Lab Members- Grads

Marla V. Santos Crespo
Doctoral Student

Dissertation Title: Evaluation of the effect of different land-use histories on the population biology and individual exposure to insecticides of the freshwater shredder shrimp Xiphocaris elongata

Pablo J. Hernandez Garcia

Master's Degree Student

Thesis Title:

Undergraduates

Angel S Estruche Santos

I am Ángel Sebastián Estruche Santos, an environmental science student with a renewable energy and sustainability minor. I am an undergraduate researcher concentrating on the island's freshwater fish population and their feeding behavior as part of the stream/reservoir trophic web, especially on the impact of non-native species, microplastic pollution, organism movement/distribution, and intraspecific morphology. I’ve worked alongside the University of Central Florida-University of Belize, Florida International University, and Clarkson University on freshwater conservation and community management of water resources. Other experiences involve using GIS for flood preparedness, leading reforestation efforts, and environmental interpretation for outreach and citizen science efforts.

Julio Campis Diaz

Julio A. Campis Díaz
Undergraduate Biology Student
Biology Department, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras

Research Title: Manganese toxicity in freshwater shrimp species Xiphocaris elongata

I am a biology student interested in freshwater ecology research, education, and conservation in Puerto Rico. I wish to continue my research towards a masters and doctoral degree in ecology. Urban development in Puerto Rico has led to greater aqueduct manufacture around the island. Abandoned water pipes contain metal contaminant runoffs such as manganese. Poor maintenance and disposal of these waste have led to the presence of contaminants in freshwater environments. These environments serve as habitats for freshwater shrimp species such as X. elongata, which are key organisms in regulating energy cycles in their ecosystems. Although they are resilient decapods, response to manganese bioassays may reveal important information about their behavioral response and possible health effects due to toxicology. My objectives are to quantify toxic effects of manganese in X. elongata. Quantify shrimp parameters such as active time, inactive time, distance traveled, and average speed. Evaluate the acute toxicity of manganese through statistical tests in which LD50. With this research we look to propose a relationship between manganese toxicity and shrimp mortality.

Adriana Villanueva

Diego Martinez

Diego E. Martínez Peña
Undergraduate Student
Environmental Science Department,
University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras

I’m currently doing my bachelors degree on environmental science, with interest in organismic studies. I want to learn more about ecology and animal behavior. My current investigation involves toxicology, by measuring different concentrations of Manganese in the fresh water shrimp called Xiphocaris elongata, with the purpose of finding its LC50. This work consists of monitoring the mortality of the species under manganese concentrations, and sometimes making field trips to El Yunque rainforest in search of these shrimp. We obtain the shrimp via traps located at the mouths of the rivers or using a method called “electrofishing”, where we use backpack-shaped machinery that conducts a slight amount of electricity to the body of water to alert the shrimp and encourage them to come out to the surface. Wetsuits are used to prevent contact with the electric current in the water and we use fishing nets to capture the shrimp.

Former Lab Members

Isabel Correa

Edgar J. Lozada Gomez, MS

Thesis Title: Population size and stomach content analysis in Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus fish in rivers with different effects of urban density.

Stefani M. Cruz Rosa, MHSN, PhD
Dissertation Title: Titanium Oxide nano-particles pollution in freshwater ecosystem: Atya lanipes shrimp as a neurotoxic model