written by Kit Hastings
GLC researcher and Biology Professor Dr. Alicia Pérez-Fuentetaja retired at the beginning of September. Dr. Pérez-Fuentetaja joined the GLC in 2006 for a position that allowed her to spend a greater amount of time researching than most other faculty.
Dr. Pérez, as students called her, taught several undergraduate and graduate level biology courses like Environmental Biology, Fisheries Biology, Limnology, and Great Lakes Ecology. She was on the planning committee for the creation of the GLES M.A. and M.S. programs and a core member of the GLES faculty. In addition to advising undergraduates, Dr. Pérez was the major professor for over a dozen graduate students at Buffalo State and a committee member for many more, as well as supervising research for several undergraduate students; she also advised some graduate and Ph.D. students at University at Buffalo. She received the Outstanding McNair Mentor of the Year Award in 2015.
Alicia’s work as an aquatic ecologist focused on food web interactions in the Great Lakes ecosystem. This included nutrient studies in Lake Erie (NOLENS and LENONS), the effects of the invasion of exotic species like Hemimysis anomala, changes in zooplankton communities in acidifying lakes in the Canadian Granitic Shield, and the bioaccumulation of botulism type E, persistent organic pollutants like PBDEs, and pharmaceuticals in fish populations and fishing birds. Alicia’s contributions to research led to several well publicized and viral news stories, including the development of fish passage for emerald shiners in the upper Niagara River at Broderick Park and the discovery of antidepressants in the brains of fish in the upper Niagara River. She was also part of the steering committee that successfully obtained a Ramsar designation for the Niagara River Corridor as a Wetland of International Importance in 2019. Her expertise was relied on by groups like the Lake Erie Forage Task Group, the International Joint Commission, national and international press, and local agencies and other stakeholders.
I’ve known Alicia for 20 years, since she was my undergraduate advisor in Environmental Science at SUNY Fredonia in 2003. It was Alicia who told me about the research technician position at Buffalo State that became my job, and we worked together on the Lake Erie Long-term Lower Trophic Level Assessment. I’ve made numerous maps for her over the years, especially for the Emerald Shiner Project. Alicia, thank you for your mentorship and for being my colleague over the years. I and everyone else at the GLC wish you the best on your next chapter!
