Alicia Perez-Fuentetaja
Research Interests:
I am an aquatic ecologist interested in food web interactions, particularly in the Great Lakes ecosystem. My research interests include: invasion of exotic species, such as the trophic ecology of the bloody-red shrimp, Hemimysis anomala; invasive fish species and their potential for disrupting trophic cascades; and processes that alter ecosystem stability and resilience. Applied research in my lab includes the study of environmental conditions and food web transfer of type E botulism in the Great Lakes, and effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (PCB and PBDE) on fish populations.
Courses Taught:
BIO 104- Environmental Biology
BIO 429/627- Fisheries Biology
BIO 612- Great Lakes Ecology
BIO 612-02- Trophic Interactions
Current Extramurally Funded Research Projects:
• Food web-mediated transport and bioaccumulation of flame retardants (PBDE) in sport fish from eastern Lake Erie. PIs: Alicia Pérez-Fuentetaja, Mark Clapsadl, Diana Aga, Mehran Alaee. New York Great Lakes Protection Fund. Large Grants Program (2009-2011).
• The Lake Erie Nearshore and Offshore Nutrient Study (LENONS). PIs: C. M. Pennuto, A. Y. Karatayev, A. Pérez-Fuentetaja, L. E. Burlakova, D. Bade, G. Matisoff, J. Kramer, C. Mayer. U.S. EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (2010-2012).
My Lab’s Current Student Projects:
• Prey size selection by Hemimysis anomala, a recent invader in the Great Lakes and Finger lakes regions. (J. Wuerstle, M.A. Candidate).
• Comparison of trophic interactions and stable isotope content of round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) from eastern L. Erie and an invaded tributary, Ellicott Creek. (B. Ankrah, M.A. Candidate).
• Effects of calcium limitation and food availability on lipid content and reproduction of the cladoceran Daphnia pulex. (F. Goodberry, Honors student).
• Pelagic productivity drivers in the three basins of L. Erie. (R. Pusatery, URM-NSF student).
Recent Publications:
Pérez-Fuentetaja, A., M. Clapsadl, R.G. Getchell. P.R. Bowser and W.T Lee. In review. Clostridium botulinum Type E in Lake Erie: Inter-Annual Differences and Role of Benthic invertebrates. J. Great Lakes Research.
Pérez-Fuentetaja, A., S. Lupton, M. Clapsadl, F. Samara, L. Gatto, R. Biniakewitz and D.S. Aga. 2010. Current PCB and PBDE Levels in Wild Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) from Eastern Lake Erie. Chemosphere 81: 541-547.
Bridoux, M., M. Sobiechowska, A. Pérez-Fuentetaja, K. T. Alben. 2010. Algal Pigments in Lake Erie Dreissenids, Pseudofeces and Sediments, as Tracers of Diet, Selective Feeding and Bioaccumulation. J. Great Lakes Research 36: 437-447.
Sobiechowska, M.; Bridoux, M.; Ferreira, A-H. F., Pérez Fuentetaja, A., Alben, K. T. 2010. Biomarkers of Algal Populations in Phytoplankton, Filamentous Algae, and Sediments from the Eastern Basin of Lake Erie 2003-2005. J. Great Lakes Research 36: 298-311.
Pérez-Fuentetaja, A., M.D. Clapsadl, D. Einhouse, P.R. Bowser, R. G. Getchell and W. T. Lee. 2006. Influence of Limnological Conditions on Clostridium botulinum Type E Presence in Eastern Lake Erie (Great Lakes, USA) Sediments. Hydrobiologia 563: 189-200.
