Edlin Guerra-Castro

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México | UNAM · Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores (ENES) Unidad Mérida

Cryptic species in coral reefs, such as sea slugs, represent an important portion of their biodiversity, which is usually underestimated. Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) have been implemented to estimate cryptic diversity in coral reefs. Therefore, this research aimed to contribute to the southern Gulf of Mexico (GM) and the Caribbean...

Biotic remains have been used in paleoecological studies to provide information on past environmental conditions. Death assemblages can be used to make inferences about past environmental conditions if modern optima and ranges of taxa are known. Gaps in knowledge about historical biotic changes often stem from a paucity of information regarding spe...

With the aim of analyzing the biodiversity of coral reefs, specifically of the benthic marine fauna, this manual was prepared by a group of taxonomic experts to guide the adequate treatment and preservation of organisms associated with autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) and thus for inclusion in scientific collections.

Functional diversity measures help to understand the underlying mechanisms explaining the relationship between organisms and environment. This work examined the mesozooplankton community of an estuary under the hypothesis that the upper (< 25 psu) and lower (> 25 psu) zones are functionally different in terms of feeding strategies, trophic groups,...

Geomorphic differences among Caribbean reefs have long been noted. These differences are considered to reflect the presence of reefs in different stages of development, following an incomplete recovery from rapid deglacial sea-level rise. But the possibility that these reflect real developmental differences caused by variation in wind, wave, and cl...

The complexity of the social, economic, and environmental characteristics of the coastal zone represents a challenge for decision-makers to identify the socio-environmental conditions of sandy beaches and, consequently, the application of effective management measures. In this study, we propose a quantitative three-step approach to meet this need,...

Microalgae can accumulate lipids during the stationary growth phase, but little information is available about fatty acid profile changes during this phase to determine the best harvesting time in respect to lipid content. In this study, Dunaliella sp. was cultured in F/2 medium at three different photon flux densities (380, 226 and 8.2 μmol photon...

Autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) have been proposed as a standardized, passive, nondestructive sampling tool. This study assessed the ability of ARMS to capture the cryptic species diversity of two coral reefs by recording species richness and taxonomic representativeness using conventional taxonomy. The capacity of ARMS, as artificial...

La coloración es uno de los principales factores que determina el valor de los peces ornamentales en el mercado. En condiciones de cultivo en aguas claras generalmente muestran un color poco atractivo para los compradores. Se emplearon 60 ejemplares de Xiphophorus helleri para determinar su crecimiento, sobrevivencia, color y nivel de agrado luego...

The discussion about the drivers that govern the spatial patterns of diversity has been focussed on two seemingly independent models: (1) neutral dynamics, mediated by larval supply and dispersal limitations, and (2) niche processes, mainly environmental control. However, metacommunity theory assumes that drivers evoked by both models (niche and ne...

Acquiring marine biodiversity data is difficult, costly, and time-consuming, making it challenging to understand the distribution and abundance of life in the ocean. Historically, approaches to biodiversity sampling over large geographic scales have advocated for equivalent effort across multiple sites to minimize comparative bias. When effort cann...

Mollusk diversity in coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has been studied extensively, but this is not the case for deep-water habitats. We present the first quantitative characterization of mollusks in shallow and deep waters of the Perdido Fold Belt. The data came from two research cruises completed in 2017. Sediment samples were collected...

SSP (simulation‐based sampling protocol) is an R package that uses simulations of ecological data and dissimilarity‐based multivariate standard error (MultSE) as an estimator of precision to evaluate the adequacy of different sampling efforts for studies that will test hypothesis using permutational multivariate analysis of variance. The procedure...

Urban tourist beach ecosystems provide the essential service of recreation. These ecosystems also support critical ecological functions where biodiversity conservation is not usually a priority. The sudden lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic created a unique opportunity to evaluate the effects of human absence in these urban-coastal ecosystems. T...

The biodiversity of the coastal ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico is threatened by anthropogenic activities of various kinds. The predominant portion of the land-sea margin in the State of Yucatán consists of exposed sandy beaches. This ecosystem is threatened by several activities that vary in spatial scales, at a local: cargo/fishing ports, touris...

