Acknowledgements

I wouldn’t be able to write an individual thank you to everyone who has helped along the way with this research here, or I would have to start another PhD just to have time for that. But I want to give a special shout-out to Jessa Garibay-Yayen, who has been such an amazing help in so many aspects of this work. She was also the one who designed this website. So please check her work out here.

I would also like to thank the tireless efforts of María Granados Presa, who has worked many dedicated hours as a lab technician on the mass mortality event projects.

Special thanks to Olesya Kolmakova for giving so much time to helping answer all my questions, and to Sebastian Rock, who is always up for late-night sample processing grinds.

And of course, thanks to my supervisor, David Aldridge, the Aquatic Ecology Group, and countless others.