Melina Rodríguez-Moreno

Universidad del Valle (Colombia) | UNIVALLE · Department of Biology

Coral reefs inside Cartagena Bay have disappeared, largely due to the constant discharge of contaminated, sediment-rich freshwater from the Dique Channel. Recently, which might be the last healthy coral reef in the bay was found between Bocachica and Barú. Despite the unfavorable conditions for coral development, this reef exhibits an average coral...

Populations of anemonefish species often show signs of local isolation due limited dispersal potential and oceanographic conditions. Additionally, anthropogenic pressure, such as overharvesting and coral reef exploitation causes reduced population size, eventually leading to local extinction. The understanding of the genetic population structure, a...

A pesar de ser un género diverso con un total de 53 especies, Aseraggodes solo tiene registros confirmados de una especie en el Pacífico Oriental Tropical (POT). En esta nota se presenta el primer registro del lenguado de Herre, A. herrei, para Colombia, a partir de dos especímenes observados a 24 m de profundidad, en el costado oriental de la isla...

In the present study we report a set of 13 novel microsatellites isolated from and characterized for the Acapulco damselfish Stegastes acapulcoensis, a species endemic to, but widely distributed within, the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) region. The loci were tested in 30 individuals from the Colombian Pacific and were highly polymorphic. The mean...

We report the occurrence of a major corallivore, the crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci, on the coral reefs of Gorgona Island, Tropical Eastern Pacific. Three individuals were sighted on opposite sides of the island, while they fed on small coral colonies of Pavona varians and Pocillopora damicornis. These sightings are noteworthy in light...

We report the occurrence of a major corallivore, the Crown-of-thorns Starfish Acanthaster planci, on the coral reefs of Gorgona Island, Tropical Eastern Pacific. Three individuals were sighted on opposite sides of the island, where they fed on small coral colonies of Pavona varians and Pocillopora damicornis. These sightings are noteworthy in light...

The extinction risk assessment process of Colombian marine fishes and the development of the Red Book of Marine Fishes of Colombia was a process developed in two by the Squalus Foundation carried out the assessment of sharks, rays, and chimaeras (chondrichthyan fishes); subsequently, Invemar started the same process with bony fishes. Following the...

El género Stegastes (familia Pomacentridae) tiene una distribución particular en el Pacífio Oriental Tropical, con dos especies ampliamente distribuidas en toda la región, y cinco especies restringidas a las islas oceánicas o al extremo boreal del trópico. Durante un estudio de las especies de este género presentes en ambientes arrecifales de la is...

Recently, we found what might be one of the best coral reefs on the continental shelf of Colombia in terms of coral cover (up to 80 %) and dominated by Orbicella spp. (Fig. 1). The total extension of this formation is close to 1 km2. A well-developed coral reef in such a highly degraded environment is contrary to expectations. With massive coral co...

El género Stegastes (familia Pomacentridae) tiene una distribución particular en el Pacífico Oriental Tropical, con dos especies ampliamente distribuidas en toda la región, y cinco especies restringidas a las islas oceánicas o al extremo boreal del trópico. Durante un estudio de las especies de este género presentes en ambientes arrecifales de la i...

Confirmación de la presencia del coral Pavona chiriquiensis Glynn, Maté y Stemann (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Agariciidae) en el Pacífico colombiano. El género Pavona comprende 18 especies de las cuales Pavona chiriquiensis ha sido recientemente descrita y registrada en varias localidades del Pacífico oriental tropical. A partir de observaciones y colecci...