Patina Mendez

Patina Mendez is Continuing Lecturer at UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management. She teaches the capstone Environmental Sciences course series and leads Team Caddis, an undergraduate research group studying freshwater ecology with focus on Trichoptera (caddisflies).

Her research examines life history variations in benthic macroinvertebrates across spatial scales, utilizing museum collections and field studies. She maintains databases documenting California caddisfly biodiversity and investigates intermittent stream ecosystems. Awards include multiple teaching fellowships and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

Research topics include caddisfly case-repair behaviors, protandry in emergence patterns, and morphological variation. Her team develops innovative methods like 3D imaging of fluid-preserved specimens.