Juana LOPEZ Martinez

• PhD
• Senior Researcher at Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste S.C.

This study employs advanced computational techniques to conduct a spatiotemporal analysis of monthly sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll-a concentration (Chla) in the Gulf of California (GC) from 1998 to 2015. The analysis uses satellite imagery with 4 km resolution from AVHRR, MODIS-Aqua, and SeaWiFS sensors, which were processed through...

Coastal lagoons are environmentally and naturally dynamic areas crucial for fish reproduction and nursery. Thus, this research aims to evaluate the importance of the species performing their biological processes and development in this ecosystem. For this purpose, a subtropical coastal lagoon in the Gulf of California was taken as a case study, whe...

During their long evolutionary history, jellyfish have faced changes in multiple environmental factors, to which they may selectively fix adaptations, allowing some species to survive and inhabit diverse environments. Previous findings have confirmed the jellyfish’s ability to synthesize large ATP amounts, mainly produced by mitochondria, in respon...

During their long evolutionary history, jellyfish have faced changes in multiple environmental factors, to which they may selectively fix adaptations allowing some species to survive and inhabit diverse environments. Previous findings have confirmed the jellyfish’s ability to synthesize large ATP amounts, mainly produced by mitochondria, in respons...

The Gulf of California (GC) is the only interior sea in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and is the most important fishing area in the northwestern region of the Mexican Pacific. This study focuses on the oceanographic variability of the GC, including its southern portion, which is an area with a high flow of energy and exchange of properties with the Pac...

Knowledge of the population dynamics and changes in the abundance of Pacific sardine fishery is relevant for fishery management. In this study, an integrated catch-at-age model (ASAP) was performed on 47 fishing seasons (1971−2018) of Sardinops sagax in the Gulf of California, including five indices of relative abundance (survey catch rate, acousti...

Los calamares loligínidos, son moluscos cefalópodos, también conocidos como calamares costeros porque se distribuyen en la plataforma continental de casi todo el mundo, con hábitos demersales o semi-pelágicos. Pertenecientes a la familia Loliginidae, crecen rápidamente, se reproducen casi todo el año, con tasas de fecundidad alta y ciclo de vida co...

The jellyfish genera Stomolophus spp. is one of the most abundant in the Pacific Ocean, yet it has not been thoroughly studied. Until recently, research has been developed and directed to its knowledge because of the economic interest in its exploitation. The genus Stomolophus in the Pacific Ocean is composed of five species (S. agaricus, S. chunii...

Adult fish abundance depends on survival of early life stages, which are susceptible -among other factors- to environmental variability. Ocean mesoscale events (i.e. eddies, costal upwelling, thermal fronts, cold filaments) can be mechanisms of enrichment, concentration, retention and dispersal in marine environments with effects on survival of mar...

The bigeye croaker Micropogonias megalops is an endemic Sciaenidae fish species of the Gulf of California. Although it is a stock that has been exploited for nearly three decades, its biological and fishery information has been limited over time. Therefore, its recent and current population status is poorly known. This study analyzed biological and...

The spider crab Maiopsis panamensis is the largest brachyuran crab in the Gulf of California and is found mainly in deep water. This study of the spider crab reproductive cycle in Mexican coastal waters used histological and chemical methods to describe oogenesis in detail and to define a scale of maturity based on visible characteristics for the d...

Environmental changes have been associated with natural climatic variability and/or human activity. External forcing as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) have implications in the global and regional hydrological balance. Previous data in the Tampamachoco lagoon, in Mexico, for the past 54 years, shows changes in the fish assemblage. Therefore, i...

Exploitation of the cannonball jellyfish (Stomolophus sp. 2) is increasing in Mexico and USA due to successful fisheries associated with seasonal blooms in coastal areas. Previously, it was proposed that such blooms could be identified by recognizing the presence of young stages in the water. In our work, we aim to describe the young stages (ephyra...

