María Gabriela Montiel Villalobos

• PhD - Biological Sciences
• Executive Assistant at ReGeneC - Red de Genética para la Conservación

Introduction: Integrating genetic data into conservation management decisions is a challenging task that requires strong partnerships between researchers and managers. Conservation in Latin America is of crucial relevance worldwide given the high biodiversity levels and the presence of hotspots in this region. Methods: We conducted a survey across...

Las tortugas marinas tienen amplia distribución en los ambientes marino-costeros del planeta. El estado de conservación de estos ambientes ha sido evaluado por décadas a partir de la presencia o ausencia de ciertas especies, consideradas ‘centinelas’, tales como las tortugas. Sin embargo, en los humedales costeros de Venezuela la presencia de estos...

Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is highly impacted by fisheries’ by-catch worldwide. This study updates and estimates the leatherback turtle stranding records from 2001 to 2014 in the Gulf of Venezuela. Eighty-six stranded leatherback turtles were documented in the coast of the Gulf of Venezuela. Immature leatherback turtles were the most...

Marine turtles are challenging species to protect because they occur over large geographic scales. Tagging individual turtles at nesting beaches and foraging areas, and the resulting mark-recapture data sets have gradually enabled us to understand their migratory behaviour and dispersal. Within the Caribbean region, several turtle tagging projects...

Fisheries, either directed or via bycatch, are a major cause of decline in global populations of marine turtles. Although artisanal fisheries are often seen as lower-impact than industrial fisheries, they may be among the most serious threats to green turtles. Between 2005 and 2008, to better understand the impacts of such fisheries in the High Ext...

The countless tranquil beaches of the Caribbean, with their gently lapping waves and fringing palm trees, give the feeling of permanence. Although you could be excused for thinking that these ecosystems—and their sea turtle inhabitants—have remained largely untouched for millennia, this is far from the truth. Sea turtles have provided the people of...

Background Marine turtles play an important role in the culture and economy of numerous coastal communities around the world. However, the legal framework that regulates the consumptive use of these reptiles varies among countries.For example, the consumption of these reptiles has been regarded as common in several rural areas of Venezuela, especia...

Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) strandings in the Gulf of Venezuela (GV) were evaluated to estimate: (1) the area of most frequent strandings; (2) the period of greatest strandings; and (3) the number of strandings that exhibit evidence of human interaction. We gathered data from three sources: (1) scientific patrols; (2) Opportune Inform...

Coral reef ecosystems are considered by several authors as key areas which hold a vast diversity of marine species. Comprehensive studies have been developed in Venezuela describing these ecosystems both taxonomically and ecologically. Nevertheless, there has been a lack of information from the Gulf of Venezuela. Systematic information was gathered...

Descripción Chelonia mydas es la tortuga más grande de la familia Cheloniidae. Tiene la cabeza pequeña y redondeada anteriormente, de unos 15 cm de ancho (Pritchard y Trebbau 1984), y el pico córneo aserrado. En el Atlántico occidental las hembras adultas pueden medir más de 120 cm de longitud y pesar más de 150 kg (Pritchard y Mortimer 2000, Lagu...

A nivel del Caribe, el Golfo de Venezuela (GV) es un área de alimentación importante para una especie amenazada de tortuga marina, la verde (Chelonia mydas), pero el GV además soporta altos niveles de extracción artesanal. Para entender el impacto de esta extracción en colonias anidadoras en el Caribe y los factores que influyen en cuáles son las c...

Dolphins of the genus Sotalia (Delphinidae) occur along the Atlantic and Caribbean coasts of South and Central America and in the Amazon and Orinoco River basins (Flores and Da Silva, 2009; da Silva et al., 2010 this volume; Gómez-Salazar et al., 2010 this volume). The genus has been divided into two species based on skull morphology (Monteiro Filh...

Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play a key role in the initiation of immune response in jawed vertebrates. Variation at MHC loci can be used as an indicator of the genetic ‘health’ of natural populations and offer insight into potential susceptibility to epizootics. Here we present the first characterization of the sequence vari...

Here we consider the phylogeography and population structure of the South American coastal and riverine dolphins, Sotalia guianensis and Sotalia fluviatilis, based on samples (n = 76) collected across more than 9000km of the species distribution. Phylogenetic reconstruction of 31 distinct haplotypes based on a combined analysis of two mitochondrial...

RESUMEN El delfín estuarino Sotalia guianensis se encuentra distribuido a lo largo de la costa Atlántica. En Venezuela, es localizado principalmente en el Sistema del Lago de Maracaibo. Con el propósito de aportar información sobre los patrones de comportamiento alimenticio de esta especie se realizaron observaciones directas y registros audiovisua...

Resumen. Por medio del hallazgo de una osamenta de un ejemplar varado, en mayo de 2007, se registra por vez primera en la costa norte de la Isla Zapara (10°58′48″ N, 071°34′30″ O), del estado Zulia, Venezuela, la presencia de la Ballena Cabeza de Melón Peponocephala electra (Gray, 1846) (Cetacea: Delphinidae). La osamenta constó de un cráneo, una m...

En el año 2002 el Informe del Grupo de Especialistas en Tortugas Marinas para la UICN reportó la disminución de las pobla-ciones de tortuga verde (Chelonia mydas) en el océano Atlántico y el Caribe en más de 50% entre 1947 y 1994, asociada con la sobreexplotación de subproductos, morta-lidad incidental ocasionada por pesquerías, y degradación de há...

The evolutionary relationships among members of the cetacean family Delphinidae, the dolphins, pilot whales and killer whales, are still not well understood. The genus Sotalia (coastal and riverine South American dolphins) is currently considered a member of the Stenoninae subfamily, along with the genera Steno (rough toothed dolphin) and Sousa (hu...

Dolphins of the genus Sotalia are found along the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts of Central and South America and in the Amazon River and most of its tributaries. At present, the taxonomy of these dolphins remains unresolved. Although five species were described in the late 1800s, only one species is recognized currently (Sotalia fluviatilis) with t...

Dolphins of the genus Sotalia are found along the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts of Central and South America and in the Amazon River and most of its tributaries. At present, the taxonomy of these dolphins remains unresolved. Although five species were described in the late 1800s, only one species is recognized currently (Sotalia fluviatilis) with t...

The manatee, of the order Sirenia, the only group of completely herbivorous aquatic mammals, is endangered of world level extinction. The species present in Venezuela is known as the Caribbean manatee (Trichechus manatus), and its distribution in the country is scattered, with a nucleus in the Lake Maracaibo basin and another in the Orinoco River a...

The manatee, of the order Sirenia, the only group of completely herbivorous aquatic mammals, is now in danger of world level extinction. The species present in Venezuela is known as the Caribean manatee (Trichechus manatus), and its distribution in the country is scattered, with a nucleus in the Lake Maracaibo basin and another in the Orinoco River...

The use of hatcheries for the marine turtles represents an important tool for the recovery of the populations of these animals. This practice in Venezuela has increased during the last five years, due to the benefits they appear to provide. Nevertheless, as a new tool in the country, there are still many unknowns that need resolving with regard to...