


Work experience
Ramón y Cajal Researcher
January 2023 - Present
Institution: Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales de Madrid, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva
Assistant Professor
December 2020 - 2023
Institution: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Departmento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución
Postdoctoral Researcher
September 2020 - December 2020
Advisor: Juan Junoy
Institution: Universidad de Alcalá, Facultad de Biología, Departmento de Ciencias de la Vida
Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación Postdoctoral Researcher
2018 - 2020
Advisor: Guillermo San Martín
Institution: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departmento de Biología (Zoología)
Postdoctoral Researcher
2015 - 2018
Advisor: Adrian Glover, Gordon Paterson & Ana Riesgo
Institution: The Natural History Museum of London, Department of Life Sciences
Postdoctoral Researcher
2013 - 2015
Advisor: Conxita Avila
Institution: Universitat de Barcelona, Department of Animal Biology
PhD Student
2010 - 2013
Thesis: Antarctic marine benthic invertebrates: chemical ecology, bioactivity and biodiversity.
Doctor in Biology cum laude
Advisor: Conxita Avila
Institution: Universitat de Barcelona, Department of Animal Biology
Lab Technician
2005 - 2010
Department of Animal Biology. Universitat de Barcelona
Lab Technician
2000 - 2005
Department of Marine Ecology. Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes
Publications
2010 - present
2010 - present
2025
70. Patova A, Ribeiro PA, Murillo FJ, Riesgo A, Taboada S, Pomponi SA, Rapp HT, Kenchington E, Xavier JR (2025) Population genomics and connectivity of sponge grounds of the northwest Atlantic with conservation implications of deep sea Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems.
69. Simon-Lledó E, Baselga A, Gómez-Rodríguez C, Amon DJ, Bribiesca-Contreras G, Durden JM, Fleming B, Martínez Arbizu P, Metaxas A, Mejía-Saenz A, Taboada S, Audenhaege LV, Jones DOB (2025) Marked variability in distance-decay patterns suggests contrasting dispersal ability in abyssal taxa. Global Ecology and Biogeography
2024
68. Gallego R, Arias MB, Corral-Lou A, Taboada S, Cristina Díez-Vives, Neave E, Wang C, Cárdenas P, Steffen K, Villamor A, Drewery J, Kenchington E, Mariani S, Riesgo A (2024) Biodiversity assessment of deep-sea benthic communities in North Atlantic and Arctic sponge grounds using sponge DNA. Communications Biology
2023
67. Taboada S, Whiting C, Wang S, Ríos P, Davies A, Mienis F, Kenchington E, Cárdenas P, Cranston A, Koutsouveli V, Cristobo J, Rapp H-T, Drewery J, Baldó F, Morrow C, Picton B, Xavier J, Arias MB, Riesgo A (2023) Long distance dispersal and oceanographic fronts shape the connectivity of the keystone sponge Phakellia ventilabrum in the deep northeast Atlantic. Frontiers in Marine Science 10: 1177106
66. Stewart ECD, Bribiesca-Contreras G, Taboada S, Wiklund H, Ravara A, Pape E, Neal L, Cunha MR, Jones DOB, Smith CR, Glover AG, Dahlgren TG (2023) Biodiversity, biogeography, and connectivity of polychaetes in the world’s largest marine minerals exploration frontier. Diversity and Distributions 29:727-747
65. Alujević K, Streicher JW, Garcia RA, Riesgo A, Taboada S, Logan ML, Clusella-Trullas S (2023) Mismatches between phenotype and environment shape fitness at hyperlocal scales. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 290:20230865
2022
