I study global change in coastal marine ecosystems. My research connects the disciplines of ecology and biogeochemistry in the coastal marine realm to understand (1) how natural ecosystems are impacted by climate change, environmental change and human actions, and (2) how natural ecosystems can help mitigate and adapt to climate change as well as serve as climate change refugia.
Therefore, the main research lines that I develop are:
- Study of the coastal carbon cycle and the role of marine ecosystems in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
- Study of species interactions at multiple scales and its effects in ecosystems resilience of marine environments.
My general approach consists of developing manipulative field and lab experiments in combination with observational field studies. I am interested in marine macrophyte foundation species (seagrass meadows and macroalgal beds) due to their importance as primary producers in coastal areas worldwide, and because these ecosystems are great models to answer general ecological questions due to the analogies with other marine and terrestrial habitats.
I do basic research driven by hypothesis testing, but part of my research has also a strong applied component. As a result, I have an extensive record on benthic habitat mapping and monitoring programs in marine coastal areas, I work with partners in the seaweed aquaculture industry, and my research informs conservation and management actions as well as Ocean-Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies.