Gayana 67(2): 275-301, 2003 ISSN 0717-652X

MARINE BIODIVERSITY IN : STATUS AND PERSPECTIVES

BIODIVERSIDAD MARINA EN VENEZUELA: ESTADO ACTUAL Y PERSPECTIVAS

Patricia Miloslavich1,2, Eduardo Klein1,2, Edgard Yerena1 & Alberto Martin1,2

1Departamento de Estudios Ambientales, Universidad Simón Bolívar, , Venezuela. 2Instituto de Tecnología y Ciencias Marinas (INTECMAR), Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas, Venezuela.

ABSTRACT

Venezuela is among the ten countries with the highest biodiversity in the world, both in the terrestrial and the marine environment. Due to its biogeographical position, Venezuelan marine flora and are composed of species from very different marine bioregions such as the and the Delta. The ecosystems in the Caribbean have received considerable attention but now, due to the tremendous impact of human activities such as tourism, over-exploitation of marine resources, physical alteration, the oil industry, and pollution, these environments are under great risk and their biodiversity highly threatened. The most representative eco- systems of this region include sandy beaches, rocky shores, seagrass beds, coral reefs, soft bottom communi- ties, and forests. The Orinoco Delta is a complex group of freshwater, estuarine, and marine ecosys- tems; the habitats are very diverse but poorly known. This paper summarizes the known, which is all of the information available in Venezuela about research into biodiversity, the different ecosystems and the knowl- edge that has become available in different types of publications, biological collections, the importance and extents of the Protected Areas as biodiversity reserves, and the legal institutional framework aimed at their protection and sustainable use. As the unknown, research priorities are proposed: a complete survey of the area, the completion of a species list, and an assessment of the health status of the main ecosystems on a broad national scale. This new information must be integrated and summarized in nationwide Geographic Informa- tion Systems (GIS) databases, accessible to the scientific community as well as to the management agencies. In the long term, a genetic inventory must be included in order to provide more detailed knowledge of the biologi- cal resources. Future projects at the local (Venezuela), regional (Southern Caribbean: , Venezuela, and the Netherlands ), and global () scales are recommended.

KEYWORDS: Venezuela, marine biodiversity, conservation, protected areas, biological collections.

RESUMEN

Venezuela se encuentra entre los primeros 10 países con la mayor biodiversidad en el mundo, tanto en el ambiente terrestre como en el marino. Dada su posición biogeográfica, la flora y fauna marina venezolana está compuesta por especies de biorregiones muy distintas como lo son el Caribe y el Delta del Orinoco. En el Caribe, los ecosistemas han recibido una atención considerable, sin embargo, debido al tremendo impacto de actividades humanas tales como el turismo, sobreexplotación de recursos marinos, alteración física, la industria petrolera y contaminación, entre otras, estos ambientes se encuentran bajo un gran riesgo y su biodiversidad está altamente amenazada. Los ecosistemas más representativos de esta región incluyen las playas arenosas, litorales rocosos, praderas de fanerógamas marinas, arrecifes coralinos, comunidades de fondos blandos y bosques de manglar. El Delta del Orinoco está constituido por un grupo muy complejo de ecosistemas marinos, estuarinos y dulceacuícolas, los hábitats son muy diversos pero hay muy poca información disponible acerca de este sistema. En este trabajo resumimos lo conocido, lo cual es toda la información disponible en Venezuela acerca de la investigación científica en biodiversidad, los diferentes ecosistemas y el grado de conocimiento que ha sido generado a través de diversos tipos de publicaciones, las colecciones biológicas, la importancia y el alcance de las áreas protegidas como reservas de biodiversidad y el marco legal institucional dirigido hacia su protección y uso sustentable.

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Igualmente, para lo desconocido, proponemos como prioridad de investigación la estimación de área, el listado completo de las especies y el estado de salud de los principales ecosistemas a una escala a nivel nacional. Esta nueva información debe ser integrada y resumida en bases de datos de sistemas de información geográfica, accesible a la comunidad científica así como a las agencias encargadas de los planes de manejo. A largo plazo, un inventario genético debería incluirse como una necesidad para establecer un mejor conocimiento de los recursos biológicos. Proponemos posibles proyectos a futuro en una escala local (Venezuela), regional (Caribe Sur: Colombia, Venezuela y las Antillas) y global (América del Sur).

