Associate Professor
Curriculum vitae (pdf)
My main line of research deals with the life strategies, the trophic ecology and the secondary production of stream benthic fauna, mainly aquatic macroinvertebrates and, to a lesser extent, fish. Specifically, we study how abiotic and biotic factors (interspecific relationships such as, for example, predation or coexistence in the same microhabitat) act at the population level. On the other hand, we carry out studies at the community and ecosystem level in aspects such as stream foodwebs or the input and decomposition of organic matter in streams and rivers. The main studies are carried out in permanent or temporary lotic systems of Sierra Nevada, Sierra de Huétor, Sierra Morena, Sierra de Almijara, as well as in the Italian Alps, in the Apennines and, occasionally, in Eastern Europe. Similarly, we study other aspects of the biology and ecology of stoneflies (Plecoptera), such as intersexual calls, trophic ecology of adults, etc., as well as other animal groups. Likewise, part of my research is developed in projects related to the effect of global change in fluvial ecosystems.
Research group.
Animal biology and ecology of aquatic lotic systems .
Research lines.
- Life strategies and secondary production of aquatic insects.
- Trophic ecology of lotic fauna.
- Lotic system foodwebs.
Publications.
- López-Rodríguez, M.J. & Tierno de Figueroa, J.M. 2012. Life in the dark: on the biology of the cavernicolous stonefly Protonemura gevi (Insecta, Plecoptera). The American Naturalist, 180(5): 684-691.
- Tierno de Figueroa, J.M., López-Rodríguez, M.J., Fenoglio, S., Sánchez-Castillo, P. & Fochetti, R. 2013. Freshwater biodiversity in the rivers of the Mediterranean Basin. Hydrobiologia (Special Issue), 719: 137-186.
- Vannucchi, P.E., López-Rodríguez, M.J., Tierno de Figueroa, J.M. & Gaino, E. 2013. Structure and dynamics of a trophic web in a Mediterranean seasonal stream. Journal of Limnology, 72(3): 606-615.
- Peralta-Maraver, I., López-Rodríguez, M.J. & Tierno de Figueroa, J.M. 2016. Structure, dynamics and stability of a Mediterranean river food web. Marine and freshwater research, 68: 484-495.
- Vannucchi, P.E., Peralta-Maraver, I., Tierno de Figueroa, J.M. & López-Rodríguez, M.J. 2017. Dynamic of the macroinvertebrate community and food web of a Mediterranean stream. Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 32 (1): 223–239.
- Full publication list