Our research focuses on the ecology of aquatic ecosystems, and in particular the effects of global change on the biodiversity and food webs.
Dr Sandra Brucet (Group leader), ICREA Research Professor. Anthropogenic impacts (climate change, eutrophication, increased salinity) on the biodiversity and trophic structure in freshwater ecosystems. In particular, the study of size structure and how it is affected by environmental changes. Parallel interests include zooplankton ecology and ecological assessment and management.
Dr Lluís Benejam, Professor Agregat. Impact of global change (e.g. pollution, water abstraction, invasive species, habitat alteration, global warming,…) on freshwater ecosystems. In particular, the effects on fish assemblages at different levels of biological organization: individual (health condition, parasitology, fecundity), population (size structure) and community (richness, tropic levels).
Dr Miguel Cañedo, Postdoc. Aquatic ecologist, interested in the response of aquatic ecosystems (from lagoons to rivers and high mountain lakes) to disturbance and how aquatic macroinvertebrate communities are connected through the landscape. I use different methodological approaches to explore the interaction between the aquatic ecosystems and different sources of stress (e.g. drought, pollution, salinisation).
Dr Mireia Bartrons, Professora Agregada. Freshwater food webs: use of organic compounds, such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), as ecological tracers to characterize some food web processes including inter-species exchange, bioaccumulation, biomagnification and metabolic transformation.
Dr. Àngels Leiva-Presa, Professora Associada. Effects of organic pollutants and metals on freshwater ecosystems. In particular, physiological changes and effects on reproduction and survival.
Dr Anna Badosa, Professora Agregada.
PhD student Ignasi Arranz Size structure of lake fish along environmental gradients and effects of climate change. Parallel investigations are focused on spatiotemporal variations in the macroinvertebrate communities from lentic habitats.
PhD Student Zeynep Ersoy. Biotic and environmental factors shaping size distributions in freshwater food webs over different spatial scales.
PhD Student Mireia Aguilera. Assessing the effects of anthropogenic pressures on hatchling loggerhead sea turtle in Boa Vista Island, Cape Verde
PhD Student Serena Sgarzi
