Education
Ph.D., University of Georgia (2001)
Research Interest
Tropical streams are diverse and complex ecosystems inhabited by great variety of organisms. My laboratory group works on four main topics:
- Understanding the dynamics of tropical streams and how they are affected by climate change. The research is based in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. In Puerto Rico, we are assessing the effects for droughts and hurricanes, both forecasted to become more intense. In Costa Rica, we are studying the importance of episodic acidification, climate patterns, and inputs of solute-rich groundwater on stream ecosystem processes and on aquatic macroinvertebrates.
- Understanding urban streams as ecosystems. We study urban streams in Puerto Rico, a highly urbanized tropical island, which provides valuable information of relevance to other tropical locations. We are also starting a research program focused on urbanization and streams in North Carolina.
- Understanding the aquatic biodiversity and stream ecosystem function in fragmented tropical landscapes. We mostly work in cloud forest in Mexico, where streams drain a mosaic of forest and agricultural land uses.
- Advancing the taxonomy of aquatic insects, in particular dragonflies and damselflies (order Odonata). We focus on describing the larval stages of Odonata and also in creating identification tools (e.g., manuals, photographic guides) to facilitate research with aquatic organisms.
Social Media
Websites
Publications
- Can we see the nitrate from the trees? Long-term linkages between tropical forest productivity and stream nitrogen concentrations, BIOGEOCHEMISTRY (2023)
- Land use scenarios, seasonality, and stream identity determine the water physicochemistry of tropical cloud forest streams, PEERJ (2023)
- MEIOFAUNA IN TROPICAL MONTANE STREAMS: BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC FACTORS REGULATING COMMUNITIES, ACTA BIOLOGICA COLOMBIANA (2023)
- The trophic ecology of an invasive predator in a novel ecosystem: Green sunfish Lepomis cyanellus in a restored urban stream, FOOD WEBS (2023)
- Do experimental pH increases alter the structure and function of a lowland tropical stream?, ECOSPHERE (2022)
- Effects of urbanization on Odonata assemblages in tropical island streams in San Juan, Puerto Rico, International Journal of Odonatology (2022)
- Natural history of Odonata assemblages in tropical streams in Puerto Rico, NEOTROPICAL BIODIVERSITY (2022)
- Partitioning inorganic carbon fluxes from paired O-2-CO2 gas measurements in a Neotropical headwater stream, Costa Rica, BIOGEOCHEMISTRY (2022)
- A global agenda for advancing freshwater biodiversity research, ECOLOGY LETTERS (2021)
- Disturbance and resilience in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION (2021)