Stressors in Aquatic Ecosystems 

Currently, agricultural expansion and urban growth are driving land use change in Latin America. The responses of river ecosystems to land use change are reflected in shifts in their ecological patterns and processes, which require much more in-depth study due to their complexity. Deforestation, water abstraction, pollution from agricultural chemicals and urban and industrial wastes, among others, reduce the availability and quality of water resources. Studies in this research area aim to answer questions about how humans affect the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and their biodiversity.

Projects:

• Assessment of aquatic metabolism measurements as functional descriptors of ecosystem health for tropical Andean streams (as PI; closing, September 2023).

• Limnological characterization of the Petaquire Reservoir, a tropical reservoir in an agricultural mountain basin (Coastal Mountain Range, Venezuela). Master's degree thesis by Mary C. Pérez (as PI; In progress).

• Composition and structure of chironomid larval assemblages (Insecta: Diptera: Chironomidae) and their relationships with local and regional environmental factors in rivers of the northern slope of the coastal mountain range, Aragua State, Venezuela. Master's degree thesis of Leidys Molina (as PI; finished, 2014).