Maria Cuenca-Cambronero

Research experience

My research focuses on aquatic ecology, with freshwater systems becoming the lens through which I investigate some of today’s most pressing environmental challenges. I completed my PhD at the University of Birmingham, where I studied the evolutionary responses, both at the molecular and phenotypic level, of Daphnia magna populations to eutrophication and climate change over 100 years of evolutionary history. After my PhD, I moved to Switzerland with an EMBO postdoctoral fellowship at Eawag (Fig. 1), where I explored how zooplankton communities respond to fish predation and nutrient enrichment using artificial pond experiments and long-term time series data.

During my second postdoc, I returned to Spain, where I began developing my current research line focused on ecosystem functions and their links to biodiversity across different environmental gradients. I have a special interest in Mediterranean ecosystems, as they are highly threatened by climate change and anthropogenic pressures. I played a leading role in the PONDERFUL project (Fig. 2), investigating how climate and land use affect ecosystem functioning in small ponds. Currently, I am involved in the TRANSPONDER project, where I play a leading role focusing on the functional diversity of pond ecosystems across Europe and how this diversity is shaped by environmental drivers.

My personal and professional journey has provided me with a broad set of skills, from fieldwork and laboratory techniques to advanced statistical modelling. I remain deeply motivated to use ecological research to inform conservation efforts, enhance ecosystem resilience, and better understand the adaptive capacity of life in a rapidly changing world.

Eawag, Duserdolf, Switzerland

15.000 L mesocosms used to investigate the interaction between zooplankton and fish communities.

PONDERFUL project, Albera, Spain

Sampling campaign for the collection of ecosystem function, biodiversity and environmental factors.

What drives my scientific curiosity

Since childhood, I’ve always been curious about the natural world, drawn to the complexity of life and the invisible threads that connect organisms, environments, and ecosystems. This early fascination led me to study Biology at the University of Valencia, Spain. I was inspired by the breadth of the field, which allowed me to explore the many layers of nature. This curiosity also sparked a passion for travel early in my academic journey, taking me to Toronto (Canada), Bremen (Germany), and Caen (France) during my undergraduate studies.

After my BSc, I pursued a Master's degree in Biodiversity and Ecosystem Conservation at the University Pablo de Olavide, Seville, where I began to shape a clearer path toward a PhD. During this time, I explored various disciplines within biology: I worked with Iberian lynx for my MSc thesis, volunteered with amphibians studying phenotypic plasticity, assisted in bird surveys as a field technician (Fig. 1), and contributed to marine mammal conservation, studying dolphins in the British Channel (Fig. 2). These diverse experiences provided me with a broad foundation and strengthened my interest in understanding how anthropogenic pressures affect ecological communities and ecosystem functioning.

Madrid, Spain

I worked as a field technician at the Department of Evolutionary Ecology of Doñana Biological Station (CSIC). I was involved in the design of cross-fostering experiments, bird capturing, ringing and the extraction of blood samples.

GECC, Normandie, France

I participated in marine mammal research using photo-identification techniques to study the social structures of cetaceans.