64. Taboada S, Ríos, P, Mitchell A, Cranston A, Busch K, Tonzo V, Cárdenas P, Sánchez F, Leiva C, Koutsouveli V, Cristobo J, Xavier JR, Hentschel U, Rapp HT, Morrow C, Drewery J, Romero PE, Arias M-B, Whiting C, Riesgo A (2022) Genetic diversity, gene flow and hybridization in fan-shaped sponges (Phakellia spp.) in the North-East Atlantic deep sea. Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 181:103685
63. Verdes A, Taboada S, Hamilton BR, Undheim EAB, Sonoda GG, Andrade SCS, Morato E, Marina AI, Cárdenas CA, Riesgo A (2022). Evolution, expression patterns, and distribution of novel ribbon worm predatory and defensive toxins. Molecular Biology and Evolution 39(5): msac096
62. Maxwell J, Taboada S, Taylor ML (2022) Gorgoniapolynoe caeciliae revisited: The discovery of new species and molecular connectivity in deep-sea commensal polynoids from the Central Atlantic. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 185:103804
61. Ríos P, Altuna A, Frutos I, Manjón-Cabeza E, García-Guillén L, Macías-Ramírez A, Ibarrola TP, Gofas S, Taboada S, Souto J, Álvarez F, Saiz-Salinas JI, Cárdenas P, Rodríguez-Cabello C, Lourido A, Boza C, Rodríguez-Basalo A, Prado E, Abad-Uribarren A, Parra S, Sánchez F, Cristobo J (2022). Aviles Canyon System: Increasing the benthic biodiversity knowledge. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 274: 107924
60. Arias MB, Hartle-Mougiou K, Taboada S, Vogler A, Riesgo A, Elfekih S (in press). Unveiling biogeographic patterns in the worldwide distributed Ceratitis capitata (medfly) using population genomics and microbiome composition. Molecular Ecology 31(18):4866-4883
59. Leiva C, Combosch D, Giribet G, Downey R, Riesgo A, Taboada S (2022) Guiding Marine Protected Area Network Design with comparative phylogeography and population genomics: An exemplary case from the Southern Ocean. Diversity and Distributions 28(9):1891-1907
2021
58. Taboada S, Serra Silva A, Díez-Vives C, Neal L, Cristobo J, Ríos P, Hestetun JT, Clark B, Rossi ME, Junoy J, Navarro J, Riesgo A (2021) Sleeping with the enemy: unravelling the symbiotic relationships between the scale worm Neopolynoe chondrocladiae (Annelida: Polynoidae) and its carnivorous sponge hosts. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 193(1):295-318
57. Cranston A, Taboada S, Koutsouveli V, Schuster A, Riesgo A (2021) A population specific mitochondrial intron from the sponge Phakellia robusta in the North-East Atlantic. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 172(10):103534
56. Busch K, Taboada S, Riesgo A, Koutsouveli V, Ríos P, Cristobo J, Franke A, Getzlaff K, Schmidt C, Biastoch A, Hentschel U (2021) Population connectivity of fan-shaped sponge holobionts in the deep Cantabrian Sea. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 167:103427
55. Jones DO, Simon-Lledó E, Amon DJ, Bett BJ, Caulle C, Clément L, Connelly DP, Dahlgren TG, Durden JM, Drazen JC, Felden J, Gates AR, Georgieva MN, Glover AG, Gooday AJ, Hollingworth AL, Horton T, James RH, Jeffreys RM, Languionie-Marchais C, Leitner AB, Lichtslag A, Menendez A, Paterson GLJ, Peel K, Robert K, Schoening T, Shulga NA, Smith CR, Taboada S, Thurnherr AM, Wiklund H, Young CR, Huvenne VAI (2021) Environment, ecology, and potential effectiveness of an area protected from deep-sea mining (Clarion Clipperton Zone, abyssal Pacific). Progress in Oceanography 197:102653
54. Bribiesca-Contreras G, Dahlgren TG, Drazen JC, Drennan R, Horton T, Jones DO, Leitner AB, McQuaid KA, Smith CR, Taboada S, Wiklund H, Glover AG (2021) Biogeography and connectivity across habitat types and geographical scales in Pacific abyssal scavenging amphipods. Frontiers in Marine Science 8:1028
