Scientist at CEAB since August 2018, I spent more than 15 years at the University of Girona teaching classes in the Department of Environmental Sciences and conducting research at the Institute of Aquatic Ecology. I started my research career studying primary production in Mediterranean streams, a subject that I expanded by addressing the effects of human activity on river ecology. In this context, my research group has been searching for biological indicators of different types of impact and exposure to pollutants: molecular biomarkers of stress, bioindicators and ecosystem functions, among others. We evaluated the ecological effects of pollution in laboratory-scale experimental studies using microcosms, in artificial rivers, in field experiments, and in observational studies conducted at river basin scale. Regarding the development of new study methodologies, we are interested in ecotoxicomics as a tool to improve our understanding of the reciprocal relationships between human alterations and the role that microbial communities play in improving the quality of water and the health of the ecosystems. Recently, the focus of our research opens up its scope a little more by considering the principles of sustainable development. We include economic and social aspects to address new challenges in conservation ecology. The research I am currently leading has as its main objective the creation and validation of protocols for the reduction of plastic pollution in mountain ecosystems and the knowledge of the links between microbial communities and the “pasticosphere”. I am also very interested in understanding the causes and mitigating the effects of nutrient pollution in Mediterranean rivers, an ancient environmental problem, but one that is highly relevant in the context of global change.