Worldwide, Mexico is one of the 17 megadiverse countries, for the climatic, orographic, and biogeographic variability that it bears; however, there is a deficiency in its national biological and environmental databases, since they do not cover long time series and in some cases, the information is lacking (Martínez-Meyer et al., 2014). Currently, g...

Citation: Farach-Espinoza, E.B.; López-Martínez, J.; García-Morales, R.; Nevárez-Martínez, M.O.; Lluch-Cota, D.B.; Ortega-García, S.

The cannonball jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris display colour variations from blue to purple, and different pigmentation patterns on the umbrella surface. Although these colour phenotypes are common in this organism, surprisingly, little is known about the causes and the adaptive significance of these polymorphisms. In this study, we investigated t...

Graceful mojarra (Eucinostomus gracilis) is an important component of the ichthyic fauna of lagoon systems but knowledge of its population aspects is scarce. Monthly samples in the Bahía Magdalena-Almejas Lagoon system (March-August, 2014-2017) were obtained with a trawling net. Abundance was estimated using the swept area method and its spatial va...

Graceful mojarra (Eucinostomus gracilis) is an important component of the ichthyic fauna of lagoon systems but knowledge of its population aspects is scarce. Monthly samples in the Magdalena-Almejas Lagoon system (March-August, 2014-2017) were obtained with a trawling net. Abundance was estimated using the swept area method and its spatial variatio...

Jellyfish are non-model organisms that have brought the scientific community's attention over the last decades since the frequency and intensity of these species blooms around the world have increased significantly. The occurrence of blooms has been hypothesized due to the rise in seawater temperature associated with climate change. This fact has p...

Developing countries may face many obstacles in managing their resources and in assigning conservation status to certain groups or species. One of the main obstacles is the lack of basic and reliable information on habitat of species or ecosystems. Sustainable species management is difficult to attain without this information. A key piece of inform...

This study provides information on the population dynamics of the smooth hammerhead shark Sphyrna zygaena in the central‐southeast Pacific Ocean. The samples were obtained from artisanal fisheries from 2008 to 2013 to analyse cohorts, growth, mortality, abundance and recruitment using methods based on length and relative age and an inference multi‐...

Coastal zones are important areas for the development of diverse ecosystems. The analysis of chlorophyll a (Chl a), as an indicator of primary production in these regions, is crucial for the quantification of phytoplankton biomass, which is considered the main food chain base in the oceans and an indicator of the trophic state index. This variable...

Worldwide catches of cannonball jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) have increased during the last years; nevertheless, this species still lacks updated biological knowledge for its management. This research proposes that the individual growth pattern for jellyfish can be estimated in the absence of age readings through cohort fol...

This study provides information on feeding habits of the lizardfish Synodus scituliceps, one of the most abundant and frequent species in shrimp by-catch in the demersal area in the eastern coast of the Gulf of California, Mexico. Stomach content analyses were performed on 114 organisms caught from August 2004 to March 2005, and Levin's index was a...

To evaluate growth of the Pacific sardine in the Gulf of California, fish samples were collected from the commercial fleet during the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 fishing seasons. Sardine samples were measured in standard length (SL) and age was determined based on counting opaque and hyaline growth increments in the otoliths. Four growth models we...

Biometric relationships were estimated for the three most important shrimp species on the coasts of the Gulf of California, Mexico. Individuals were obtained from six lagoon systems, and offshore sites along the east coast of the Gulf of California, mainly in the state of Sonora, between March and September of 2015 and 2016. A total of 25,764 indiv...

Biometric relationships were estimated for the three most important shrimp species on the coasts of the Gulf of California, Mexico. Individuals were obtained from six lagoon systems, and offshore sites along the east coast of the Gulf of California, mainly in the state of Sonora, between March and September of 2015 and 2016. A total of 25,764 indiv...

Aspects of distribution and population dynamics were assessed in two rock shrimp species of the genus Sicyonia. Samples were obtained by sea bottom trawling in depths from 50 to 460 m during two research cruises on board the B/I BIP XII in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Taxonomic identification of specimens was performed; measurements of individua...