2020
53. Taboada S, Serra Silva A, Neal L, Cristobo J, Ríos P, Álvarez-Campos P, Hestetun JT, Koutsouveli V, Sherlock E, Riesgo A (2020) Insights into the symbiotic relationship between scale worms and carnivorous sponges (Cladorhizidae, Chondrocladia). Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 156:103191
52. Taboada S, Bas M, Avila C, Riesgo A (2020) Phylogenetic characterization of marine microbial biofilms associated to mammal bones in temperate and polar areas. Marine Biodiversity (doi: 10.1007/s12526-020-01082-8)
51. Georgieva MN, Taboada S, Riesgo A, Díez-Vives C, De Leo FC, Jeffreys RM, Copley J, Little CTS, Ríos P, Cristobo J, Hestetun JT, Glover AG (2020) Evidence of vent-adaptation in sponges living at the periphery of hydrothermal vent environments: ecological and evolutionary implications. Frontiers in Microbiology, section Microbial Symbioses (Manuscript ID: 555814)
50. Plese B, Kenny NJ, Rossi ME, Cárdenas P, Schuster A, Taboada S, Koustsouveli V, Riesgo A (in press) Mitochondrial evolution in the Silicean Porifera: phylogeny, divergence time, and genome biology. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
49. Ríos, P, Riesgo A, Taboada S, Cristobo J (2020) A new species of Isodictya (Porifera: Poecilosclerida) from the Southern Ocean. Polar Biology 43:523-533
2019
48. Taboada S, Altuna Á, Sánchez F, Junoy J (2019) A new species of Astacilla (Crustacea: Isopoda: Valvifera) from the Le Danois Bank (N Spain, NE Atlantic), living on Placogorgia sp. (Cnidaria: Octocorallia) with notes on the cnidarian host. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 148:108–122
47. Leiva C, , Kenny N, Combosch D, Giribet G, Jombart T, Riesgo A (2019) Population substructure and signals of divergent adaptive selection despite admixture in the sponge Dendrilla antarctica from shallow waters surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula. Molecular Ecology 28(13):3151–3170
46. Plese B, Rossi ME, Kenny N, Taboada S, Koutsouveli V, Riesgo A (2019) Trimitomics: An efficient pipeline for mitochondrial assembly from transcriptomic reads in non-model species. Molecular Ecology Resources19(5):1230-1239
45. Riesgo A, Taboada S, Pérez-Portela R, Melis P, Xavier JR, Blasco G, López-Legentil S (2019) Genetic diversity, connectivity and gene flow along the distribution of the emblematic Atlanto-Mediterranean sponge Petrosia ficiformis (Haplosclerida, Demospongiae). BMC Evolutionary Biology 19:24
2018
44. Taboada S, Riesgo A, Wiklund H, Paterson G, Koutsouveli V, Santodomingo N, Dale A, Smith C, Jones D, Dahlgren T, Glover A (2018) Implications of population connectivity studies for the design of marine protected areas in the deep-sea: an example of a demosponge from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Molecular Ecology 27:4657–4679
43. Taboada S, Leiva C, Junoy J, Alexander F, Riesgo A (2018) A new member of the genus Antarctonemertes (Hoplonemertea, Nemertea) from Antarctic waters. Polar Biology 41:1463–1473
42. Taboada S, Kenny N, Riesgo A, Wiklund H, Dahlgren T, Paterson G, Glover A (2017) Mitochondrial genome and polymorphic microsatellite markers from the abyssal sponge Plenaster craigi Lim &Wiklund, 2017: tools for understanding the impact of deep-sea mining. Marine Biodiversity 48: 621–630
41. Leiva C, Riesgo A, Avila C, Rouse G, Taboada S (2018) Population structure and phylogenetic relationships of a new shallow-water Antarctic annelid phyllodocid. Zoologica Scripta 47:714–726
