Professor of Ecology at the University of Girona (UdG) and senior researcher at the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), the two based in Girona, Spain. He is particularly concerned by the effects caused by water scarcity, contaminants, and global change on the structural and functional descriptors of river ecosystems. His research on fluvial ecosystems mainly tackles the role that river algae and biofilms play as the basal component in the river food web. His main themes are the ecology and ecotoxicology of biofilms, the metabolism and functioning of fluvial ecosystems, and the effects of co-occurring multiple stressors as agents of global change. Has co-edited several books and published ca. 300 peer-reviewed papers on ecology and environmental sciences in international scientific journals, and more than 100 other contributions. He is Associate Editor of Science of the Total Environment and is involved in several other Editorial Boards.