Aarón García Bernal

is a marine biologist with a background in taxonomy and ecology of different crustacean taxa. His PhD research interests are focused on the physiological responses to hypoxia in Amphiascoides atopus, a harpacticoid copepod of estuarine systems. Using respirometrics and transcriptomics, he has found a clear metabolic response, increased long-time survival rates, active reproductive behavior, and diverse transcriptomic responses to hypoxic conditions.

Now, he is interested in studying the long-term regulatory pathways that could be imprinted after transgenerational hypoxic conditions. Support from the WAC grant will help him expand his work to provide more evidence about how epigenetic adaptations to hypoxia can improve fitness relative to control groups.