Elpis J. Chávez

Marine & Wildlife Consultant

Debido a que muchas especies de tiburones cuentan con poblaciones compartidas entre varios países del POT, resulta indispensable contar con programas estandarizados que permitan la comparación de datos en la región y ayuden a establecer políticas de manejo y conservación regionales adecuadas. En este sentido, los programas de marcaje y monitoreo de...

Global biodiversity targets require nations to designate 30 % of their marine waters as protected areas by 2030. Sharks, rays, and chimaeras (hereafter 'sharks') are key components of aquatic ecosystems; however, over a third are globally threatened with extinction. Across the Central and South American Pacific Ocean region, we (i) assessed trends...

Long-distance movements associated with environmental and ecological drivers are common in a wide array of mobile marine species. Understanding such movements and associated drivers is particularly important for management and conservation of threatened species, which may be exposed to anthropogenic threats throughout their range. Pacific nurse sha...

Acoustic telemetry is a popular approach used to track many different aquatic animal taxa in marine and freshwater systems. However, information derived from focal studies is typically resource‐ and geography‐limited by the extent and placement of acoustic receivers. Even so, animals tagged and tracked in one region or study may be detected unexpec...

This document summarizes the current conservation status of the scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), including knowledge gaps and conservation priorities. We used a semi-systematic literature review to compile and classify a total of 166 documents (i.e., scientific articles and grey literature) regardin...

Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) is a near‐threatened elasmobranch species capable of moving between the fresh and salty waters of tropical and subtropical coastal areas, for which we still lack important ecological information. During their first years of life, bull sharks use estuarine systems as nursery areas, making them highly susceptible to e...

Defining demographically independent units and understanding patterns of gene flow between them is essential for managing and conserving exploited populations. The critically endangered scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini, is a coastal semi-oceanic species found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. Pregnant females give birth in sha...

Almost 25% of skates and rays' information worldwide is insufficient to assess their extinction risk. We reported the first seven confirmed records of the rough eagle ray (Aetomylaeus asperrimus) along the north Pacific coast of Costa Rica. These findings suggest that encounters with this species are rare, possibly associated with oceanographic pat...

Almost 25% of skates and rays’ information worldwide is insufficient to assess their extinction risk. We reported the first seven confirmed records of the rough eagle ray (Aetomylaeus asperrimus) along the north Pacific coast of Costa Rica. These findings suggest that encounters with this species are rare, possibly associated with oceanographic pat...

Defining demographically independent units and understanding gene flow between them is essential for managing and conserving exploited populations. The scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini , is a coastal semi-oceanic species found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. Pregnant females give birth in shallow coastal estuarine habitats t...

We present a compilation of published telemetric results, complemented by the addition of new results where necessary, to justify the expansion of the marine protected areas in the Eastern Pacific. In addition, we furnish evidence that fishing effort by commercial vessels, carrying position-monitoring, satellite-communicating radio beacons, has dim...

The mangrove cat-eyed snake Leptodeira rubricata (Cope, 1893) is known to occur from the Central Pacific mangrove forest in Costa Rica to the western extreme of Panamá. We observed and photographed a specimen of Leptodeira rubricata in an estuary at Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The new record represents the northernmost occurrence for this species.

ABSTRACT. Association of sharks with Las Gemelas Seamount and first evidence of connectivity with Cocos Island, Pacific of Costa Rica. Introduction: Seamounts and oceanic islands are known as hotspots of pelagic biodiversity, which highly migratory species use as natural biological corridors. Although marine protected areas have been established in...

La inclusión de una especie amenazada o en peligro de extinción bajo el Apéndice II de la Convención Sobre el Comercio Internacional de Especies Amenazadas de Fauna y Flora Silvestres (CITES) busca regular su comercio internacional cuando el mismo ha sido identificado como causal del estado de conservación actual de la especie y principal amenaza p...

An opportunistic sighting of a reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) along the northeastern corner of Cocos Island, Costa Rica, represents the first sighting of this species nearly 6000 km from the nearest confirmed sighting location in the Marquesas Islands and the first record of this species on either side of the American continent. Cocos Island is si...

Segregation of daily activity patterns is considered an important mechanism facilitating the coexistance of competing species. Here, we evaluated if temporal separation existed among jaguar (Panthera onca), puma (Puma concolor) and ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and if their activity patterns were related to that of a particular prey. We used camera t...

Segregation of daily activity patterns is considered an important mechanism facilitating the coexistance of competing species. Here, we evaluated if temporal separation existed among jaguar (Panthera onca), puma (Puma concolor) and ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and if their activity patterns were related to that of a particular prey. We used camera t...

Bull shark is a coastal species with a great affinity for estuarine habitats during its early life stages. Habitat use and movement patterns of juvenile bull sharks in coastal ecosystems might result from biotic and abiotic factors. We examined the movement patterns, daily activity and habitat use of juvenile bull sharks in the Coyote estuary (nort...

El Parque Nacional Cahuita (PNC) se ubica en el Caribe Sur de Costa Rica, este posee hábitats terrestres y marinos. A nivel terrestre el PNC se considera un fragmento de bosque debido a su pequeña extensión de 1068 ha. Sin embargo es clave para la conectividad dentro del Corredor Biológico Talamanca-Caribe (CBTC) al que pertenece. El presente traba...