Aim: We evaluated whether patterns of species diversity (α, β and γ) of rocky shore assemblages followed latitudinal gradients (i.e. LDGs) along the South American coasts, and tested hypotheses related to potential processes sustaining or disrupting the expected LDG pattern at various spatial scales. Location: Coasts of South America. Taxon: Macroa...

The abundance of the alien, Indo-Pacific damselfish Neopomacentrus cyanomos on an oil-loading platform in the southwest Gulf of Mexico indicates that widely distributed platforms could facilitate the expansion of its geographic range across the western and northern fringes of the Gulf. From there it likely will spread to other areas of the Greater...

SSP (simulation based sampling protocol) is an R package that uses simulation of ecological data and dissimilarity based multivariate standard error (MultSE) as an estimator of precision to evaluate the adequacy of different sampling efforts for studies that will test hypothesis using permutational multivariate analysis of variance. The procedure c...

Knowledge on the status and trends in marine biodiversity, and associated drivers of biodiversity change across the Americas is sparse and geographically uneven. International cooperation is needed to fill observational gaps at these geographic scales and provide information to satisfy policy targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development a...

The ascidians are one of the most diverse taxonomic groups in the reefs of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Actually, 76 species have been registered in 5 studies only in Gulf of México. However, the patterns of distribution and diversity of species in these regions have not been described, using standardized methodologies that allow postu...

https://obis.org/dataset/5700fdc3-956f-4e33-903b-e66ba38d980c

This study aimed to evaluate possible modification of some immune‐related genes (hemocyanin, alpha2‐macroglobulin, prophenoloxidase and penaeidin3a) at the transcriptional level and signs of disease and mortality in Litopenaeus vannamei previously reared in biofloc and challenged with different Vibrio harveyi densities (103–108 CFU per ml). Gene ex...

Population studies of the economically important blue land crab, Cardisoma guanhumi Latreille in Latreille, Le Peletier, Serville & Guérin, 1828, were undertaken in a mangrove forest (Avicennia germinans) and in grasslands dominated by sacaton grass (Sporobolus spp.) Population density, size of crabs (indirect estimation of individuals in burrows),...

Diversity patterns of the deep-sea megafauna in the Caribbean Basin and the Guiana ecoregion were analyzed in order to test the hypothesis of species richness variation as a function of depth and the hypothesis of non-differences between ecoregions by analyzing spatial patterns of five taxa and a merged assemblage. Collections of five taxa (corals,...

Taxa included in the present study. (XLSX)

Chao2 estimation of species richness and 95% confidence intervals (thin lines) for the upper continental shelf (red) and continental slope (blue) for each taxon and merged assemblage at the Caribbean Basin and Guiana ecoregion. (DOCX)

The effectiveness of the immune defense of Litopenaeus vannamei previously reared in biofloc or in a traditional clear seawater rearing system was assessed after a bacterial challenge with a pathogenic strain of Vibrio harveyi. The changes caused by its previous rearing system condition or the challenge were assessed in terms of metabolites (glucos...

Asteroids of the genus Echinaster are key predators in several benthic coastal ecosystems. Despite their ecological importance, little is known about the population biology of these species, including the response to coastal environmental heterogeneity. This manuscript aims to describe population features (spatial distribution, abundance and densit...

The essence of the generalised multivariate Behrens–Fisher problem (BFP) is how to test the null hypothesis of equality of mean vectors for two or more populations when their dispersion matrices differ. Solutions to the BFP usually assume variables are multivariate normal and do not handle high-dimensional data. In ecology, species' count data are...

RESUMEN En noviembre de 2013 se inició la construcción del segundo puente sobre la laguna de La Restinga, una obra que busca potenciar el transporte hacia la Península de Macanao. A partir de entonces, se generó un conflicto entre las autoridades gubernamentales proponentes de la obra y estudiantes e investigadores de la Universidad de Oriente, qui...