PALABRAS CLAVES: Venezuela, biodiversidad marina, conservación, áreas protegidas, colecciones biológicas.

INTRODUCTION This paper firstly outlines the physical and oceano- graphic features of the Venezuelan marine domain Venezuela is among the ten countries with the and describes the bioregions of the country. Then, highest biodiversity in the world. This richness of in relation to the status of marine biodiversity in species is present in both the terrestrial and the Venezuela, the projects implemented to promote the marine environments. Due to its biogeographical sustainable use of marine resources-scientific re- position, the flora and fauna of Venezuela are char- search, the establishment of protected areas, bio- acterized by species from the very different marine logical collections, the legal institutional framework bioregions of the Caribbean and the Orinoco Delta, that protects the environment and natural resources, as well as the continental bioregions such as the and other initiatives such as non-governmental or- , the Amazon, and Guyana. The Caribbean ganizations (NGOs)-are discussed. coastal ecosystems have received considerable at- tention but, due to the great impact of human ac- THE PHYSICAL AND OCEANOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF tivities such as tourism, the over-exploitation of THE V ENEZUELAN MARINE DOMAIN marine resources, physical alteration, the oil indus- try, and pollution, among others, these environments Venezuela is located at the north of South America, and their biodiversity are highly threatened. This between 00°45’ and 15°40’N and between region includes sandy beaches, rocky shores, 59°47’and 73°22’W. Its northern limits are the Do- seagrass habitats, coral reefs, soft bottom commu- minican Republic and the (the West nities, and mangrove forests. Indies, Puerto Rico, the French islands Martinique The Orinoco River has a basin of 990,000 km² and and Guadalupe, and the American Virgin Islands). its delta is made up of a complex group of freshwa- In the east, it extends to Guyana, the Atlantic Ocean, ter, estuarine and marine ecosystems. The habitats and the Caribbean Sea (Trinidad and Tobago). Its are very diverse and the whole system plays an im- southern neighbors are Brazil and Colombia, the portant role in regulating the input of almost 36,000 latter also being at its western limit. m3 of water per second to the Atlantic Ocean (Meade The terrestrial domain covers 916,425 km² and the et al. 1983; Millman & Meade 1983), the Orinoco maritime territory, 860,000 km² (Lara de González being the third largest river in the world in terms of et al. 1997; Rodríguez-Altamiranda 1999). The discharge (Palacios 1999). This deltaic ecosystem coastal zone of the Venezuelan Caribbean is very is little studied but, in 2001, the Ministerio del diverse in geological and topographical features. It Ambiente y de los Recursos Naturales (Ministry of has approximately 3,964 km of continental - Environment and Natural Resources, MARN) de- line of which 68% fronts the Caribbean Sea and cided to support a rapid ecological assessment of 21%, the Atlantic Ocean (Rodríguez-Altamiranda this biosphere reserve with a view to its future con- 1999). The remaining 12% of the Venezuelan coast- servation and sustainable use. This program is very line corresponds to clusters of more than 300 is- broad, being the subproject of aquatic fauna under lands and keys with a total dry land area of about the coordination of the Universidad Simón Bolívar, 1270 km2; most of the islands and keys are included it is considered to be a national priority and will be in 14 archipelago complexes located south of 12°12´ a long term study (9 years) supported by the Glo- N, with the exception of the which is bal Environmental Fund (GEF). located north of 15° N (MARNR 1979).

