Javier Lloret

Dr. Javier Lloret is an ecosystem scientist with a background in marine sciences, ecology, and hydrology. His research focuses on the ecology and biogeochemistry of coastal wetlands and estuaries. Understanding the controls on coastal ecosystem functioning is critical because wetlands and estuaries play disproportionately important roles in the global cycling of elements such as carbon and nitrogen. These systems also provide economically valuable services to human societies.

Estuaries are physically, chemically, and biologically complex environments that are heavily impacted by human activities. Coastal development, overexploitation of natural resources, and pollution—particularly from excess nutrients and other contaminants—fundamentally alter estuarine function and threaten the provision of ecosystem services.

He uses a combination of fieldwork, laboratory, mesocosm, and landscape-scale experiments, innovative biogeochemical tracers, and ecosystem modeling to quantify the pathways, transformations, and fate of pollutants in seagrass and algal beds, salt marshes, mangrove forests, and other shallow estuarine habitats. His work also aims to evaluate the effects of human disturbances on these systems. Through his research, Lloret hopes to inform management strategies, guide the development of better environmental policies, and contribute to the preservation and restoration of these valuable coastal ecosystems.