40. Neal L, Taboada S, Woodall L (2018) Slope-shelf faunal link and unreported diversity off Nova Scotia: evidence from polychaete data. Deep-Sea Research Part I 138: 72–84
39. Koutsouveli V, Taboada S, Moles J, Cristobo J, Ríos P, Bertran A, Solà J, Avila C, Riesgo A (2018) Insights into the reproduction of some Antarctic dendroceratid, poecilosclerid, and haplosclerid demosponges. PLoS ONE 13:e0192267
38. Alvarez-Campos P, Taboada S, Leiva C, San Martín G, Riesgo A (2017) Phylogenetic relationships and evolution of reproductive modes within flattened syllids (Annelida : Syllidae) with the description of a new genus and six new species. Invertebrate Systematics 32:224-251
2017
37. Taboada S, Leiva C, Bas M, McHugh D, Schultz N (2017) Cryptic speciation and colonization processes in Ophryotrocha inhabiting vertebrate remains in the shallow-water Mediterranean. Zoologica Scripta 46:611–624
36. Angulo-Preckler C, Leiva C, Avila C, Taboada S (2017) Macroinvertebrate communities from the shallow soft-bottoms of Deception Islnd (Southern Ocean): A paradise for opportunists. Marine Environmental Research 127:62–74
35. Paxton H, Wiklund H, Alexander F, Taboada S (2017) Is the Antarctic Ophryotrocha orensanzi (Annelida: Dorvilleidae) a circumpolar non-specialised opportunist? Systematics and Biodiversity 15:105–114
2016
34. Taboada S, Pérez-Portela R (2016) Contrasted phylogeographic patterns on mitochondrial DNA of shallow and deep brittle stars across the Atlantic-Mediterranean area. Scientific Reports 6:324525
33. Taboada S, Bas M, Garriga M, Leiva C, Sardà R, Avila C (2016) Life after death: Shallow-water polychaete communities associated to mammal bones in the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Ecology 37:164–178
32. Glover A, Dahlgren T, Taboada S, et al. (2016) The London Workshop on the Biogeography and Connectivity of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing Newsletter, IEEE 2:e10528
31. Melis P, Riesgo A, Taboada S, Manconi R (2016) Coping with anchihaline regimes: A new species of Protosuberites (Porifera: Demospongiae: Suberitidae) with resting bodies and a first contribution to the phylogenetic relationships within the genus. Zootaxa 4208:349–364
30. Pérez-Portela R, Cerro-Gálvez E, Taboada S, Tidu C, Campillo-Campbell, Mora J, Riesgo A (2016) Lonely populations in the deep: genetic structure of the red gorgonian at the head of the submarine canyons of the North-Western Mediterranean Sea. Coral Reefs 35:1013
29. Aghmich A, Taboada S, Toll L, Ballesteros M (2016) First assessment of the rocky intertidal communities of Fildes Bay, King George Island (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica). Polar Biology 39(1):189–198
2015
28. Taboada S, Riesgo A, Bas M, Arnedo MA, Cristobo J, Rouse G, Avila C (2015) Bone-eating worms spread: Insights into shallow-water Osedax (Annelida, Siboglinidae) from Antarctic, Subantarctic, and Mediterranean waters. PLoS ONE 10(11):e0140341
27. Taboada S, Bas M, Avila C (2015) A new Parougia species (Annelida: Dorvilleidae) associated to eutrophic habitats in Antarctica. Polar Biology 38:517–527
26. Taboada S, Riesgo A, Blasco G, Solà J, Xavier JR, López-Legentil S (2015) Development of 10 microsatellite markers for the Atlanto-Mediterranena sponge Petrosia ficiformis. Conservation Genetics Resources 7:895–897
25. Riesgo A, Taboada S, Avila C (2015) Evolutionary patterns in Antarctic marine invertebrates: an update on molecular studies. Marine Genomics 23:1–13
