Valeria Pizarro

Valeria Pizarro
Perry Institute for Marine Science

PhD

About

49
Publications
21,693
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
773
Citations
Education
September 2003 - January 2007
Newcastle University
Field of study
  • Coral reefs (ecology and connectivity)
September 1999 - September 2001
National University of Colombia
Field of study
  • Coral biology - population ecology
January 1993 - January 1999
Los Andes University (Colombia)
Field of study
  • Biology

Publications

Publications (49)
Article
Full-text available
El deterioro de las propiedades ópticas del agua, o aumento de turbidez, debido a perturbaciones antropogénicas es un fenómenogeneralizado en zonas costeras. Los efectos sobre el ambiente lumínico submarino y la fisiología de corales simbióticos, quedependen principalmente de la luz para sobrevivir y mantener elevada calcificación, han sido poco ex...
Article
Full-text available
Reversing coral reef decline requires reducing environmental threats while actively restoring reef ecological structure and function. A promising restoration approach uses coral breeding to boost natural recruitment and repopulate reefs with genetically diverse coral communities. Recent advances in predicting spawning, capturing spawn, culturing la...
Article
Full-text available
In many parts of the Caribbean, diving underwater will transport you to a colorful world of fish, sponges, mammals, and more. This dazzling undersea rainforest is created by rock-like animals called corals. But just like humans, corals can get sick—and right now a disease is spreading throughout the Caribbean, infecting and killing some of the worl...
Article
Full-text available
Coral reefs of Grand Bahama and New Providence islands in The Bahamas have been surveyed several times over the past decade, and long-term monitoring indicates declines in coral cover associated with hurricanes, bleaching events, and local threats. However, the greatest declines in coral populations in The Bahamas over the past decade may be attrib...
Article
Full-text available
Degradation of water optical properties due to anthropogenic disturbances is a common phenomenon in coastal waters globally. Although this condition is associated with multiple drivers that affect corals health in multiple ways, its effect on light availability and photosynthetic energy acquisition has been largely neglected. Here, we describe how...
Preprint
Full-text available
Degradation of water optical properties due to anthropogenic disturbances is a common phenomenon in coastal waters globally. Although this condition is associated with multiple drivers that affect corals health in multiple ways, its effect on light availability and photosynthetic energy acquisition has been largely neglected. Here, we describe how...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction: Rehabilitation of hermatypic coral species that have declined in the Caribbean in recent decades is a priority. Production of sexual recruits is considered the best restoration method to aid affected populations. Objective: To gain knowledge of early life stages of Orbicella faveolata and to enhance production of new sexual recruits....
Article
Full-text available
Coral reefs worldwide are degrading due to climate change, overfishing, pollution, coastal development, coral bleaching, and diseases. In areas where the natural recovery of an ecosystem is negligible or protection through management interventions insufficient, active restoration becomes critical. The Reef Futures symposium in 2018 brought together...
Article
Full-text available
Coral reefs are undergoing degradation due to overexploitation, pollution, and climate change. Management and restoration efforts require that we gain a better understanding of the complex interactions between corals, their microbiomes, and their environment. For this purpose, Varadero Reef near Cartagena, Colombia, serves as an informative study s...
Preprint
Full-text available
Coral reefs worldwide are degrading due to climate change, overfishing, pollution, coastal development, bleaching and diseases. In areas where natural recovery is negligible or protection through management interventions insufficient, active restoration becomes critical. The Reef Futures symposium in 2018 brought together over 400 reef restoration...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The UNESCO declared in 2000 the Archipelago of San Andres and Providence as the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve (BR) in order to promote conservation actions for its species and ecosystems, which are mainly marine. Located in the Colombian Caribbean and covering an area of 180.000km2, Seaflower protects 3 main islands and 7 small islands and reef compl...
Presentation
Full-text available
The Seaflower Biosphere Reserve is located in the Colombian Caribbean, covering an area of 180.000km2 which include the reef complex of Albuquerque Cays, situated some 35km to the southeast of San Andres island. With the goal of updating the information about the coral reef complexes in Albuquerque, in 2018 the Seaflower Scientific Expedition obtai...
Presentation
Full-text available
Los arrecifes coralinos en todo el mundo se encuentran gravemente amenazados por tensores antrópicos, a tal punto que la mayoría de ellos están en riesgo de desaparecer en tan solo unas décadas. Algunas causas de deterioro, como los eventos masivos de blanqueamiento coralino, son de escala global; mientras otras, como el deterioro de la calidad del...