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The climate of continental Venezuela is influenced productive area known in the Caribbean Sea. Off by the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) of the Paria Peninsula and north of Trinidad, upwelling the trade winds from the northeast and southeast, takes place for only a limited period and is of vari- but that of the maritime region is mainly depen- able intensity, the cold water sometimes forming dent upon only the northeast trade winds and the mesoscale eddies towards the northwest, probably ITCZ. The coast is in the normal path of the Carib- due to the displacement of less dense, warmer wa- bean hurricanes which affect the area (with the ex- ters from the Gulf of Paria (Penchaszadeh et al. ception of the Isla de Aves) during the rainy sea- 2000). son. Even their passage away from the mainland The productivity of the coastal waters is determined can influence the coastal weather by causing sig- mainly by the upwelling dynamics and the uptake nificant rainfall, sea swell, and high winds. As a of alochthonous material coming from large rivers consequence and due to the geomorphological char- and lakes. The eastern part of the coast is the most acteristics of Venezuela, the country has a range of productive area, though seasonal, depending on the climatic situations. Annual precipitation may vary strength of upwelling and the Orinoco river dis- from less than 400 mm in the arid and semiarid charge. This zone maintains seasonal concentrations zones of the coastal and central regions to more of chlorophyll a of more than 3 mg l-1 and a total than 4000 mm in the south of the country. Mean annual fish production of between 200,000 and daily temperatures vary between 28°C in most of 250,000 tons. The productivity of the Gulf of Ven- the country and 0°C in the mountains of the Andes ezuela is also sustained by the nutrients coming (MARN 2000). from the Lake basin. The Gulf and its The sea surface temperature (SST) along the Ven- coastal areas have been affected by oil extraction ezuelan coastline is affected by several cold up- and the petrochemical industry for more than 60 welling fronts which vary in form, extent, and in- years, so that moderate to high levels of contami- tensity. The SST varies annually between 20º and nation are found in some local environments such 29°C with a daily oscillation of between 0º and as Tablazo Bay (at the mouth of the Maracaibo Lake 2.5°C (Penchaszadeh et al. 2000). The north-south estuary) and Amuay Bay (Paraguaná Península). oscillation of the ITCZ constitutes the main cause of seasonal changes in the salinity and temperature THE MAJOR MARINE ECOSYSTEMS AND BIOREGIONS OF of Caribbean Sea surface waters (Muller-Karger & VENEZUELA Varela 1989). Twelve upwelling zones have been identified along The coast of Venezuela is very diverse in geologi- the coast of Venezuela by means of Advanced Very cal and topographical terms and the shallow water High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images of marine environments include sandy beaches, rocky SST which, during upwelling events, may decrease shores, seagrass beds, coral reefs, , and by between 5º and 7°C from the normal 24-26°C. coastal (Penchaszadeh et al. 2000). On the west coast, the upwelling zones are located Sandy beaches have been classified according to west of the Goajira Peninsula, in the Gulf of Ven- wave energy, sediment origin and particle size as: ezuela, and at Punto Fijo near the Paraguaná Pen- (1) dissipative beaches with fine and very fine insula, Cabo San Román, and Puerto Cumarebo. sediments, rich in organic matter; (2) high energy On the central coast, the upwelling at Cabo Codera beaches with coarse sediments and an intermediate is unusual since, on occasions, it has been observed content of organic matter; and (3) low energy when there were no other upwelling fronts. There beaches of carbonate biogenic sediments with a are also several important upwelling systems on the variable content of organic matter. Biodiversity in east coast between and Cumaná, the first type is very low, with few though very north of the Araya Peninsula and , abundant and dominant species; these beaches are and close to Carúpano. Upwelling occurs simulta- however very important since they are used by fish neously at all of these locations, driven by the strong as nursery grounds and food sources. High energy winds during the first 6 months of the year. Its in- beaches have a diverse taxonomic composition with tensity and propagation are considerable, spread- no dominant species and scarce ichthyofauna while, ing over 200,000 km² and contributing to the most in the third type of beaches, biodiversity is again

