Earlier research of mine looked at the taxonomy of wild bird parasites.

LINKS

Curriculum Vitae

Education

  • 2016-2020: PhD in Biology, University of Bath, United Kingdom

  • 2009-2014: Doctor Veterinary Medicine, University of Concepción, Chile

  • 2009-2013: Bachelor’s Degree in Veterinary Science, University of Concepción, Chile

Appointments

  • 2022-current: ANID Postdoctoral fellow, Universidad Austral de Chile, Chile

  • 2020-2022: Postdoctoral researcher, University of Debrecen, Hungary

Publications

Székely, T., Carmona‐Isunza, M. C., Engel, N., Halimubieke, N., Jones, W., Kubelka, V., N., Rice, R., Tanner, C. E., Tóth, Z, Valdebenito, J. O., Wanders, K. & McDonald, G. C. & McDonald, G. C. (2023). The causes and implications of sex role diversity in shorebird breeding systems. Ibis. DOI: 10.1111/ibi.13277 📄

Pottier, P., Lin, H. Y., Oh, R. R., Pollo, P., Rivera-Villanueva, A. N., Valdebenito, J. O., Yang, Y., Amano, T., Burke, S., Drobniak, S. M. & Nakagawa, S. (2022). A comprehensive database of amphibian heat tolerance. Scientific data, 9(1), 600. DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01704-9 📄

Valdebenito, J. O., Maher, K. H., Zachár, G., Huang, Q., Zhang, Z., Young, L. J., Székely, T., Que, P., Liu Y. & Urrutia, A. O. (2022). Sex differences in immune gene expression in the brain of a small shorebird. Immunogenetics, 74(5), 487-496. DOI: 10.1007/s00251-022-01253-w 📄

Amano, T., Berdejo-Espinola, V., Christie, A. P., Willott, K., Akasaka, M., Báldi, A., ... Valdebenito, J. O., … & Sutherland, W. J. (2021). Tapping into non-English-language science for the conservation of global biodiversity. PLoS Biology, 19(10), e3001296. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001296 📄

Valdebenito, J. O., Halimubieke, N., Lendvai, Á. Z., Figuerola, J., Eichhorn, G., & Székely, T. (2021). Seasonal variation in sex-specific immunity in wild birds. Scientific reports, 11(1), 1349. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80030-9 📄

Valdebenito, J. O., Liker, A., Halimubieke, N., Figuerola, J., & Székely, T. (2020). Mortality cost of sex-specific parasitism in wild bird populations. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 20983. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77410-6 📄

Halimubieke, N., Kupán, K., Valdebenito, J. O., Kubelka, V., Carmona-Isunza, M. C., Burgas, D., Catlin, D., St Clair, J. J. H., Cohen, J., Figuerola, J., Yasué, M., Johnson, M., Mencarelli, M., Cruz-López, M., Stantial, M., Weston, M. A., Lloyd, P., Que, P., Montalvo, T., Bansal, U., McDonald, G. C., Liu, Y., Kosztolányi, A. & Székely, T. (2020). Successful breeding predicts divorce in plovers. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 15576. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72521-6 📄

Valdebenito, J. O., Martínez-De La Puente, J., Castro, M., Perez-Hurtado, A., Tejera, G., Székely, T., Halimubieke, N., Schroeder, J. & Figuerola, J. (2020). Association of insularity and body condition to cloacal bacteria prevalence in a small shorebird. Plos one, 15(8), e0237369. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237369 📄

Mena, M., Valdebenito, J. O., Moreno, L., Fuentes-Castillo, D., Kinsella, J. M., Mironov, S., Barrientos, C., Cicchino, A. & González-Acuña, D. (2020). Parasites of the Shiny Cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis, and the Austral Blackbird, Curaeus curaeus, (Passeriformes: Icteridae) in Chile. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária, 29. DOI: 10.1590/S1984-29612020022 📄

Rice, R., Valdebenito, J. O., Ottensmann, M., Engel, N., Adrião, A., & Székely, T. (2020). Breeding ecology of the Cream-coloured Courser in Cape Verde. Ostrich, 91(1), 65-73. DOI: 10.2989/00306525.2019.1704900 📄

Halimubieke, N., Valdebenito, J. O., Harding, P., Cruz‐López, M., Serrano‐Meneses, M. A., James, R., Kupán, K. & Székely, T. (2019). Mate fidelity in a polygamous shorebird, the snowy plover (Charadrius nivosus). Ecology and Evolution, 9(18), 10734-10745. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5591 📄

Valdebenito, J. O., Grandón-Ojeda, A., Pantoja-Maggi, V., Novoa, F. J., & González-Acuña, D. (2018). Report on beak abnormalities of some birds of Patagonia. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 130(4), 1014-1019. DOI: 10.1676/17-00039.1 📄

Valdebenito, J. O., Moreno, L., Barrientos, C., Mironov, S., Kinsella, J. M., Cicchino, A., Mena, M., Grandón-Ojeda, A. & González-Acuña, D. (2018). Gastrointestinal and ectoparasites of plumbeous rail, Pardirallus sanguinolentus (Aves: Rallidae) in Central Chile. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária, 27, 301-312. DOI: 10.1590/S1984-296120180042 📄

Grandón-Ojeda, A., Valdebenito, J. O., Moreno, L., Kinsella, J. M., Mironov, S., Cicchino, A., Barrientos, C. & González-Acuña, D. (2018). Gastrointestinal and external parasitism in the Magellanic horned owl Bubo magellanicus (Strigiformes: Strigidae) in Chile. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária, 27, 161-168. DOI: 10.1590/S1984-296120180013 📄

Quilodrán-Vega, S. R., Villena, J., Valdebenito, J., Salas, M. J., Parra, C., Ruiz, A., Kitazawa, H. & García Cancino, A. (2016). Isolation of lactic acid bacteria from swine milk and characterization of potential probiotic strains with antagonistic effects against swine-associated gastrointestinal pathogens. Canadian journal of microbiology, 62(6), 514-524. DOI: 10.1139/cjm-2015-0811 📄

Valdebenito, J. O., Moreno, L., Landaeta-Aqueveque, C., Kinsella, J. M., Mironov, S., Cicchino, A., Troncoso, I. & González-Acuña, D. (2015). Gastrointestinal and external parasites of Enicognathus ferrugineus and Enicognathus leptorhynchus (Aves, Psittacidae) in Chile. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária, 24, 422-431. DOI: 10.1590/S1984-29612015074 📄