Alonso Ramírez

Bio

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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

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Websites

• Ramirez Lab
• Streams Project La Selva
• Macrolatinos@

Publications

• On the breakdown of woody debris across a groundwater gradient in Neotropical streams, Costa Rica , FRESHWATER SCIENCE (2024)
• Positive Feedback on Climate Warming by Stream Microbial Decomposers Indicated by a Global Space-For-Time Substitution Study , GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY (2025)
• Decomposition rates appear stable despite elevated shrimp abundances following hurricanes in montane streams, Puerto Rico , HYDROBIOLOGIA (2024)
• Hurricane-induced changes in mayfly assemblage structure, production and emergence in a tropical island stream , ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY (2024)
• Sampling completeness changes perceptions of continental scale climate-species richness relationships in odonates , JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY (2024)
• The effects of flow extremes on native and non-native stream fishes in Puerto Rico , FRESHWATER BIOLOGY (2024)
• Can we see the nitrate from the trees? Long-term linkages between tropical forest productivity and stream nitrogen concentrations , BIOGEOCHEMISTRY (2023)
• Hurricane disturbance drives trophic changes in neotropical mountain stream food webs , ECOLOGY (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)