To evaluate growth of the Pacific sardine in the Gulf of California, fish samples were collected from the commercial fleet during the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 fishing seasons. Sardine samples were measured in standard length (SL) and age was determined based on counting opaque and hyaline growth increments in the otoliths. Four growth models we...

Knowledge of biomass and demographic aspects is important in fish stock assessments. These aspects were analyzed on Micropogonias megalops in the Gulf of Cali-fornia, Mexico, using biological data from catches in 2010-12. Individual growth was estimated following a multi-model approach. Logistic models were used for first maturity and fishing selec...

El pez dorado ha sido de interés por su resiliencia y su estilo de vida pelágico, por lo que investigamos sobre la variabilidad lipídica de los ovocitos en 7 localidades diferentes del Golfo de California.

First report of the dynamic populations (structure size, growth, size at first maturity, longevity, natural mortality, and recruitment pattern) of black brotula Cherublemma emmelas in the Gulf of California. Growth parameters (L, k and to) were estimated using the von Bertalanffy model. The ELEFAN II method was used to estimate recruitment pattern...

The coastal zones are areas with a high flow of energy and materials where diverse ecosystems are developed. The study of coastal oceanography is important to understand the variability of these ecosystems and determine their role in biogeochemical cycles and climate change. Sea surface temperature (SST) analysis is indispensable for the characteri...

La medusa, a pesar de no ser muy común en la cultura occidental, es un producto del mar con un gran potencial como alimento, así como en la medicina y la biotecología.

The immigration of white shrimp Penaeus setiferus (Decapoda: Penaeidae) postlarvae (Pls) into the Terminos Lagoon was studied to determine the annual pattern of abundance and its relationship with temperature, salinity, tidal current velocity, and river discharge. Zooplankton samples were simultaneously obtained fortnightly at surface, mid-water, a...

La medusa, a pesar de no ser muy común en la cultura occidental, es un producto del mar con un gran potencial como alimento, así como en la medicina y la biotecología

The immigration of white shrimp Litopenaeus setiferus (Decapoda: Penaeidae) postlarvae (Pls) into the Terminos Lagoon was studied to determine the annual pattern of abundance and its relationship with temperature, salinity, tidal current velocity, and river discharge. Zooplankton samples were simultaneously obtained fortnightly at surface, mid-wate...

Knowledge of biomass and demographic aspects is important in fish stock assessments. These aspects were analyzed on Micropogonias megalops in the Gulf of Cali-fornia, Mexico, using biological data from catches in 2010-12. Individual growth was estimated following a multi-model approach. Logistic models were used for first maturity and fishing selec...

Se presentan los resultados más sobresalientes de las diversas investigaciones que el Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, S. C. ha llevado a cabo en torno al tema de los efectos de las redes de arrastre en los fondos marinos del Golfo de California. El enfoque con que ha sido abordado el problema es multidisciplinario e interinstituc...

Coastal lagoons are characterized by high diversity, richness, and abundance of fishes, which can be modified by high variability of environmental conditions. The present study aims to describe the structure of the fish community and related its seasonal variability with temperature and salinity in a coastal lagoon. During 6 seasonal sampling campa...

From September 2004 to February 2005, 204 specimens of Etropus peruvianus were collected onboard exploratory fishing cruises in the eastern Gulf of California, caught in trawls at 276 m in depth. This finding exceeds the limit of vertical distribution (125 m) previously known for this species. Oceanographic conditions (such as temperature, salinity...

This study analyzed monthly and inter-annual variability of mesoscale phenomena, including the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) climate indexes and wind intensity considering their influence on sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll a (Chl-a). These analyses were performed to determine the effects, i...

The aim of this study was to determine the presence of the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in zooplankton organisms collected from an important shrimp-culture area of the Gulf of California. Environmental water parameters (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH) were monitored, and zooplankton was collected. Samples were sectioned accordi...

