Originally from Mozambique, Kátya is an aquatic ecologist with experience working in rivers and estuaries of Australia, East Africa and the Pacific Islands.

Her research is mostly related to the identification and quantification of impacts of different human activities (such as urbanization, deforestation, flow regulation, agriculture, introduction of exotic species) on the aquatic ecology.

She also studies questions relating to animal movement, including:

• migration patterns and habitat use of bony fish and sharks;
• identification of critical habitats for fisheries species; and
• the development of fisheries best practices.