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very low and the fish fauna are usually associated ments underneath the trees are muddy with several with nearby coral reefs and seagrass beds infaunal bivalve species and the roots are covered (Penchaszadeh et al. 2000) mainly with sponges with a highly diverse associ- Rocky shores are areas of great diversity with a va- ated fauna and hydrocorals (Sutherland 1980, Morao riety of microhabitats. They have characteristic zo- 1983, Ordosgoitti 1985, Díaz et al. 1992). nation patterns and 3 zones can be distinguished: Coastal lagoons cover an area of approximately (1) supralittoral, (2) midlittoral, and (3) infralittoral. 26,900 ha, distributed between 25 lagoons present The upper and lower supralittorals are character- from the Goajira Peninsula in the west to State ized by, respectively, a Littorina zone and a bar- and State (Margarita, Coche, and nacle zone. The midlittoral is populated mainly by Cubagua islands) in the east, each of them charac- algae, the species composition depending on wave terized by a particular ecosystem (Penchaszadeh et exposure, and the crevices and holes in the rocks al. 2000). are inhabited by several types of echinoderm and Venezuela has been classified into 7 biogeographi- other invertebrates. The sublittoral zone is charac- cal regions, or simply bioregions, based on topog- terized by small aggregations of corals and hydro- raphy, climate, and vegetation (Eisenberg & Redford corals (Penchaszadeh et al. 2000). 1979). More recently MARN (2000), taking into Seagrasses are widely distributed along the coast. account other ecological variables such as flora, al- Eight species have been reported in Venezuela, titude, temperature, annual precipitation, and Thalassia testudinum being the most common whether it was a continental or marine environment, (Acosta 1974, Ganesan 1989, Vera 1992, Pérez defined 10 bioregions. Of these, three are maritime: 1997). The biodiversity of invertebrates and fish (1) Continental coastal, (2) Marine, and (3) Insular. associated with Thalassia beds has been found to be very high due to the great productivity of this THE CONTINENTAL COASTAL BIOREGION seagrass and the diversity of microhabitats in the environments studied, the National Parks of This region constitutes 3,964 km of continental Morrocoy, Mochima, and Los Roques (Bitter 1988, coastline and includes all of the coastal systems Villamizar 1993, Isea 1994, Díaz 1997, Galindo between altitudes of 0 and 100 m. The tempera- 1997, Bone et al. 1998, Noriega 1998, Atienza tures are high (28°C) and the main type of vegeta- 2000; Huck 2001). tion is mangroves. The are classified as high Coral reefs are well developed around the offshore (cliffs) or low. The high coasts correspond to el- islands. The fauna are similar to those in the evated relieves that descend abruptly to the sea and rest of the Caribbean with more than 40 scle- have vertical zonations in horizontal fringes with ractinian coral species. Few localities on the characteristic marine flora and fauna. The low continental coastline have significant reef coasts are represented by muddy, sandy, and mixed development due to river discharge though, in the beaches, as well as by numerous wetlands. On the western sector of the coast, reefs can be found in Atlantic coast, the latter are characterized by vast the Morrocoy and San Esteban National Parks and flooded plains like the San Juan River and the in the center of the coast in Turiamo Bay (Woodley Orinoco Delta and, on the Caribbean coast, by et al. 1997, Bone et al. 2001) coastal lagoons. Mangrove forests cover an area of approximately 673,000 ha along the coastline (Conde & Alarcón THE MARINE BIOREGION 1993), the greatest areas of mangrove being located in the Orinoco Delta and the Gulf of Paria. Man- This region, the Venezuelan economic exclusive grove forests have horizontal zonations from the zone (EEZ), occupies about 860,000 km² of ma- sea to inland, Rhizophora mangle being the most rine and submarine areas of the territorial waters, a seaward species followed by Avicennia germinans, surface which is comparable to that of the conti- Laguncularia racemosa, and Conocarpus erectus nental territory. The floral and faunal diversity on which prospers on firm sandy soil away from the the Atlantic side is relatively low but very little in- tides (Pannier & Pannier 1989). Vertically, the man- formation exists regarding the habitats there, which grove community is also very complex; the sedi- are dominated by great quantities of mud and sand

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brought down by the Orinoco, Esequibo, and Ama- cies. Several of these islands are grouped in archi- zon rivers. The Caribbean side is more diverse wa- pelagos such as Los Roques, Los Frailes, Los ter transparency is higher and increases from east Testigos, Los Hermanos, and Las Aves among oth- to west and from south to north. The ecosystems ers. The island of Patos is the only federal depen- found throughout this region are basically soft bot- dency in the Atlantic Ocean, the remainder being in toms, with and without seagrass beds, and coral reefs the Caribbean Sea. The insular territories are char- with a high biological diversity. acterized by mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass beds, sandy beaches, and rocky shores. THE INSULAR BIOREGION From a more ecological point of view, however, and taking into account the types of marine ecosystems This region is made up of 314 territories. The is- found on the coast of Venezuela, it is here proposed lands Margarita, Coche, and Cubagua form the that a better and more accurate breakdown of the Nueva Esparta State and the remaining 311 keys, marine domain would be its division into 12 eco- and islands constitute the Federal Dependen- regions (Fig. 1).

FIGURE 1. Coastal marine protected areas and marine ecoregions of Venezuela.

FIGURA 1. Areas costeras marinas protegidas y ecorregiones marinas de Venezuela.