Article
Full-text available
Due to the worldwide degradation of coral reefs, the active restoration of these ecosystems has received considerable attention in recent decades. This study investigated i) the feasibility of using coral nurseries for restoration projects, ii) the minimum size required for a Pocillopora damicornis (Pocilloporidae) coral fragment to survive and gro...
Article
Full-text available
Cryopreservation has been recently applied to coral gametes and tissue with successful results that can be applied for different purposes on coral conservation and restoration. In this study, we decided to determine the sperm morphology of the coral Orbicella faveolata and assess the feasibility of sperm cryopreservation using a combination of intr...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The Seaflower Biosphere Reserve (SBR) has the most important coral reef areas in the Colombian Caribbean. Since 2014, once a year the Seaflower Scientific Expedition takes place, monitoring remote areas of the SBR. On 2017’s scientific expedition to the Serranilla Cays, the ecologic integrity of the cays was evaluated by: A) evaluating shallow cora...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The Seaflower Biosphere Reserve (SBR) has the most important coral reef areas in the Colombian Caribbean. Since 2014, once a year the Seaflower Scientific Expedition takes place, monitoring remote areas of the SBR. On 2017’s scientific expedition to the Serranilla Cays, the ecologic integrity of the cays was evaluated by: A) evaluating shallow cora...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Extended Abstract: Ecologic Integrity and Biodiversity of Reef Ecosystems in Oceanic Islands of Colombia in the Caribbean: Serranilla Cay. Integridad Ecológica y Biodiversidad de los Ecosistemas Arrecifales e Insulares de los Complejos Coralinos Oceánicos de Colombia en el Caribe: Cayo Serranilla L'intégrité Écologique et la Biodiversité des Éc...
Article
Full-text available
Coral reefs are commonly associated with oligotrophic, well-illuminated waters. In 2013, a healthy coral reef was discovered in one of the least expected places within the Colombian Caribbean: at the entrance of Cartagena Bay, a highly-polluted system that receives industrial and sewage waste, as well as high sediment and freshwater loads from an o...
Data
Varadero and Barú coral species List of scleractinian and fire coral species in Varadero and Northern Barú Reefs. Data are the frequency of occurrence (average,%) or presence/absence (+∕ −, visual surveys).
Data
Varadero and Barú sponge species List of sponge species comparing two reef zones in Varadero and Northern Barú Reefs. Data are frequency of occurrence (%, 30 ×2-m2 transects, n = 7 and 4 at Varadero and Barú, respectively), or presence (+, visual surveys).
Data
Varadero and Barú fish species List of fish species observed at Varadero and Barú. Abundance values are mean (±S.D.) number of individuals per species observed in 30 ×2-m2 belt transects (n = 15 and 7 at Varadero and Barú, respectively). Species observed outside transects are indicated by an x.
Data
Fish species richness variation at Barú and Varadero Reefs Variation in fish species richness as a function of number of visual censuses (sample-based rarefaction curves) for the fish censuses made at Barú and Varadero Reefs.
Preprint
Full-text available
Coral reefs supply millions of people with ecosystem goods and services, especially those living along tropical coastlines. Unfortunately, these ecosystems are disappearing at an alarming pace. In the Caribbean, the rate of coral loss is high (5.5 – 9.2% per year) and constant. In 2013, a healthy coral reef was discovered in one of the least expect...
Preprint
Full-text available
Coral reefs supply millions of people with ecosystem goods and services, especially those living along tropical coastlines. Unfortunately, these ecosystems are disappearing at an alarming pace. In the Caribbean, the rate of coral loss is high (5.5 – 9.2% per year) and constant. In 2013, a healthy coral reef was discovered in one of the least expect...
Article
The viability of coral reefs worldwide has been seriously compromised in the last few decades due in part to the emergence of coral diseases of infectious nature. Despite important efforts to understand the etiology and the contribution of environmental factors associated to coral diseases, the mechanisms of immune response in corals are just begin...
Article
Full-text available
Revisión y estado del arte de la restauración ecológica de arrecifes coralinos Review and state of the art for ecological restoration of coral reefs Valeria Pizarro, Vanessa Carrillo y Adriana García-Rueda Abstract Coral reefs are important coastal ecosystems for both humans and marine species due to the diversity of ecosystem services they pro...
Article
Full-text available
In Tayrona National Natural Park (Colombian Caribbean), abiotic factors such as light intensity, water temperature, and nutrient availability are subjected to high tem-poral variability due to seasonal coastal upwelling. These factors are the major drivers controlling coral reef primary production as one of the key ecosystem services. This offers t...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
While temperature-triggered coral bleaching events are globally occurring with a higher frequency and intensity, relatively healthy coral communities develop in the upwelling- and water current- influenced Tayrona National Natural Park (TNNP) in the Colombian Caribbean which experiences strong seasonal changes. The TNNP is located between the city...
