Catarina Ritter holds a BSc in Biology (minor in Environmental Biology) and a Master in Biodiversity and Biotechnology, both awarded by the University of the Azores.

Her master thesis entitled “Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of Lake Funda (Flores Island, Azores): tracking climate fluctuations and human impacts during the last millennium” aimed at reconstructing the last thousand years in the Azores through the remains of diatoms. Here it was possible to understand the different past environmental changes caused by human arrival as well as climate change in Flores Island.

Her main interests are taxonomy and ecology of freshwater diatoms, paleoecology and conservation of aquatic ecosystems. She’s currently pursuing the same topic as in her master thesis and continues to develop as a research fellow in the paleolimnological field using the Azores archipelago as a case study.