Rebeca de Jesús Crespo
Position: Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences
Phone: 225-578-4293
Email: rdejesuscrespo1@lsu.edu
Office: 1263 ECE Building
Lab: 2112 ECE Building
Research Website: Socio-Ecological Systems Lab
Degrees
Ph.D.(s): Ph.D. Integrative Conservation and Ecology, The University of Georgia, 2015
Master's Degrees(s): M.S. Biological Sciences, The University of Puerto Rico, 2008
Bachelor's Degree(s): B.S. Biological Sciences, The University of Puerto Rico, 2004
Research Interests
Watershed scale ecosystem service mapping for resilience planning; Spatial and temporal drivers of mosquito vector distribution in cities.
Research Areas
My current research areas include: The linkages between ecosystem services and human health/well-being; The application of ecosystem service valuation for resilience planning; The ecology of mosquito vectors across socio-ecological gradients in cities; The role of socio-economic disparities on environmental hazard exposure in the US.
Awards & Honors
College the Coast and The Environment Dean's Outstanding Service Award, 2026
College of the Coast and the Environment Outstanding Faculty Research Award 2022-2023
Louisiana State University Rising Research Faculty Award, 2022-2023
National Academy of Sciences Gulf Research Program Early Career Fellowship, 2019
Environmental Justice Award; the USEPA Office for Research and Development; 2018
Scientist of the Year; The USEPA Office for Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division; 2017
The Ford Foundation Dissertation Completion Fellowship, 2014
The American Association for University Women Dissertation Completion Fellowship, 2014
The Fulbright Foundation U.S. Student Program Research Grant, 2013
Sigma Xi Grants in Aid of Research; 2013
The Odum School of Ecology Solitary Glove Award; 2012
The Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute Travel Grant: 2010
Outstanding Graduate-Student; 50th Anniversary of the Institute of Tropical Ecosystem Studies, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras; 2008.
The University of Puerto Rico Center for Applied Tropical Ecology Grant: 2006
Classes Taught
ENVS 7700 Environmental Issues
ENVS 2126 Environmental and Anthropogenic Impacts of Microbes
Selected Publications
Robertson, S. L., de Jesús Crespo, R., Beck, E., Beuerle, L., Martin, P., Stambaugh, R., & Robert, M. A. (2026). Modeling the effects of vector species composition and temperature on the risk of dengue virus. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 88(6), 93.
Corridore, M., de Jesús Crespo, R., Valladares-Castellanos, M., & Douthat, T. (2025). From the Mountains to the Beach: Water Purification Ecosystem Services and Recreational Beach Use in Puerto Rico. Sustainability, 17(6), 2556.
Tama, I. J., Douthat, T., Smiley, K., & de Jesús Crespo, R. (2025). Urban sprawl drives heterogeneous flood exposure patterns along socio-demographic gradients: a case study in the Amite River Basin during the 2016 Louisiana (USA) Floods. Environmental Research Communications, 7(3), 031005.
de Jesús Crespo, R., Pavlakis, A., Breaux, J., & Riegel, C. (2024). Discarded vehicle tires and their association with mosquito vector abundance across socioenvironmental gradients in New Orleans, LA. Journal of Medical Entomology, 61(5), 1240-1250.
de Jesús Crespo, R., Valladares-Castellanos, M., Mihunov, V. V., & Douthat, T. H. (2023). Going with the flow: the supply and demand of sediment retention ecosystem services for the reservoirs in Puerto Rico. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11, 1214037.