Article
Full-text available
Resumen Los arrecifes coralinos son ecosistemas costeros de gran importancia para el hombre y especies marinas por la diversidad de servicios ecosistémicos que ofrecen. Desafortunadamente y a consecuencia de factores antropogénicos y naturales están perdiéndose rápidamente. Para frenar su degradación y potencial pérdida, se han diseñado e implement...
Preprint
Full-text available
In Tayrona National Natural Park (Colombian Caribbean), abiotic factors such as light intensity, water temperature, and nutrient availability are subjected to high temporal variability due to seasonal coastal upwelling. These factors are major drivers controlling coral reef primary production. This offers the opportunity to assess the effects of ab...
Preprint
In Tayrona National Natural Park (Colombian Caribbean), abiotic factors such as light intensity, water temperature, and nutrient availability are subjected to high temporal variability due to seasonal coastal upwelling. These factors are major drivers controlling coral reef primary production. This offers the opportunity to assess the effects of ab...
Article
Full-text available
Tayrona National Natural Park (TNNP) is a hotspot of coral reef biodiversity in the Colombian Caribbean, located between the city of Santa Marta (>455,000 inhabitants) and several smaller river mouths (Rio Piedras, Mendihuaca, Guachaca). The region also experiences a strong seasonal variation in physical parameters (temperature, salinity, wind, and...
Article
Full-text available
Coral bleaching events are globally occurring more frequently and with higher intensity, mainly caused by increases in seawater temperature. In Tayrona National Natural Park (TNNP) in the Colombian Caribbean, local coral communities are subjected to seasonal wind-triggered upwelling events coinciding with stronger water currents depending on locati...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
The first moderate coral bleaching event for decades in Tayrona National Natural Park (Colombian Caribbean) was observed between November and December 2010. The patchy local coral communities were also influenced by seasonal upwelling that decreased water temperatures from 28 °C to 21 °C from December 2010 until February 2011. This upwelling may mi...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Abiotic factors such as light intensity and water temperature influence coral reef productivity. In Tayrona National Natural Park (Colombian Caribbean), these factors are subject to high temporal variability due to seasonal coastal upwelling events. This offers the opportunity to assess these effects on the key coral reef ecosystem service producti...
Article
Full-text available
Coral reefs are deteriorating at an alarming rate mainly as a consequence of the emergence of coral diseases. The white plague disease (WPD) is the most prevalent coral disease in the southwestern Caribbean, affecting dozens of coral species. However, the identification of a single causal agent has proved problematic. This suggests more complex eti...
Article
Full-text available
Recruitment, defined and measured as the incorporation of new individuals (i.e. coral juveniles) into a population, is a fundamental process for ecologists, evolutionists and conservationists due to its direct effect on population structure and function. Because most coral populations are self-feeding, a breakdown in recruitment would lead to local...
Article
Full-text available
p> Abstract Recruitment, defined and measured as the incorporation of new individuals (i.e. coral juveniles) into a population, is a fundamental process for ecologists, evolutionists and conservationists due to its direct effect on population structure and function. Because most coral populations are self-feeding, a breakdown in recruitment would...
Article
Full-text available
Este trabajo presenta datos sobre un brote de la Enfermedad de Plaga Blanca (EPB) en el banco de Serrana y resume siete años de observaciones de esta enfermedad en la vecina isla de San Andrés (Caribe colombiano). La mortalidad masiva de corales por causa de EPB se observó en la laguna del atolón (14° 27’ 53.24”, 80° 14’ 22.27” W, y 12m de profundi...
Article
Full-text available
Recruitment and juvenile survivorship can affect population dynamics and resilience. In this paper we present data on brain coral (genera Diploria and Colpophyllia) recruitment and recruit cohort survivorship obtained at three stations in 2001 at San Andres Island (Colombia) as part of the baseline used to develop a Marine Protected Area (MPA) syst...
Article
Full-text available
Three remote oceanic atolls, the Northern Cays (Quitasueño, Serrana, and Roncador Banks, Archipelago of San Andres and Providencia, Colombia) were intensively surveyed during April and May, 2003 through a multilevel quantitative study of the benthic communities (substrate cover: coral-benthos; densities: octocorals and urchins; frequencies: coral d...
Article
Full-text available
AimWe conducted a study to estimate the past and present distribution and population size of T. pinchaque in Colombia.LocationThe study included all mountain ranges above 2000 m.Methods The past distribution was obtained by plotting on a map of past distribution of montane rain forests, the geographical locations with the name `danta' or `tapir' ab...

Network

Cited By