Carina Seitz headshot

Carina Seitz

Research Assistant Professor She/her/hers

Summary

Dr. Carina Seitz is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at University of Nevada, Reno and a faculty affiliate of the Tahoe Institute for Global Sustainability. She earned her Ph.D. in Geology from the Universidad Nacional del Sur (Argentina) and has interdisciplinary training spanning limnology, aquatic ecology, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and biogeochemistry.

Dr. Seitz’s research focuses on understanding how natural and anthropogenic drivers alter ecosystem processes and long-term environmental change. A central component of her work is based in Lake Tahoe, where she investigates how particle composition influences light penetration, primary production, and food-web dynamics in one of the clearest large lakes in the world.

She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals on topics including algal community structure, lake metabolism, wildfire and smoke impacts on aquatic ecosystems, invasive species, and paleoenvironmental change.

Dr. Seitz is deeply committed to mentoring and training students and is especially passionate about providing early, hands-on research experiences for students interested in aquatic (paleo) ecology, algae, diatoms, geomorphology, and environmental science.

Research interests

  • Limnology and freshwater ecosystem ecology
  • Lake Tahoe water clarity and particle dynamics
  • Algal and diatom ecology
  • Paleoenvironmental reconstructions
  • Lake-watershed processes

Education

  • Ph.D. in Geology, Universidad Nacional del Sur (Argentina), 2019
  • B.S. in Geology, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto (Argentina), 2009

Selected publications

  • Tromboni, F., Jativa, C., Seitz, C., Maasri, A., Mohr, S., Grossart, H.-P., et al. (2025). Flow and biodiversity shifts drive riverine ecosystem metabolism: Insights from experimental stream mesocosms. Limnology and Oceanography.
  • Scordo, F., Seitz, C., Buria, L., Piccolo, M. C., & Perillo, G. M. E. (2025). Climatic and human impacts in Patagonian terminal lakes. Science of the Total Environment.
  • Córdoba, F., Seitz, C., Pisani, N., Santamans, C. D., Guerra, L., Navarro, D., et al. (2025). Paleolimnological records in the southwestern Pampa Plain. In Pampean Lakes (Springer Nature).
  • San Pedro, A. P., Scordo, F., Seitz, C., Krynak, E. M., Girdner, S. F., Blaszczak, J., & Chandra, S. (2025). Context-dependent controls of periphyton across the littoral-benthic habitat of deep, clear lakes. Aquatic Sciences.
  • Scordo, F., Seitz, C., Abasto, B., Spetter, C. V., Piccolo, M. C., & Perillo, G. M. E. (2024). Nutrients limiting the growth of planktonic and benthic-littoral primary producers in Patagonian Andean lakes. Inland Waters.
  • Scordo, F., Seitz, C., Suenaga, E., Piccolo, M. C., Chandra, S., Amodeo, M., & Perillo, G. M. E. (2024). An inexpensive method for measuring photosynthetically active radiation profiles in waterbodies. Aquatic Sciences.
  • Scordo, F., Seitz, C., Abasto, B., Spetter, C. V., Piccolo, M. C., Chandra, S., & Perillo, G. M. E. (2024). Habitat-specific metabolism and nutrient limitation within an oligotrophic Patagonian lake. Hydrobiologia.
  • Bess, Z., Koning, A., Simmons, J., Suenaga, E., San Pedro, A., Culpepper, J., Seitz, C., et al. (2024). Fish diversity and use of nearshore and open-water habitats in terminal lakes. Fisheries.
  • Alfonso, M. B., Scordo, F., Seitz, C., et al. (2024). Filling the gap: Mapping microplastics across ecological gradients in Argentina. Bulletin of Limnology and Oceanography.
  • Seitz, C., Scordo, F., Suenaga, E., Carlson, E. M., McMillen, S., Gregory, L., & Chandra, S. (2023). Salinity and pH effects on survival, growth, and reproduction of quagga mussels. PeerJ.
  • Seitz, C., Kenney, W. F., Patterson-Boyarski, B., Curtis, J. H., Vélez, M. I., Glodzik, K., Escobar, J., & Brenner, M. (2023). Sea-level changes and paleoenvironmental responses in a coastal Florida salt marsh over the last three centuries. Journal of Paleolimnology.
  • Scordo, F., Girdner, S. F., San Pedro, A., Seitz, C., & Chandra, S. (2023). Deterioration of the littoral–benthic ecosystem following recent expansion of signal crayfish in Lake Tahoe. Ecosystems.
  • Noble, P., Seitz, C., Lee, S., Manoylov, K. M., & Chandra, S. (2023). Characterization of algal community composition and structure from the nearshore environment of Lake Tahoe. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
  • Kulkarni, C., Jara, I. A., Chevalier, M., Benito, X., Seitz, C., et al. (2023). Community mobilization for a multidisciplinary paleo database of the Global South. PAGES Magazine.
  • Scordo, F., Seitz, C., Fiorenza, J. E., Piccolo, M. C., & Perillo, G. M. E. (2023). Human impact changes hydrological connectivity in a Patagonian fluvial basin. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies.
  • Seitz, C., Vélez, M. I., & Perillo, G. M. E. (2022). Response of shallow lakes in the arid-semiarid Pampas of Argentina to Late Holocene hydroclimatic change. Quaternary International.
  • Scordo, F., Lottig, N. R., Fiorenza, J. E., Culpepper, J., Simmons, J., Seitz, C., et al. (2022). Hydroclimate variability affects habitat-specific lake metabolism. Water Resources Research.
  • Scordo, F., Sadro, S., Culpepper, J., Seitz, C., & Chandra, S. (2022). Wildfire smoke effects on lake-habitat-specific metabolism. Geophysical Research Letters.
  • Scordo, F., Chandra, S., Suenaga, E., Kelson, J. S., Culpepper, J., Seitz, C., et al. (2021). Smoke from regional wildfires alters lake ecology. Scientific Reports.
  • Seitz, C., Scordo, F., Vitale, A. J., Vélez, M. I., & Perillo, G. M. E. (2021). Effects of extreme climatic events on the morphometry of shallow lakes. Journal of South American Earth Sciences.