24. Riesgo A, Taboada S, Sánchez-Vila L, Solà J, Bertran A, Avila C (2015) Some like it fat: Comparative ultrastructure of the embryo in two demosponges of the genus Mycale (Order Poecilosclerida): Mycale acerata from Antarctica and Mycale laevis from the Caribbean. PLoS ONE 10(3):e0118805
23. Moles J, Figuerola B, Campanyà-Llovet N, Monleón-Getino T, Taboada S, Avila C (2015) Distribution patterns in Antarctic and Subantarctic echinoderms. Polar Biology 38:799–813
22. Moles J, Núñez-Pons L, Taboada S, Figuerola B, Cristobo J, Avila C (2015) Anti-predatory chemical defences in Antarctic benthic fauna. Marine Biology 162:1813–1821 (doi:10.1007/s00227-015-2714-9)
2014
21. Sardá R, Serrano L, Labrune C, Gil J, March D, Amouroux JM, Taboada S, Grémare A (2014) Shallow water polychaete assemblages in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea and its possible use in the evaluation of Good Environmental State. Memoirs of Museum Victoria 71:289–301
2013
20. Taboada S, Andrade S, Giribet G, Junoy J, Cristobo FJ, Avila C (2013) On the identity of two Antarctic brooding nemerteans: redescription of Antarctonemertes valida (Bürger, 1893) and description of a new species in the genus Antarctonemertes Friedrich, 1955 (Nemertea, Hoplonemertea). Polar Biology 36:1415–1430
19. Taboada S, Wiklund H, Glover AG, Dahlgren TG, Cristobo J, Avila C (2013) Two new Antarctic Ophryotrocha (Annelida: Dorvilleidae) described from shallow-water whale bones. Polar Biology 36:1031–1045
18. Taboada S, Núñez-Pons L, Avila C (2013) Feeding repellence of Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic benthic invertebrates against the omnivorous sea star Odontaster validus. Polar Biology 36:13–25
17. Glover AG, Wiklund H, Taboada S, Avila C, Cristobo J, Smith CR, Kemp KM, Jamieson A, Dahlgren TG (2013) Bone-eating worms from the Antarctic: the contrasting fate of whale and wood remains on the Southern Ocean seafloor. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 280:1768
16. Figuerola B, Taboada S, Monleón A, Vázquez J, Avila C (2013) Cytotoxic activity of Antarctic benthic organisms against embryo and sperm in the Antarctic sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri. Oceanography 1(107):2
15. Silchenko AS, Kalinovsky AI, Avilov SA, Andryjashchenko PV, Dmitrenok PS, Kalinin VI, Taboada S, Avila C (2013) Triterpene glycosides from Antarctic sea cucumbers IV. Turquetoside A, a 3-O-methylquinovose containing disulfated tetraoside from the sea cucumber Staurocucumis turqueti (Vaney, 1906) (=Cucumaria spatha). Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 51:45–49
14. Xavier JC, Barbosa A, Agustí S, Alonso-Sáez L, Alvito P, Ameneiro J, Avila C, Baeta A, Canário J, Carmona R, Catry P, Ceia F, Clark MS, Cristobo FJ, Cruz B, Duarte CM, Figuerola B, Gili J.M, Gonçalves AR, Gordillo FJL, Granadeiro JP, Guerreiro M, Isla E, Jiménez C, López-González PJ, Lourenço S, Marques JC, Moreira E, Mota AM, Nogueira M, Núñez-Pons L, Orejas C, Paiva VH, Palanques A, Pearson GA, Pedrós-Alió C, Peña Cantero AL, Power DM, Ramos JA, Rossi S, Seco J, Sañe E, Serrão EA, Taboada S, Tavares S, Teixidó N, Vaqué D, Valente T, Vázquez E, Vieira RP, Viñegla B (2013) Polar marine science in Portugal and Spain: Recent advances and future perspectives. Journal of Sea Research 83:9–29
2012
13. Taboada S, Doner S, Blake JA, Avila C (2012) A new species of Cirratulus (Annelida: Polychaeta) described from a shallow-water whale bone in Antarctica. Zootaxa 3340:59–68
