Mariana Elizondo

Gianmarco Bettoni Rodriguez

José Luis Molina

Identifying parasitic relationships in rays

Pacific Eagle Ray (Aetobatus laticepts)

 Jordi Abad holding a hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) juvenile in artisanal fishery.

Jordi Abad, intern at the BIOMOL lab

Sail Fish (Istiophorus platypterus) capture, marking, processing and posterior release

Taxidermy of juvenile hammerhead sharks from nursery areas in the northern pacific of Costa Rica

Taxidermy of hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) juveniles

Did you know which is the fastest fish in the ocean? The fastest fish of all is the sailfish, which can reach speeds of over 65 miles (102 km) an hour. The sailfish is part of a group of predatory fish called billfish, known for their prominent bills. The fishing federation of Costa Rica (FECOP) points out, that several of these rapid species of billfish are in danger of extinction thanks to commercial and artisanal overfishing. 

One of the main problems that are leading to the decline of populations of billfish in Costa Rica is the misidentification of products that are commercialized. Laws that protect the most endangered species of billfish have been stated, nevertheless they are not respected because it is difficult to identify between species that are legally protected and species that are not.  The BIOMOL laboratory is working on molecular tools that can identify between six different species of billfish in order for these laws to be more easily applied.

img:Agarose gel use for the identification of Striped Marlin (Kajikia audax):full

Another problem that affects not only billfish but fish in general is the lack of proper identification of fish in commercial facilities. An example of this is that Costa Rica it is common for local fish markets to sell shark meat as if it were fish. In the laboratory we have been testing these molecular tools in local markets of the metropolitan area and have found that two species of protected billfish are still commercialized commonly. Also, that many of the fish meat has been identified by the sellers as if it were another species.

Silky Shark

 DNA extraction hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) tissue.

 DNA extraction hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) tissue

(assessed "near threatened by the IUCN). As you can see, we were able to identify 4 individuals of striped marlin. The samples were obtained in fish markets of San José, Costa Rica.

Agarose gel use for the identification of Striped Marlin (Kajikia audax)

The PCR protocol is used for the identification of endangered sharks at San José, Costa Rica.

Learning how to do PCR in the BIOMOL lab

Striped marlin (Kajikia audax)

Catalina Islands, North Pacific Costa Rica, December 2019.

BIOMOL Research Team

Hammerhead shark with a school of fish

Pacific Eagle Ray (Aetobatus laticepts), Cocos Island

Diego Fallas Madrigal

Gianmarco Bettoni with students during ray sampling at South Pacific, Costa Rica

Ray Sampling

Sampling of species (Lutjanus guttatus, L. peru and Centropumus viridis) product of artisanal fisheries. Naranjo River, Quepos, Central Pacific Costa Rica

Rooster Fish (Nematistius pectoralis) capture, marking, processing and posterior release

Sampling and release of Roosterfish (Nematistius pectoralis) in inshore sport fishing with Captain Roy Zapata in Quepos. Puerto Cortés, South Pacific, Costa Rica.

Sampling of red snapper in artisanal fisheries

Puerto Cortés, South Pacific, Costa Rica.

Continuing sampling of Red Snapper in artisanal fisheries

Parasites host interactions are one of the most interesting relations in biology and can be used as ecosystem health indicators. By studying parasitic load we can identify potential disorders in the food chain, decline of host species and excess of pollution.

research

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Research & Science

manta ray

Costa Rica Guide

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parasites

preservation

ecosystem health

rays

Did you know that there's not a category for Aetobatus laticeps (Pacific Eagle Ray) in the IUCN Red List? It's because this specie still remain as A. narinari (DD, Data Deficient). This was its previous description, now they are separated as A. laticeps in the Pacific and A. narinari in the Atlantic.

Deciphering spot patterns in the Pacific Eagle Ray

Diego Fallas

photo identification

elasmobranchs

pacific ocean

taxonomy

Hello everybody, my name is Jordi, I am an environmental biologist from Barcelona, Spain, and I will tell you a little about the experience as an intern at BIOMOL Lab.

Story of an internship in the BIOMOL laboratory

internship

Internships & Service Learning

experience

​Currently, Costa Rica lacks the basic information necessary to evaluate the population structure of bony fish species, which have been exposed to heavy fishing pressure that makes a natural recovery of their populations impossible. For this reason, it is critical to clarify the degree of genetic connectivity among fish populations throughout their geographical distribution in order to maintain the productivity of the populations and ensure the sustainability of fishery resources over time.

Studying the genetic connectivity of commercial fish in Costa Rica

population genetics

fish biology

Sphyrna lewini​ is one of the nine species of hammerhead sharks, and lives around the world in the tropics. According to the IUCN, this species is categorized as Critically Endangered since its populations have declined due to fisheries. This shark has an interesting behavior in which females come to coastal waters called nursery areas to
deliver their pups.​ ​Juveniles remain in these areas for their first years so coastal marshes and wetlands are an important habitat for their nurturing and its essential to gain knowledge about these habitats.

Protecting a critically endangered hammerhead shark from their nurseries

endangered sharks

Did you know which is the fastest fish in the ocean? The fastest fish of all is the sailfish, which can reach speeds of over 65 miles (102 km) an hour. The sailfish is part of a group of predatory fish called billfish, known for their prominent bills.

Roy's First Post

curiosity

bio-aquatic

The BIOMOL laboratory studied nurseries of the Eastern Tropical Pacific and identified that there are 3 populations of silky shark, divided by their capture country: Ecuador, El Salvador and Mexico. We can also suggest that the Mexican silky shark migration includes Jalisco as a nursery area for this species.

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