Marine Biology Station, Puntarenas

Objectives and mission statement

The Marine Biology Station was inaugaurated in February 1998. Its objectives are:

• To provide infrastructure for the development of the Marine Biology curricula
• To contribute to the sustainable development of the coastal zone
• To contribute to the development of scientific knowledge of the Gulf of Nicoya region

Its mission is to train professionals, generate knowledge and to solve problems of the users of the coastal zone. We are a group of experts dedicated to the problems of the coastal zone and the ocean, of a high level and with specialized infrastructure at our disposal.

The Station was designed through the efforts of the academic staff of the departments of fisheries and aquaculture of the School of Biological Sciences of the Universidad Nacional. The station has two main sections: Coastal Management and Marine Aquaculture. The Coastal Management section has the following laboratories: Marine Phytoplankton and Red Tides, Fisheries Extension, Quality Control of Fisheries Products, Marine Microbiology, Fisheries Computing, and two labs for Fisheries Biology. The Marine Aquaculture section has labs for Mollusc Culture, Marine Fish Culture, and Culture of Algae and Rotifers. In the future there will be a Shrimp Reproduction lab. See the organization of the station.

Academic aspects

1. Teaching: regular courses, with classes for the degrees of Bachelor and Licenciado in Marine Biology, and the Master degree in Marine and Coastal Science.
2. Extension: projects on various issues, such as technology transfer in oyster culture, marketing of aquacultural products, environmental education.
3. Research: projects on marine resources, such as the blue crab fishery, snappers, sardines and shrimps.

Fisheries research

• Assessment and ecological characterization of the blue crab (Callinectes arcuatus) population in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica (Farid Tabash)
• Diversity and abundance of marine ichthyoplankton in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica (J.A. Rodríguez and Jorge Cabrera)
• The shrimp fishery of the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica (Jose Angel Palacios)
• Technical and biological interactions of the major gears in the demersal fishery in the Gulf of Nicoya and the importance of the mangrove forest for the sustainability of the fishery (Mauricio Vargas)
• Mapping of cyst distribution and monitoring of harmful algal blooms in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica (Roxana Víquez)
• Implementation and utilization of artificial refuges in the spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery at the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica (Luis Sierra)
• Marketing of marine products in Costa Rica (Angel Herrera)
• Trophic modelling of the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica (Anne van Dam)

Aquaculture research and extension

• Reproduction and larval rearing of marine fish species (Jorge Boza)
• Culture of oysters and other bivalvs of commercial interest (Eduardo Zamorra & Wouter Zurburg)

Consultant services

The station is member of the UNA Foundation (FUNA), and under it we develop consultant services. We can provide services on marine-coastal problems, responding rapidly and efficiently to requests from both the private and public sector.

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