Bolivia

Carlos
Molina

Biography

Biology Professor, Researcher at the Institute of Ecology (UMSA), and Adjunct Researcher at
the Bolivian Fauna Collection. Academic background includes undergraduate studies at the
Major San Andrés University and postgraduate studies at the University of the Valley in
Colombia and the National University of Tucumán in Argentina. My academic research projects
focused on investigating the impact of glacier melting on the structure of aquatic
invertebrates, as well as energy flow and the transfer of polymetallic contaminants in the
trophic chains of aquatic invertebrates in the Amazon and Altiplano regions. Currently, I am
developing projects on biodiversity inventories and seeking efficient tools for diagnosing the
quality of flowing waters in the Altiplano region of Bolivia. To implement these tasks, I am
conducting participatory workshops with local communities and promoting education on the
use of bioindicators to provide tools for local natural resource management.

Ongoing projects
- Flow–Ecology Relationships Research and Interdisciplinary Applications (FERRIA - Caudal
ecológico), financiado por: Jeunes équipes associées à l'IRD (JEAI). (Periodo: 2021-2024).
- Cátedra UNESCO sobre Ecohidrología: Ecohidrology for Sustainable Water Management in
the Altiplano Region (Periodo: 2024-2026).
- Fortalecimiento de la colección científica de invertebrados: proyecto autofinanciado
(actividad permanente).

Latest publications:

- Guédron, S., Tolu, J., Amouroux, D., Tessier, E., Molina, C., Bueno, M., Mestrot, A., Tisserand,
D., & Acha, D. 2024. Arsenic, selenium, and mercury speciation in hypersaline lakes of the
Andean Altiplano: Link between extreme levels and biodiversity repartition. Journal of
Geochemical Exploration 267, 107577.

- Flores-Turdera, C., Wallace, R., Garitano-Zavala, A., Maldonado, C., Jurado, C., Álvarez-
Portugal, D., Angulo, W., Ayala, G., Gómez, M. I., Hayes, M., Molina, C., Salinas, E., y Torrico, O. 2023. Reto Ciudad Naturaleza, La Paz: una experiencia de observación y registro de la
biodiversidad urbana. Revista Científica, 48(3), 82-92.

- Molina C.I., Montecinos A., Calani, L., Quispe R., Molina-Carpio J., Espinoza D. Hubas C. &
Pouilly M. 2022. Caudal ecológico, una herramienta de desarrollo integral: proyecto FERRIA.
Ecología en Bolivia 52(2): 88-99.

- Lazzaro, X., Achá D., Cruz V., Duarte T., Justiniano A., Mishel, Lanza A., Maldonado J., Molina
C., Nuñez J., Ormachea M., & Sterlin, P. 2021. HydroMet: La primera boya automática
perfiladora con alta-frecuencia en el Lago Titicaca, el más alto de los Grandes Lagos del
mundo. Ecología en Bolivia, 56(2), 65-67.

- Molina C.I., Pinto J., & Achá D. 2021. Selection of macroinvertebrate metrics for rapid
assessment of the human impact by biotic conditions of Bolivian Altiplano streams. Journal of
South American Earth Sciences 113.103638.