Senior Researcher of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), working at the Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera (ICTJA), Barcelona. Founder and head of the Laboratory of Paleoecology (PALAB).
Ecologist, working on plant paleoecology and its ecological, biogeographical and evolutionary implications, from Late Cretaceous to present, with emphasis on the Quaternary.
Research interests
Past biotic responses to environmental change at different organization levels, from organisms to biomes. Example 1
Role of natural and anthropogenic factors as drivers of ecological change. Example 2
Paleoecological evidence and long-term ecology – the time-continuum approach. Example 3
Quaternary paleoecology as the missing link between ecology and evolution. Example 3a
Role of tectonics, paleogeography and climate change on the origin of biodiversity ans its global geographical patterns. Example 4
Early human settlement of remote oceanic islands and ensuing ecological and cultural shifts. Example 5
Holistic conceptual methods for the study of past complex environmental-human-ecological interactive systems. Example 6
Scientific foundations of the ‘Anthropocene’ as a new geological epoch. Example 7
Biostratigraphic and ecostratigraphic methods in Cenozoic stratigraphy and paleoecology. Example 8
Cenozoic evolution and biotic turnover across characteristic geological boundaries. Example 9
Evolution, paleogeography and paleoecology of tropical mangroves. Example 10
Biostratigraphy and ecostratigraphy in the exploration and exploitation of non-renewable natural resources. Example 11
High-impact bio-ecostratigraphic methods in oil and gas exploration. Example 12
Relevance of past ecological and evolutionary knowledge for biodiversity conservation. Example 13
Science and society issues, with emphasis on the free nature of scientific research and its potential applications. Example 14
Study areas
Northern tropical Andes (South America). High-altitude (up to 4200 m) lake sediments and peat bogs. Last Glacial-Holocene. Example 15
Orinoco Llanos and Delta (South America). Inland savanna lakes, coastal lagoons and mangrove sediments. Holocene. Example 16
Guayana Region (South America). Gran Sabana midlands and Tepuian highlands lakes and bogs. Lateglacial-Holocene. Example 17
Maracaibo Basin (South America). Subsurface Late Cretaceous to Pliocene sedimentary rocks. Example 18
Easter Island (Pacific Ocean). Lowland and upland lake/bog sediments. Last Glacial-Holocene. Example 19
Azores Islands (Atlantic Ocean). Lowland and upland lake/bog sediments. Holocene. Example 20
Pyrenees and pre-Pyrenees (Europe). Lower montane and highland lake sediments and peat bogs. Lateglacial-Holocene. Example 21