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Ecoregion 1: The Orinoco Delta and the Atlantic duction of shrimps and bivalves. High pollution risks coast, estuarine and marine ecosystems, heavy sedi- due to oil industry. ment loads, high turbidity, sandy and muddy bot- Ecoregion 10: Golfo de Venezuela region. Charac- toms. Well developed mangrove communities. terized by wide platform shelf and shallow bottoms Ecoregion 2: The eastern upwelling region, from (< 50m). High primary and secondary production the east of the Paria Peninsula to Mochima Bay. It of shrimp due to large upwelling fronts. Bottom is characterized by shallow continental shelf with communities dominated by detritivorous organisms. coarse sandy bottoms and rocky shores. No impor- Ecoregion 11: The insular region. Includes all tant reef formation but limited coral development. emerged territories with the exception of those in- High primary and secondary production due to sea- cluded in the eastern upwelling region. Character- sonal upwelling fronts. Includes the Cariaco trench ized by solitary islands and archipielagos. Well and the islands of Margarita, Coche, Cubagua, Los developed reefs and seagrass beds, with very high Frailes, Los Hermanos, and Los Testigos. diversity. Mangrove forests on some islands. Some Ecoregion 3: Píritu-Tacarigua region. From sea turtle nest beaches and rich marine bird com- Barcelona to Cabo Codera. Shallow coastal lagoons munities. and sandy beaches, high sediment loads from the Ecoregion 12: The oceanic region. The territorial Unare and Tuy rivers. It is characterized by high and EEZ waters, ranging from 100m to more than secondary production, mostly of crustaceans and 3000m deep. Biodiversity poorly known. Some ar- bivalves. eas have moderately high pelagic productivity due Ecoregion 4: Central coast. From Cabo Codera to to the effects of adjacent upwelling areas. Patanemo Bay. It is characterized by narrow conti- nental margin regions, by rocky shores and coarse BIODIVERSITY IN VENEZUELA sandy beaches. Coral communities associated to the rocky substrates. It has high water transparency. The book, “Venezuela: Un país megadiverso” ed- Ecoregion 5: Golfo Triste region. From Patanemo ited by Aguilera et al. (2003) demonstrates very Bay to Tocuyo River. Shallow continental shelf, clearly the high level of biodiversity in the coun- moderate secondary production, sandy beaches, and try. The concept of biodiversity is complex and in- well developed coastal coral reefs. It has coral key corporates the idea of the richness of the biota at formations in the Morrocoy and San Esteban Na- the genetic, specific and ecological level, each of tional Parks. them sharing particular characteristics and interre- Ecoregion 6: Tocuyo region. From the Tocuyo lationships (Crisci et al. 1996). Species and eco- River, to the east of the Paraguaná Peninsula Isth- system diversities have received the greatest atten- mus. Characterized by sandy beaches and rocky tion, genetic diversity being known only partially cliffs. High sediment load from the Tocuyo, Hueque for some species. and Ricoa rivers. Low water transparency As far as the biodiversity of marine species is Ecoregion 7: Paraguaná region. From the Paraguaná concerned, the best studied groups are fish Isthmus to Punta Cardón. Characterized by emerged (Cervigón 1966, 1989, 1991a, 1991b, 1994, rocky shores, with large beds of macroalgaes. Car- 1996; Cervigón & Fisher 1979; Cervigón et al. bonate sand beaches. High primary productivity due 1992; Cervigón & Alcalá 1999, 2000), decapod to upwelling fronts. crustaceans (Rodríguez 1980), amphipod crus- Ecoregion 8: Golfete de Coro region. From Punta taceans (Díaz, 2001; Martín 2002), corals Cardón to the mouth of the Maracaibo Estuary, (Ramírez-Villaroel 2001), and molluscs including Golfete de Coro. Shallow water region (Lodeiros et al. 1999). with high sediment loads due to resuspended matter Aguilera (2000) stated that the most important from Golfete de Coro. Characterized by high secon- facilities available in Venezuela for promoting dary production, mainly shrimps and sciaenid fish. the conservation and sustainable use of the bio- Ecoregion 9: Maracaibo estuary region. It is an es- logical resources are: tuarine system, maintained by the dredging of a (1) Research carried out by highly qualified per- navigation channel through the Maracaibo strait. sonnel with an extensive scientific background Characterized by high primary and secondary pro- actively working on biodiversity;

