Researchers

Virginia E. Villafañe – CV

Independent Researcher – CONICET
Ph.D., University of Groningen, Holanda, 2004
Email: [email protected]

In 1990 I obtained the degree of Licentiate in Biological Sciences from the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco (Argentina). I carried out part of my post-graduate studies in Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, USA, obtaining in 1993 the degree of Master of Sciences in Marine Biology. After returning to Argentina in 1996 I was one of the founders of the Estación de Fotobiología Playa Unión. I started my career as a researcher at CONICET in 1999, and at present I belong to the category Independent Researcher from that Institution. I did my Ph.D at University of Groningen (The Netherlands) in 2004. The topic of my Ph.D thesis was the evaluation of the effects of ultraviolet radiation on primary productivity of aquatic environments of Patagonia.

My scientific interests are centered on Aquatic Photobiology, with special emphasis on the effects of solar radiation on phytoplankton. More recently the studies have considered a context of global change, including other variables associated to this phenomenon, such as temperature, nutrients and CO₂. These investigations have been carried out in different environments, including polar areas – Antarctic and Arctic, tropic – Southern China Sea, Lake Titicaca, Atlantic Ocean (southern Brazil), Mexican Caribbean, and temperate – marine and freshwater environments of Patagonia and high altitude lakes of Spain.

Macarena S. Valiñas – CV

Associate Researcher – CONICET
Director EFPU. Fundación Playa Unión
Dr. in Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina, 2010
E-mail: [email protected]

I studied Biological Sciences at Universidad de Mar del Plata, where I obtained the degree of Licentiate in 2005. In 2005, I started my PhD with a fellowship from CONICET, in the Ecology lab of that University, and I graduated in 2010. Since 2011, I´m working at the Estación de Fotobiología Playa Unión, where I started as a post-doctoral fellow and nowadays I´m an Associate Researcher from CONICET.

My research focuses on the study of ultraviolet radiation effects upon trophic interactions of aquatic organisms from Patagonian coastal waters. At present, I’m evaluating how the supply of food, either poor or rich in photoprotective compounds, can modify the effects that UVR produces on different feeding and reproductive aspects in epibenthic invertebrates. Most of my work is based on experiments where organisms are exposed to different levels of natural or artificial radiation and, in this later case, using either a solar simulator or chambers equipped with UV lights that we have in our lab.

E. Walter Helbling

Researcher EFPU
Vice Director EFPU. Fundación Playa Unión
Ph.D., Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO-UCSD), USA,1993
E-mail: [email protected]

I studied Oceanography (Universidad Nacional de la San Juan Bosco) with a major in Marine Biology. In 1988 I started post-graduate studies at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, USA, where I obtained the degree of Master of Sciences in Oceanography (1989) and of Ph. D. in Marine Biology (1993). After three years as a post-doc in various international projects at that Institution, I returned to Argentina in 1996 I and started my carrier at CONICET as Independent Researcher (1997). Once in Argentina I was one of the founders of the Estación de Fotobiología Playa Unión where I am a researcher since 1997.

My research line is in Aquatic Photobiology, with special interest on the effects of solar radiation and other climate change associated variables on phytoplankton productivity.  I conducted my work in diverse environments in the World including polar areas, tropics, mid-latitudes, high mountain lakes, etc.  My research work involves a high component of in situ experimentation, and this implies moving equipment and materials to different places, depending on the problem that we would like to address.

Marco J. Cabrerizo – CV

Associate Researcher EFPU
Ph.D., University of Granada, Spain,2017
E-mail: [email protected]

I studied a Bachelor degree in Biology (2011) and a Master in Conservation, Management, and Restoration of the Biodiversity (2012), both at University of Granada. In 2017, I earned the PhD degree in Biology with a thesis focused in quantifying how multiple global-change drivers impact the ecology and physiology of marine plankton. From 2019-2022, I worked as a Juan de la Cierva researcher in the Biological Oceanography group at University of Vigo, and since 2023, I am a postdoctoral researcher at University of Granada.

My research interests are the ecology and biogeochemical role of phytoplankton, in particular the relationship between diversity, size-structure, and metabolic processes such as photosynthesis, respiration and phagotrophy, and its interaction with grazers (microzooplankton). My approach combines observations during cruises or field campaigns, experiments with microbial plankton communities or ecologically relevant species, remote-sensing analysis, and data meta-analyses. The ultimate goal of my research is to obtain a mechanistic understanding of the linkage between environmental variability, plankton community, and biogeochemical fluxes in the ecosystem.

Most relevant scientific contributions include: determination that mixotrophy is a compensatory mechanism to avoid photo-inhibition by solar radiation in marine surface waters; identification that pulsed resources strengthen microbial interactions; in situ determination of the contrasting thermal sensitivity of microzooplankton grazing pressure in coastal and oceanic environments; quantification of the importance of thermal fluctuations in determine the magnitude of the effects of global warming on microbial plankton; and demonstration that environmental fluctuations deviate the predicted effects of multiple interacting global-change drivers on different biological kingdoms.