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MICHELLE TANYA SCHÄRER UMPIERRE
Department of Marine Science, University of Puerto Rico
Mail: P. O. Box 5906, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 00681
Tel. (787) 899-2048 Fax (787) 899-5500
Education
Bachelor of Science - Biology Department, University of Central Florida
Master of Science - Biology Department, University of Puerto Rico
PhD candidate - Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico
Research Description
The purpose of my research in biological oceanography is to analyze how the abundance and distribution of marine benthic habitats at Mona Island Natural Reserve control the abundance, distribution, and species composition of coral reef fishes to ultimately inform the management community of the effectiveness of the marine protected area. Underwater visual surveys of the coral reef fish community performed throughout the insular platform provide a “seascape approach” that emphasizes the connectivity among habitats throughout fish development in the determination of essential habitat. The localized distribution patterns of key habitats used as settling, nursery and spawning grounds suggest that zoning patterns of no-take versus open areas will be important in maintaining populations. As an isolated island in the middle of a partial bio-oceanographic boundary, healthy fish communities at Mona Island are essential both for population maintenance and genetic connectivity between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. Study results will be presented to the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources within the context of management implications for this marine protected area, and will also provide a spatially explicit baseline for monitoring the effectiveness of the no-take zone.
Publications
Aguilar-Perera A., M. Schärer and M. Valdés-Pizzini (2006) Marine Protected Areas in Puerto Rico: Historical and Current Perspectives. Ocean and Coastal Management 49: 961-975.
Aguilar-Perera A., M. Schärer and M. Nemeth (2006) Occurrence of juvenile Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus (Teleostei: Serranidae), off Mona Island, Puerto Rico: considerations of recruitment potential. In press Caribbean Journal of Science.
Valdés-Pizzini, M., A. Aguilar and M. Schärer (2005) Much ado About Nothing: Critical Annotations on Stakeholder Participation Schemes in Fisheries Management and MPA Development. Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, San Andres Island, Colombia.
Schärer M, Valdés-Pizzini M, Rivera-Velázquez M, Almodóvar M, Granell A. (2004) Summary of legal documentation for marine managed areas of Puerto Rico. Sea Grant College Program, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, 243 pp.
Schärer, M. T. and R. Schärer (2006) Artisanal small scale fishery and community based fisheries management by “Jangadeiros” in Northeastern Brazil. American Fisheries Society Symposium.
Schärer, M. T. (2003) A survey of the Epibiota of Eretmochelys imbricata (Testudines: Cheloniidae) of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation. 51 Supl. 6: 87-89.
Schärer, M. T., M. C. Prada, R. S. Appeldoorn, R. Hill, P. Sheridan and M. Valdés-Pizzini (2002) The use of fish traps in Puerto Rico: current practice, long-term changes, and fishers’ perceptions. Proc. of the 55th annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, pgs 744-756.
Schärer, M. T. (2001) A Survey of the epibiota of hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Puerto Rico, Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez, 92 p.
Appledoorn, R. S., M. Nemeth, J. Vasslides, and M. Schärer (2000). The effects of fish traps on benthic habitats off La Parguera, Puerto Rico. Report to the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, San Juan, P. R. 31 p.
Technical Conferences
Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
American Fisheries Society Conference
Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean Meeting
Participation in CNY-PR AGEP
Local events such as semester meetings among UPR-Mayagüez fellows
Fellows/Mentors Meeting held in San Juan (January, 2005)
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