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(2) The national system of Protected Areas (PA) oceanology. and Areas under a special administrative regime Within the biological diversity agenda, there are 15 (ABRAE) which include more than half of the Ven- projects, but only one dealing with marine ecosys- ezuelan continental territory and some important tems. This is a study of the biodiversity of the archipelagos; Olivitos system, State, at the mouth of Lake (3) The biological collections of preserved and liv- Maracaibo. The oceanology program has four ing organisms; and themes which were identified as priorities during a (4) All of the laws, rules, and regulations as well as workshop on Marine Science and Technology held international agreements which engage the country in 1996: (1) Fisheries and aquaculture; (2) Morrocoy in structuring a strategy for gathering knowledge National Park; (3) the Orinoco Delta and Paria Gulf; about the sustainable use of biological resources and (4) Research on coastal processes. without reducing diversity. THE MORROCOY NATIONAL PARK: AN EXAMPLE OF A (1) RESEARCH PRIORITIES IN THE STUDY OF BIODIVERSITY NATIONAL OCEANOLOGY PROGRAM IN V ENEZUELA Morrocoy National Park (10°52’N, 69°16’W) is For a country such as Venezuela, research and evalu- located on the northwestern coast of Golfo Triste ation of its biological diversity will be a long term (Betz & Bock 1981). The diurnal temperature varia- study, given the enormous biotic richness within its tion of the surface waters fluctuates between 27° territory. The Agreement on Biological Diversity and 32°C where oceanic influences prevail. The sa- defines, in Article 12, the special need of the devel- linity ranges from 30 to 38‰ (Bitter, 1988) but var- oping countries to promote research programs and ies much less. away from the coast. Mean annual methods in the identification, conservation, and precipitation is 1,213 mm and varies seasonally. The sustainable use of the biological resources. Most of 32,090 ha (320 km²) park includes continental, in- this research in Venezuela is carried out in national sular, and marine ecosystems. Two marine zones, universities and research institutes. In the western offshore and inshore, are distinguishable. The off- sector of the coast, past and future research on the shore zone is connected to the open ocean and char- estuarine system of Lake Maracaibo has been and acterized by coralline communities, moderate will be centered on the Institute for the Conserva- swells, low turbidity, and water depths of up to 20 tion of Lake Maracaibo (ICLAM) and Universidad m. In the inshore zone, wave activity is low, turbid- del Zulia (LUZ). Studies at the Universidad Central ity is high, and the shallow waters host mangroves de Venezuela (UCV), Universidad Simón Bolívar (mainly Rhizophora mangle) and seagrass beds (USB), and the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific (Thalassia testudinum); these two communities de- Research (IVIC) in Caracas and the Universidad velop mainly along the lea shores of the keys and in Experimental Francisco de (UNEFM) are sandy sediments near the mouths of ocean inlets and focused mostly on the central west coast and on the in the internal lagoons. The seagrass ecosystem of east coast, the largest research centers being the T. testudinum is well represented in submerged ar- Universidad de Oriente (UDO) and the Fundación eas of the park where extensive monospecific beds La Salle de Ciencias Naturales (FLASA). The Na- of this species and associated algae are found (Bone tional System in Science and Technology is coordi- et al. 1998, 2001). nated by CONICIT (the National Council for Sci- Since 1974, the park has been subject to intense tour- entific Research), renamed FONACIT (the National ism, which greatly stresses the coral reefs. In Janu- Fund for Science, Technology and Innovation) in ary 1996, due to a combination of atmospheric and 2002. FONACIT has two committees which deal oceanographic phenomena (anomalous upwelling, with biological diversity: the National Commission large river outputs, very calm seas, and low wind for Biotechnology and the National Commission for speeds), there was a mass mortality of many of the Oceanology. Currently, FONACIT has 4 priority reef and seagrass communities in the park which programs concerned with the environment and bio- left less than 1% of living massive coral cover at logical resources, two of them directly related to Playa Caimán, one of the most important reefs marine ecology: (1) biological diversity and (2) (Villamizar 2000, Laboy et al. 2001). The recovery

