Zulema Varela Río

Assistant Researcher

Research group: Environmental Sciences and Technologies

Background: PhD in Environment and Natural Resources from Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

Major research topics

• Biomonitoring of environmental pollution in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
• Field sampling strategies and environmental monitoring approaches
• Bioaccumulation and effects of organic, inorganic and microplastic pollutants in biota
• Ecotoxicological assessment and environmental risk evaluation of pollutants
• Environmental impacts of global change drivers (climate change, wildfires, extreme events)

Selected Publications

Bouso, M., Castiñeira-Landeira, A., Fernández, J. A., Llompart, M., Varela, Z. (2025). “Mercury and pesticides occurrence in white storks (Ciconia ciconia) feathers from areas with different land use”. Environmental Research, 123586. (2025).

Varela, Z.; Chozas, S., Lobo Dias, S., Giráldez, P., Monteiro, J., Branquinho, C., Hortal, J. (2025). “Aridity and coexistence with lichens and vascular plants determine the dynamics of coastal dune bryopythes”. Biodiversity and Conservation 34, 2921–2937 (2025).

Vidal-Abad, A., Casal, M.A.,Rey- Aguiño, J,M., Pichel-González, A., Solana-Muñoz, A., Poza-Nogueiras, V., Varela, Z., Galbán-Malagón, C., Ouro, P., Fernández-Salnés, A. “Case report of plastic nurdles pollution in Galicia (NW Atlantic) following the Toconao's spill in December 2023: The VIEIRA Collaborative”. Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 203, 116442, (2024).

Varela, Z, Boquete M.T., Fernández J.A., Martínez-Abaigar J., Núñez-Olivera E., Aboal J.R. “Mythbusters: Unravelling the pollutant uptake processes in mosses for air quality biomonitoring”. Ecological Indicators 148, 110095, (2023).

Varela, Z., López-Sánchez, G., Yáñez, M., Pérez, C., Fernández, J. A., Matos, P., Branquinho, C., Aboal, J.R. “Changes in epiphytic lichen diversity are associated with air particulate matter levels: The case study of urban areas in Chile”. Ecological Indicators, 91/307-314 (2018).

Selected Projects

“The Way Back: Towards a Model for Recovering Galician Research Talent” funded by FECYT Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología. Beginning: April 2026. Duration 12 months. Role: PI.

“PlasticStork: Presence of plastics in nests of the white stork (Ciconia ciconia)”, funded by Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO), ECOEMBES, Ecoloxistas en Acción and Asociación Amigas das Cegoñas. Beginning: December 2024. Duration 18 months. Role: PI.

“Use of trees as green filters for hydrocarbons in urban environments” (ED481D 2019/016), funded by Xunta de Galicia (Spain) . Beginning: November 2019. Duration 30 months. Role: PI.

“Biomonitoring of air quality” funded by Bioeconomy Performance Agreement Programme, Universidad de Concepcion (Chile). Beginning: April 2015. Duration 4 months. Role: PI.

“MOSSCLONE: Creating and testing a method for controlling the air quality based on a new biotechnological tool. Use of a devitalized moss clone as passive contaminant sensor” (MossClone 282952), funded by: European Commission, Seventh Framework Programme FP7. Beginning: March 2012. Duration 36 months. Role: Researcher.