Brucet, Sandra
ICREA Research Professor at Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVIC).
Experimental Sciences & Mathematics
Short biography
I graduated in 1998 and obtained my PhD in Biology in November 2003 at University of Girona. After that I was a postdoc at the University of Oslo (2006) and the National Environmental Institute of Denmark (2006-2008). From 2009 to 2012, I worked as a research scientist at the European Commission-Joint Research Centre (Italy). I passed European Commission full competitions for Research Administrators (AD5 and AD7). In 2013, I was awarded a Marie Curie Intra European Senior Fellowship to work at the University of Aarhus (Denmark) for two years. In 2013, I was also a Visiting Scientist at the Middle East Technical University, Turkey. In September 2015, I was appointed ICREA Research professor at University of Vic and I am heading the Aquatic Ecology Research Group (GEA) that hosts ten members. GEA researchers are members of the Chair on Water, Nature and Wellness.
Research interests
Our research focuses on the response of aquatic ecosystems and their biodiversity to global changes (e.g. eutrophication, habitat destruction, climate change). We use the organisms’ size structure, in combination with taxonomical approaches, to assess biodiversity and ecosystem processes. We are also interested in basic and applied aspects of ecological theories relating organisms’ body size, metabolism and temperature. Our research includes the whole trophic structure from phytoplankton to fish. We focus on different aquatic ecosystems (lakes, rivers, ponds) and use complementary approaches such as experiments, latitudinal comparisons and models. Ultimately, we aim to apply our research results to solving problems related with the conservation of aquatic ecosystems. We also pay particular attention at transferring our knowledge into European policies and platforms (e.g. Water Framework Directive, Biodiversity Strategy, IPBES) and the general public.