High variability in species diversity among samples from the same site is a consistent pattern described for several benthic marine assemblages. In general, small-scale spatial variability has been shown to be as significant as regional-scale variability in species diversity, indicating that the processes which generate such patterns are equally im...

The analysis of spatial patterns of biodiversity remains a focal issue in ecological studies. The recognition of spatial scales at which significant differences in biodiversity are detected allows us to infer the relative importance of the ecological processes that may shape those patterns. In marine benthic studies, small-scale variability is alwa...

Background: This study compiles the diversity of sea anemones in different shallow habitats (i.e. rocky shores, coral reefs, mangroves and sandy bottoms) in several locations of Venezuela, including the most important marine reserves of Venezuela: Morrocoy National Park, Mochima National Park, Archipiélago de Los Roques National Park, Laguna de La...

A pesar de todo el esfuerzo realizado a nivel mundial para la cuantificación de la biodiversidad, aún no ha sido posible registrar a todas las especies existentes. Esto es particularmente notable en las anémonas marinas, grupo de organismos caracterizados por ser difíciles de muestrear, preservar e identificar. En efecto, a pesar de los avances en te...

Los patrones de distribución y abundancia de especies, así como las escalas espaciales y temporales en las cuales éstas varían, son el núcleo de los grandes debates para la generación de teorías en ecología. En aras de contribuir con esta discusión, en este estudio se evaluó la importancia relativa de las teorías más notables que buscan explicar lo...

Para la estimación de la estructura de tamaños en cangrejos terrestres comerciales y la obtención de información relevante para su manejo, es necesario utilizar métodos rápidos, confiables y no destructivos. Cardisoma guanhumi y Ucides cordatus son dos cangrejos terrestres que son explotados comercialmente en el Caribe y en Brasil. El propósito de...

This study is aimed to be carried out in most countries of the entire South American continent. As of today, scientists from Colombia (Pacific coast), Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador and Chile have agreed to participate in this project.

Las raíces de mangle en el mar Caribe albergan una diversidad de especies incrustantes que no se observan en manglares de otros mares. En Venezuela, una de las lagunas costeras más estudiadas es el Parque Nacional Laguna La Restinga. Varios inventarios florísticos y faunísticos han sido levantados; sin embargo, los componentes de diversidad de espe...

Mangrove roots in the Caribbean Sea host a variety of encrusting species not seen in mangroves from other regions. In Venezuela, one of the most studied coastal lagoons is La Restinga Lagoon National Park. Several inventories of flora and fauna have been carried out there, but the components of species diversity (α, β, γ) have not yet been quantifi...

The implementation of ultrasonic telemetry as a technique to evaluate ecological traits of marine organisms has allowed biologists to obtain information that is hard or impossible to achieve by traditional sampling methods; which in turn improves the quantification, in their natural habitats, of activity patterns, movements, migrations, habitat uti...

Assemblages growing on Caribbean red-mangrove roots are very diverse and characteristically dominated by sponges. The scales of spatial variation of this fauna in the Caribbean region have not been hierarchically quantified, although such information is necessary to understand the relative importance of ecological processes and possible responses t...

Assemblages associated with intertidal rocky shores were examined for large scale distribution patterns with specific emphasis on identifying latitudinal trends of species richness and taxonomic distinctiveness. Seventy-two sites distributed around the globe were evaluated following the standardized sampling protocol of the Census of Marine Life Na...

grupos indígenas contemporáneos e inferir sobre migraciones, ha sido demostrada; pero la imposibilidad de estudiar grupos prehispánicos extintos, limita las inferencias sobre migraciones en esa época. El mestizaje en poblaciones neoamericanas ha sido caracterizado por uniones entre hombres europeos y mujeres indígenas, permitiendo detectar en la po...

Home range, movements and zonation of Arenaeus cribrarius and Callinectes ornatus were analyzed in Ensenada de La Vela, in the Venezuelan Caribbean, using acoustic telemetry. Transmitters were attached to the carapace of 11 A. cribrarius and 11 C. ornatus, which were tracked during five campaigns between October 2002 and December 2003. The position...