The research was conducted by Dr. Noemí Soto Nieves and her research students in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.
By Institutional Communications
Research conducted by Dr. Noemí Soto Nieves, together with students from the School of Health and Sciences at Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (Sagrado), provided new evidence on the physicochemical and microbiological conditions of the San Juan Bay Estuary. The study was carried out in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA, per its Spanish acronym).
The article, titled “Water column biogeochemistry in a tropical urban estuary,” was published in Journal of Tropical Ecology, a scientific journal specializing in the study of tropical ecosystems. The publication analyzes physicochemical parameters, nutrients, and indicators of bacterial contamination in the waters of the San Juan Bay Estuary over a three-year period (2021 to 2024). Among the main findings, the researchers identified that most of the estuary’s water bodies showed indicators of bacterial contamination exceeding the parameters established by the EPA for bodies of water intended for recreational use. Low oxygen levels were also observed in areas with limited exchange with incoming saltwater, a condition that can affect the survival of aquatic organisms.
The study also revealed low levels of nitrogen-15, specifically in the waters of Caño Martín Peña and in Piñones, a finding that was unexpected for the researchers compared with studies conducted in temperate estuaries. According to Dr. Soto Nieves, this result underscores the importance of studying nutrient cycles in tropical estuaries, given that most of the available scientific knowledge about nutrient dynamics in estuaries comes from temperate environments.
The analysis of the San Juan Bay Estuary helps expand this body of knowledge through data obtained directly from an urban tropical ecosystem. The research professor emphasized that the findings also open new opportunities for further study of the estuary’s evolution. “It would be interesting to determine how these physicochemical parameters, bacteria, and nutrients vary in the San Juan Bay Estuary during the Caño Martín Peña restoration project and in the context of global warming,” said Dr. Soto Nieves.
This publication adds to Dr. Soto Nieves’s body of research, which includes projects in genetics, molecular biology, immunology, and environmental sciences, as well as collaborations with academic and scientific institutions in Puerto Rico and the United States. The research also represents the School of Health and Sciences’ commitment to generating knowledge through scientific research that has a positive impact on the environment and society.
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