2011
12. Antonov AS, Avilov SA, Kalinovsky AI, Dmitrenok PS, Kalinin VI, Taboada S, Ballesteros M, Avila C, Stonik VA (2011) Triterpene glycosides from Antarctic sea cucumbers III. Structures of liouvillosides A4 and A5, two minor disulfated tetraosides containing 3-O-methylquinovose as terminal monosacharide units from the sea cucumber Staurocucumis liouvillei (Vaney). Natural Product Research 25:1324–1333
2010
11. Taboada S, García-Fernández LF, Bueno S, Vázquez J, Cuevas C, Avila C (2010) Antitumoral activity in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic benthic organisms. Antarctic Science 22:494–507
2009
10. Antonov AS, Avilov SA, Kalinovsky AI, Anastyuk SD, Dmitrenok PS, Kalinin VI, Taboada S, Bosch A, Avila C, Stonik VA (2009) Triterpene glycosides from Antarctic sea cucumbers. 2. Structure of Achlioniceosides A1, A2 and A3 from the sea cucumber Achlionice violaecuspidata (=Rhipidothuria racowitzai). Journal of Natural Products 72:32–38
9. Renaud PE, Webb TJ, Bjørgesæter A, Karakassis I, Kędra M, Kendall MA, Labrune C, Lampadariou N, Somerfield PJ, Włodarska-Kowalczuk M, Vanden Berghe E, Claus S, Aleffi F, Amouroux JM, Bryne KH, Cochrane SJ, Dahle S, Degraer S, Denisenko SG, Deprez T, Dounas C, Fleischer D, Gil J, Grémare A, Janas U, Mackie ASY, Palerud R, Rumohr H, Sardá R, Speybroeck J, Taboada S, Van Hoey G, Węsławski JM, Whomersley P, Zettle ML (2009) Continental-scale patterns in benthic invertebrate diversity: insights from the MARBEF database. Marine Ecology Progress Series 382:239–252
8. Sardá R, Gil J, Taboada S, Gili JM (2009) Polychaete species captured in sediment traps located in northwestern Mediterranean submarine canyons. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 155:1–21
2008
7. Antonov AS, Avilov SA, Kalinovsky AI, Anastyuk SD, Dmitrenok PS, Evtushenko EV, Kalinin VI, Smirnov AV, Taboada S, Ballesteros M, Avila C, Stonik VA (2008) Triterpene glycosides from Antarctic sea cucumbers. 1. Structure of Liouvillosides A1, A2, A3, B1, and B2 from the sea cucumber Staurocucumis liouvillei: new procedure for separation of highly polar glycoside fractions and taxonomic revision. Journal of Natural Products 71:1677–1685
6. Avila C, Taboada S, Núñez-Pons L (2008) Antarctic marine chemical ecology: what is next? Marine Ecology 29:1–71
5. Labrune C, Gremare A, Amoroux JM, Sardá R, Gil J, Taboada S (2008) Structure and diversity of shallow soft-bottom benthic macrofauna in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean). Helgoland Marine Research 62:201–214
4. Reyes F, Fernández R, Rodríguez A, Francesch A, Taboada S, Avila C, Cuevas C (2008) Aplicyanins A-F, new cytotoxic bromoindole derivatives from the marine tunicate Aplidium cyaneum. Tetrahedron 64:5119–5123
2007
3. Labrune C, Gremare A, Amoroux JM, Sardá R, Gil J, Taboada S (2007) Assessment of soft-bottom polychaeta assemblages in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean) based on a mesoscale survey. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 71:133–147
2006
2. Labrune C, Gremare A, Amoroux JM, Sardá R, Gil J, Taboada S (2006) Diversity of polychaeta fauna in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean). Vie et Milieu – Life and Environment 56:315–326
2000
1. Sardá R, Pinedo S, Gremare A, Taboada S (2000) Changes in the dynamics of shallow sandy-bottom assemblages due to sand extraction in the Catalan Western Mediterranean Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57:1446–1453