Sajjad Vakili Shahrbabaki
DVM
sajjad.s.vakili@utu.fi Office: 254 ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9557-6966(external) |
Animal behaviour, Physiology of behaviour, Behavioural ecology, anthropogenic impacts on behaviour
I completed my previous studies in veterinary medicine. My initial research experience took place on the physiology of behaviour, studying the physiological mechanisms of behavioral abnormalities in laboratory models of neurodevelopmental disorders. I'm excited to mix findings from natural and human sciences to elaborate a better understanding of the behavioural mechanisms in non-human animals. Especially, I am interested to search for the impact of the environment in which the behaviour occurs and thus:
1- Studying how the species cope with the changing environment
2- What are the physiological pathways, triggering the changes observed in behaviour
3- inter and intra-individual behavioural difference
For my PhD, I'm studying the incubation behaviour of two waterfowl species in the Baltic Sea, under the pressure of human-induced chemical contaminants, temperature variations, and predation thread. For that aim, I am using artificial eggs, equipped with state-of-the-art data loggers to record the incubation patterns of females. In summary:
1- I am interested in the impact of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on incubation behaviour and related hormonal levels
2- I study the capacity of females in maintaining an optimum condition for the eggs during incubation; i.e., how they respond to the presence of predators, human disturbance, and temperature instabilities, depending on individual female characteristics
- Contaminants of emerging concern in an endangered population of common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in the Baltic Sea (2025)
- Environmental Pollution
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - The older the bolder: common goldeneye antipredator behaviour based on long-term individual data (2025)
- Animal Behaviour
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Pilot study on neonicotinoids in Finnish waterbirds: no detectable concentrations in common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) plasma (2024)
- Environmental Science and Pollution Research
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Ameliorating age-dependent effects of resveratrol on VPA-induced social impairments and anxiety-like behaviors in a rat model of neurodevelopmental disorder (2023)
- NeuroToxicology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Contaminants in waterbirds (2023) Arzel C., Ask A., Lemesle P., Frøyland S., Jaspers V., Hansen M., Ciesielski T. M., Asimakopoulos A. G., Vakili S.S., Jolkkonen J., Eeva T., Björkman S., Sonne C., Shaffer S., Ruuskanen S., Koivisto S., Öst M., Waldenström J, Davranche A.
(Other publication) - The effect of low- and moderate-intensity interval training on cognitive behaviors of male and female rats with VPA-induced autism (2023)
- Heliyon
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - The older the bolder: long-term monitoring of risk-taking behaviour during incubation in a waterfowl species (2023) Vakili Farshad S., Pöysä Hannu, Liehrmann Océane, Runko Pentti, Arzel Céline
(Other publication) - Waterbird contamination by endocrine disruptors (2023) Arzel C., Ask A., Ciesielski T. M., Asimakopoulos A. G., Zhang J., Lemesle P., Frøyland S., Lunde E., Vakili S. S., Jolkkonen J., Eeva T., Björkman S., Sonne C., Shaffer S. A., Ruuskanen S., Öst M., Waldenström J., Davranche A., Hansen M., Jaspers V.L.B.
(Other publication) - Early postnatal handling alters social behavior, learning, and memory of pre- and postnatal VPA-induced rat models of autism in a context-based manner (2022)
- Physiology and Behavior
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Incubation behaviour of Common Goldeneye (2022) Vakili S.S., Arzel C., Ask A., Björkman S., Shaffer S., Hansen M., Jaspers V. L. B.
(Other publication) - The effect of early handling on anxiety-like behaviors of rats exposed to valproic acid pre-and post-natally (2022)
- Neurotoxicology and Teratology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)