Nicole has a degree in Marine Biotechnology and Aquaculture Engineering and a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the University of Concepción. Currently, she is a post-doctoral researcher associated with the SECOS Millennium Institute.
Her doctoral thesis focused on studying the resilience of the socio-ecological system of the mussel farming industry in the face of extreme environmental events, using knowledge of the physiological performance (“reaction norms”) of different M. chilensis seed populations from sites of ecological importance in the Los Lagos Region.
Nicole has also participated in many and diverse outreach activities (Explosub, 48th National Scientific Youth Fair, among others), experiments and national scientific cruises (LowpHOX-2 / AGS-61 Cabo de Hornos, 2018)
Publications:
Castillo N, Gaitán-Espitia JD, Quintero-Galvis JF, Saldías GS, Martel SI, Lardies MA, Mesas A, Péres-Santos IE, Gelcich S, Vargas CA. 2024. Small-scale geographic differences in multiple-driver environmental variability can modulate contrasting phenotypic plasticity despite high leves of gene flow. Science of the Total Environment 954, 176772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176772
Conejeros A, San Martin VA, Castillo N, Cuevas LA, Garcés K, Barra RO, Aguilera VM, Vargas CA. 2024. Interactive impact of residual pyrethroid compounds used in the Chilean salmon farming industry and coastal acidification conditions on the feeding performance of farmed mussels in northern Patagonia. Marine Environmental Research 202: 106727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106727
Castillo N, Saavedra LM, Vargas CA, Gallardo-Escárate C, Detree C. 2017. Ocean acidification and pathogen exposure modulate the immune response of the edible mussel Mytilus chilensis. Fish and Shellfish Immunology 70C: 149-155. DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2017.08.047