Background: The presence of Laemonema verecundum (Jordan & Cra mer, 1897) had not been previously reported at depths less than 666 m. Goals: The objective of the research was to study the bathymetric distribution of L. verecundum. Methods: In the eastern continental shelf of the Gulf of California, 648 specimens of L. verecundum were collec ted d...

Jellyfish (primarily scyphomedusae) fisheries have a long history in Asia, where jellyfish have been caught and processed as food for centuries. More recently, jellyfish fisheries have expanded to the Western Hemisphere, often driven by demand from Asian buyers and collapses of more traditional local fish stocks. Jellyfish fisheries have been attem...

The knowledge of the population dynamics and changes of biomass of harvested marine species is relevant for fisheries management. In this study, a catch-at-age analysis for jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas called CAGEAN-JS model was implemented. So, for illustrative purposes and based on the best biological and fishery data available, the advantages of...

Background Malformations of the Round stingray Urobatis hallerii, Cooper 1863 captured off the southwestern coast of Baja California Sur, México are reported in this study. Methods The ray was an adult male captured by artisanal fishery in the area of Estero Banderitas. Size measurements of total length and disk width were taken; the organism could...

Ten specimens of the dappled flounder Paralichthys woolmani were captured at a depths from 109 to 248.1 m in the central Gulf of California in an exploration cruise on board the research ship BIP XII in February 2005. The average temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration were 14.5°C and 1.01 mg O2 L⁻¹, respectively. P. woolmani had not been re...

The Northern Gulf of California (NGC) is a mega diverse area of high endemism with major economic interest because of the multi-specific fisheries developed, mainly shrimp. There is a lack of recent studies on bycatch fish assemblages, so during the fishing seasons from 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, on board 13 shrimp boats, 14 commercial fishing trips...

We presented the species composition and biogeography at the Las Guasimas Lagoon, located in the central portion of the Gulf of California. We perform seven sampling and the seasonal collections were made with three gear: cast nets, seine and trawl line. We recorded 95 species represented by 16 orders, 38 families and 67 genera. The families in num...

We presented the species composition and biogeography at the Las Guásimas Lagoon, located in the central portion of the Gulf of California. We perform seven sampling and the seasonal collections were made with three gear: cast nets, seine and trawl line. We recorded 95 species represented by 16 orders, 38 families and 67 genera. The families in num...

The mesozooplankton community of Las Guásimas, a coastal lagoon at the coast of Sonora, Mexico, was investigated to determine, for the first time, their composition, structure and diversity monthly, given the high ecological and fisheries importance of this ecosystem and its designation as a RAMSAR site. Sampling was conducted at two representative...

The diet and feeding pattern of scyphomedusa Stomolophus meleagris (Rhizostomeae) was studied, by comparing stomach samples from different developmental stages and environmental zooplankton with the aim to determine diet composition, trophic niche breadth, selectivity and feeding overlap of this edible jellyfish species. Samplings were performed du...

Bottom trawling has been considered a fishing activity that affects and modifies habitats, because of its impacts in species composition and abundance, and the alteration in the structure and function of the ecosystem, that generates biodiversity loss. The Northern part of the Gulf of California has been considered a mega diverse zone with high end...

Some flatfish’s species are caught incidentally in bottom-trawls and some of them are the target of an artisanal fishery in the Gulf of California, Mexico. To know the number of individuals removed from a population and the effects of their removal, the aim in this study was to estimate the abundance of flatfishes caught as bycatch in bottom-trawls...

La pesca de arrastre ha sido considerada como una actividad que impacta y modifica hábitats, provoca cambios en la composición y abundancias de las especies y altera la estructura y funcionamiento del ecosistema, generando finalmente una pérdida de la biodiversidad. La parte norte del Golfo de California ha sido considerada una zona mega diversa de...

The trophic spectrum of both Eucinostomus entomelas and Micropogonias megalops, the two most abundant fish species in Laguna Las Guasimas, Sonora, Mexico is described in our study. A total of 21 types of prey were identified belonging to seven taxonomic groups (Crustacea, Mollusca, Annelida, Rhodophyta, Copepoda, Echinodermata and Chordata) to anal...

