Antoni Palau

Antoni is a PhD student at the University of Lleida. He has an undergraduate degree on Geography from the University of Lleida and a Master’s degree on Engineering of Natural Resources from the Manresa School of Engineering (EPSEM; Polytechnic University of Catalonia, UPC). His master thesis aimed at characterising mountain river reaches, and evaluating their chemical quality of water (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonium, phosphates, alkalinity, etc.) and biological communities (benthic macroinvertebrates) during an annual cycle in order to rank these reaches and study the relationships between quality and biological variables and parameters. The study allowed evaluating how some differences in water quality between river reaches can be explained by the variability of benthic macroinvertebrates communities, as well as to describe their intra-annual (seasonal) variations.

Between 2013 and 2017 he worked in an environmental consulting company and participated in technical projects related to water quality, fluvial geomorphology, benthic macroinvertebrates (ecological status), environmental flows and fish monitoring.

He started his PhD in December 2017. His PhD is focused on the impact of hydropeaking on water quality, physical habitat (fish) and benthic macroinvertebrate community in mountain river reaches (Cinca and Esera rivers; central Pyrenees; NE Iberian Peninsula). The results of his PhD will be used to design mitigation measure. The research is developed at the Fluvial Dynamics Research Group (Department of Environment and Soil Sciences, University of Lleida) in the background of the research project MorphPeaK (CGL2016-78874-R).

Email: palaunadal@macs.udl.cat

Tel.: +34 973702301

Address: Department of Environmental and Soils Sciences, University of Lleida, E-25198 Lleida, Catalonia, Spain