About

I am a PhD student at the Bernot Lab at the University of Connecticut Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Puerto Rico - Humacao with a major in Wildlife Management. I am a Doris Duke Conservation Scholars (DDCSP) Alumni at the University of California Santa Cruz and I am passionate about mentoring and DEI.

Committed to fostering diversity and inclusion in STEM, I have taken on leadership roles such as Founding President of the SACNAS UPRH Chapter and participation in initiatives like the UNIDE Student Advisory Board. Through endeavors like the LGBTQ+ STEM Cast podcast I cultivated supportive communities within academia that values diverse perspectives. I am passionate about supporting students, especially those coming from underrepresented backgrounds.

Research

Current Research

I am currently interested in studying the evolution of parasitic copepods using a combination of taxonomy and systematics with the newest technologies in evolutionary biology and phylogenetics. More details to come...

Various body plans of parasitic copepods

Various body plans of parasitic copepods. Image Source: Bernot et al. (2021) PeerJ.

Previous Research

University of Iowa REU 2023: Evaluating the Interaction Between Heat Stress Expected Under Climate Change and Nutrient Limitation in a Freshwater Snail 


Future climate predictions indicate a rise in temperature and due to eutrophication, there will be higher nutrient availability in lakes. In freshwater systems, consumers are often limited by Phosphorus (P) availability. Potamopyrgus antipodarum is a species of freshwater snail native to New Zealand and it is known to reproduce sexually and asexually. In this study, we aimed to examine the effects of both temperature-induced stress and P limitation on P. antipodarum. We mimicked future climate predictions by separating the snails into 2 temperature treatments (16°C and 24°C) and we manipulated the P availability by using a Low P and High P diet. Virtual Poster

Zoo Miami REU 2022: Human Voice Recognition in Exotic Cats


Vocal recognition has been previously examined in species such as gorillas, primates and cattle. Saito and Shinozuka previously demonstrated that domestic cats responded differently to their owner’s voice compared to unfamiliar voices. Very little is known about human voice recognition in members of the Felidae family. In this study we examined responses to auditory cues for three levels of familiarity (Familiar, less familiar and unfamiliar). We studied 5 individuals from 3 different species, Panthera tigris sumatrae, Acinonyx jubatus and Leptailurus serval.

Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Field Course


During the summer of 2021 I participated in the University of California Santa Cruz Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program immersive summer field course. I was selected for this nationally competitive program alongside 19 fellow scholars. During the summer we designed, implemented, and communicated the results of our own research projects across various natural reserves in California. We visited Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, Point Reyes Field Station, Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab, White Mountain Research Center, and Big Creek Reserve. Through the projects I developed a suite of scientific skills (statistics, experimental design, writing), and practiced other important skills in leadership and storytelling. We did a total of 4 research studies that concluded with a research presentation to hone our communication skills. My final project focused on the effects of fire and landslide disturbance on streambank plant communities after Big Surs Dolan Fire.

Elements

Text

This is bold and this is strong. This is italic and this is emphasized. This is superscript text and this is subscript text. This is underlined and this is code: for (;;) { ... }. Finally, this is a link.

Heading Level 2

Heading Level 3

Heading Level 4

Heading Level 5
Heading Level 6

Blockquote

Fringilla nisl. Donec accumsan interdum nisi, quis tincidunt felis sagittis eget tempus euismod. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus vestibulum. Blandit adipiscing eu felis iaculis volutpat ac adipiscing accumsan faucibus. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus lorem ipsum dolor sit amet nullam adipiscing eu felis.

Preformatted

i = 0;

while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
    print 'Iteration ' + i;
    deck.shuffle();
    i++;
}

print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';

Lists

Unordered

  • Dolor pulvinar etiam.
  • Sagittis adipiscing.
  • Felis enim feugiat.

Alternate

  • Dolor pulvinar etiam.
  • Sagittis adipiscing.
  • Felis enim feugiat.

Ordered

  1. Dolor pulvinar etiam.
  2. Etiam vel felis viverra.
  3. Felis enim feugiat.
  4. Dolor pulvinar etiam.
  5. Etiam vel felis lorem.
  6. Felis enim et feugiat.

Icons

Actions

Table

Default

Name Description Price
Item One Ante turpis integer aliquet porttitor. 29.99
Item Two Vis ac commodo adipiscing arcu aliquet. 19.99
Item Three Morbi faucibus arcu accumsan lorem. 29.99
Item Four Vitae integer tempus condimentum. 19.99
Item Five Ante turpis integer aliquet porttitor. 29.99
100.00

Alternate

Name Description Price
Item One Ante turpis integer aliquet porttitor. 29.99
Item Two Vis ac commodo adipiscing arcu aliquet. 19.99
Item Three Morbi faucibus arcu accumsan lorem. 29.99
Item Four Vitae integer tempus condimentum. 19.99
Item Five Ante turpis integer aliquet porttitor. 29.99
100.00

Buttons

  • Disabled
  • Disabled

Form