Members projects

Alex Hearn

• The role of oceanic islands and seamounts for the conservation of the marine migratory species of the Galapagos Marine Reserve.
• Marine megafauna of the Ecuadorean coast.

César Peñaherrera

• Assessing the potential distribution shift of marine migratory species in the Eastern Pacific Ocean due to climate change.
• Fishing effort in and around Marine Protected Areas of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
• Marine species monitoring via stereo and 360 baited remote underwater videos.
• Structural and functional connectivity in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Frida Lara

• Residence and connectivity of sharks and mantas in the Mexican Pacific Ocean.
• Monitoring of pelagic species of commercial importance in the Archipelago of Revillagigedo via baited remote underwater videos.

Ilena Zanella

• Manta and Mobula Conservation in the Pacific of Costa Rica.
• Conservation of the hammerhead shark in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica.
• Conservation of the bull shark in Murciélagos Islands, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
• Research on resident and migratory shark species of Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica.

Mario Espinoza

• Evaluation of the effectiveness of eDNA and baited remote underwater visual stations (BRUVS) to monitor sharks and rays in Costa Rica.
• Use of acoustic telemetry and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to study the behavior of threatened species.
• Residency and movement patterns of hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in Matapalito and Bahía Santa Elena, north Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
• The secret life of sharks: distribution, abundance and trophic ecology of sharks and rays using BRUVS and stable isotopes.
• Spatial and seasonal patterns of elasmobranchs in Bahía Santa Elena.
• In search of nearly extinct fishes: status of the critically endangered largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis) in Costa Rica.
• Composition, structure and trophic ecology of reef fishes in the Pacific of Costa Rica.
• Movements and habitat use of commercially important snappers in Bahía Santa Elena, north Pacific of Costa Rica.
• Estimating abundance and biomass of ecological indicator species at Costa Rican seamounts.

Mauricio Hoyos

• Conservation of sharks and rays in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, Mexico.
• Trophic ecology and behavior of the white shark in Guadalupe Island, Mexico.
• Sharks Movement Patterns in Clipperton Island, France.

Patricia Zárate

• Movement of mako, porbeagle, and blue sharks and swordfish and their associated environment in the north coast of Chile.
• Determination of the trophic ecology and energy relationships of the trophic webs of mako, porbeagle, and blue sharks, swordfish and dolphinfish.
• Determination of the genetic structure and trophic ecology of the smooth hammerhead shark, Sphyrna zygaena.
• Determination of the origin of sea turtle species that interact with highly migratory resource fisheries and mitigation measures with potential for experimentation and implementation.
• Diet of the common sea lion through the analysis of stable isotopes, with emphasis on determining the contribution of sea turtles.
• Genetic diversity and population structure of pelagic sharks through Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs).
• Estimate the abundance of cetaceans on systematic design platforms.
• Evaluation of the incidental fishing of sea turtles, and marine birds and mammals in fishing fleets that catch swordfish, pelagic sharks and deep-sea dorado.

Randall Aráuz

• Distribution, abundance, habitat use and trophic ecology of threatened marine species in the Costa Rican Pacific coast.
• Migratory movements of sea turtles and elasmobranchs in the Cocos Island National Park and the Submarine Mountains Marine Management Area.

Rodrigo Huck

• Ecology and conservation of large baleen whales of the Chilean Patagonia.
• Marine ecosystem conservation in Chilean Patagonia: linking science with marine protected areas implementation.

Sandra Bessudo

• Shark nursery areas in the Colombian Pacific (movement patterns, DNA, mercury, ecology and conservation).
• Sharks, pelagic and commercially important species monitoring at Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary, Colombia.
• Observation of marine fauna on seamounts of the Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary and Yuruparí Marine Managed District, Colombia.
• Tagging of sharks and billfishes at seamounts of the Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary and Yuruparí Marine Managed District, Colombia.
• Movement patterns and regional connectivity of sharks in the Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary, Colombia.
• Tissue collection for population studies and levels of mercury and heavy metals, Colombia.

Todd Steiner

• Cleaning stations dynamics at Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica.
• Hammerhead shark photo identification in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.
• Microplastics incidence in sandy beaches.

Yannis Papastamatiou

• Competition amongst top predators at Revillagigedo National Park, Mexico.
• Social behavior in scalloped hammerheads from Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Social foraging in white sharks from Guadalupe Island, Mexico.