We analyzed mantle length and age data of the whole ontogenic cycle of the jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas in the Gulf of California, Mexico, to describe its growth pattern. Several individual growth models that included asymptotic and non-asymptotic patterns were fitted to the data, and Akaike’s information criterion and multimodel inference were used...

Population dynamics of 3 Callinectes species: C. arcuatus, C. bellicosus, and C. toxotes are reported for the first time as incidental shrimp bycatch samplings captured in the eastern Gulf of California in a range from 10 to 77 m in depth from September 2004 to March 2005. Growth, longevity, recruitment pattern, mortality (natural, total, and by fi...

The cannonball jellyfish (S. meleagris) has reached production levels that has led it to become an important fishery resource in Las Guásimas, Sonora, a coastal lagoon in northwestern Mexico; however, its ecological importance and role in the ecosystem remain unstudied. This contribution describes the diet composition of this species in order to re...

Population dynamics of the goatfish Pseudupeneus grandisquamis and the round ray Urobatis halleri were assessed as dominant shrimp trawl bycatch species in the Gulf of California. Samplings were collected during the 2004-2005 shrimp season onboard 13 shrimp vessels. A total of 3,586 organisms were analyzed (n = 2,463 of P. grandisquamis and n = 1,1...

Catch-at-size data were analyzed for Farfantepenaeus californiensis from fishing seasons 1978/1979 to 1994/1995. The catch-at-size model could be fitted to the catch-at-size data for the different fishing seasons. It was observed that the recruitment to the fishery changed suddenly during the study period, and the recruitment to the fishery may occ...

Population dynamics of the goatfish Pseudupeneus grandisquamis and the round ray Urobatis halleri were assessed as dominant shrimp trawl bycatch species in the Gulf of California. Samplings were collected during the 2004-2005 shrimp season onboard 13 shrimp vessels. A total of 3,586 organisms were analyzed (n = 2,463 of P. grandisquamis and n = 1,1...

The Brown smooth-hound Mustelus henlei is part of an important commercial fishery on the western coast of Baja California Sur (BCS), Mexico. However, very few studies have been performed on the feeding and reproduction biology of these sharks in Mexico. Our study is the first work focusing on this species on the western shelf (14 m to 250 m in dept...

The Brown smooth-hound Mustelus henlei is part of an important commercial fishery on the western coast of Baja California Sur (BCS), Mexico. However, very few studies have been performed on the feeding and reproduction biology of these sharks in Mexico. Our study is the first work focusing on this species on the western shelf (14 m to 250 m in dept...

Jellyfish has been captured in Asia for 1700 years, and it has been considered a delicacy. Since the 70s important jellyfish fisheries have developed in several parts of the world, with catches increasing exponentially, reaching 500,000 tons per year in the mid-nineties. In Mexico, only the cannonball jellyfish Stomolo-phus meleagris is captured co...

Se registró por primera vez la asociación entre la escifomedusa Stomolophus meleagris (Agassiz 1862) y el cirripedio Conchoderma virgatum (Spengler 1790) en el Golfo de California, durante la temporada de pesca del recurso medusa en abril de 2010 en Guaymas, México. A pesar de su amplia distribución, los registros del cirripedio C. virgatum son esc...

The association between the scyphomedusae Stomolophus meleagris (Agassiz 1862) and a cirripede indentified as Conchoderma cf virgatum (Spengler, 1790) in the Gulf of California was recorded for the first time on April 2010, during the fishing season of edible jellyfish in Guaymas, Mexico. Despite its wide distribution, records on this barnacle are...

The association between the scyphomedusae Stomolophus me-leagris (Agassiz 1862) and a cirripede indentified as Conchoderma cf virgatum (Spengler, 1790) in the Gulf of California was recorded forthe first time on April 2010, during the fishing season of edible jellyfish in Guaymas, Mexico. Despite its wide distribution, records on this barnacle are...