Diez Ortiz, Maria

Research interest

I obtained my PhD in February 2007 from the University of Granada (Soil Science Department, Spain) and I am currently holding a postdoctoral fellowship at the Vrije University of Amsterdam since January 2008 (-January 2010).. My research interests so far have been focused on different aspects of risk assessment of metals in soils.
My PhD was devoted to the site-specific risk assessment of trace elements in a region located in the south of Spain. With this aim, I studied the performance of different statistical methods to estimate background concentrations in the entire region. A site specific risk assessment of polluted soils in the surrounding of an iron mine site was also undertaken based on both bioavailability and toxicity tests. During my PhD, I was also involved in several projects aimed at studying the mobility and distribution of trace elements in soils affected by a pyrite mine spill.
In 2005, I stayed for eight months as a PhD guest student at the University of Aberdeen (Plant and Soil Science Department) where I received training in a range of toxicity bioassays broadening my field of expertise: bioluminescence bioassays (Vibrio fisheri), effect on earthworm survival (Lumbricus terrestris and Eisenia fetida), seed germination (Lactuca sativa and Lolium perenne) and effects on microorganisms (basal soil respiration and substrate induction respiration).
After my PhD, I decided to broaden my expertise in the field of ecotoxicology. My current research as a post-doc at the Animal Ecology Department at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam addresses fundamental questions regarding the response of soil invertebrates (springtails, earthworms, and enchytraeids) to toxicants in soil. My research involves the investigation of uptake routes, internal distribution and effects of toxicants in these organisms and the relation between internal concentrations and effects. Final aim is to apply these results for risk assessment purposes.

Project
Uptake and effects of metals in soil invertebrates in relation to substrate properties, routes of exposure, internal concentrations and physiology.
Ecotoxicity of metal nanoparticles to Folsomia candida in relation to bioavailability in soil. 
 

Supervisor
C.A.M. van Gestel

CV and Publications