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of the seagrass community at one location (Las vious information in order to discover what might Luisas) was followed by Klein and Cruz (1998) have determined the present condition of the sys- who found that, after an impressive colonization tem. This project started in January 2000 and is by the gastropod Bittium varium, the whole com- now in its third and last year. There are 16 themes, munity returned to its normal composition after grouped within three subprograms: 6 months. In December 1999, heavy rainfall Physical: environmental parameters, water qual- throughout the central and western coasts of ity, hydrodynamics, geomorphology, and pollut- Venezuela also caused severe damage; salini- ant transport; ties within the park decreased to 6‰, this time Biological: coastal marine communities (plank- causing mass mortalities of fish and invertebrates ton, macroalgae, seagrasses, mangroves, coral (Bone & Spiniello 2000). reefs, fish, and invertebrates); At present, the park is still being used for recre- Social: the carrying capacity for tourism and ational purposes, but efforts are underway to pre- artisanal fisheries. serve it and to carry out scientific research with The ultimate goal of this Agenda is to define an the goal of conservation and the protection of its environmental reference baseline for the Park that biological diversity along with sustainable use. will serve as a basis for the development of plans This will involve cooperation at both the national for its sustainable use, organization, and man- (Oceanology program) and international agement, and to formulate a contingency plan for (CARICOMP program) level. an early warning system capable of rapidly mo- The CARICOMP network (Caribbean Coastal bilizing the scientific community in the event of Marine Productivity Program) was established in a major environmental emergency. 1990 by 16 Caribbean countries to conduct stan- The results of the Morrocoy Agenda are yet to dardized, synoptic measurements of the structure, be published in scientific journals, but there are productivity and associated physical parameters several technical reports available that include of relatively undisturbed coral reefs, seagrasses, extensive lists of the species, genera, and fami- and mangroves. In Venezuela, the CARICOMP lies of flora (phytoplankton, macroalgae, sea- protocol has been carried out since 1993 at 2 sites: grasses) and fauna (zooplankton, invertebrates, in Margarita island, by EDIMAR (Estación de and fish) found in the different ecosystems of the Investigaciones Marinas, Fundación La Salle de Park and demonstrate the impressive diversity of Ciencias Naturales), and in Morrocoy National its biota (Bone & Spiniello 2000). Park, by INTECMAR (Institute of Technology and Marine Sciences) (CARICOMP 1997, Bone AN ANALYSIS OF VENEZUELAN PUBLICATIONS IN THE et al. 2001). MARINE SCIENCES The Morrocoy National Park Agenda (an inte- grated study of the Morrocoy National Park sys- Research on the marine environment in Venezu- tem with considerations on the development of ela increased significantly after 1958 following plans for its management and sustainable use) is the creation of the Instituto Oceanográfico de a multidisciplinary and inter-institutional re- Venezuela (Oceanographic Institute of Venezu- search project involving about 25 Venezuelan ela) at the Universidad de Oriente (Sucre State), scientists from the Universidad Central de and the Facultad de Ciencias (Faculty of Sci- Venezuela, Universidad Simón Bolívar, ences) of the Universidad Central de Venezuela. Universidad Nacional Experimental Francisco de The products of this work have been compiled in Miranda, and FONAIAP-CATIE (now INIA, the bibliographical lists, elaborated for several ar- National Institute of Agropecuary Research). The eas of marine science. At least 12 lists detailing main objective of the Morrocoy Agenda is to different areas, environments, and taxonomic evaluate the degree of alteration, disturbance, and groups have been made available since 1964. The pollution in the different marine environments most recent list, published by INTECMAR of the Park through a coordinated study that in- (Universidad Simón Bolívar), was a compilation tegrates all of the components of the ecosystems of the literature relating to marine sciences and there. The new data will be compared with pre- biodiversity (Martín & Díaz 2000). It cites a to-

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tal of 7490 references covering a period of 42 ing to Martín & Díaz (2000), are coastal lagoons, years (from 1958 to 2000) and includes scien- mangrove forests and seagrasses. The main top- tific papers in national and international journals, ics were biology and ecology, and the taxonomic abstracts of scientific meetings, books, technical groups that received more attention were the crus- reports, and undergraduate and graduate theses. taceans among the invertebrates and the fish The ecosystems most thoroughly studied, accord- among the vertebrates (Table I, Fig. 2).

TABLE I. The main publications, ecosystems, taxonomic groups and institutes involved in marine scientific research.

TABLA I. Las principales publicaciones, ecosistemas, grupos taxonómicos e institutos involucrados en investigaciones científicas marinas.

Type Congress Paper Undergraduate Technical Chapter in book Books of publication abstract in scientific and reports journal graduate thesis 41.0% 29.5% 15.7% 3.9% 3.7% 3.3%

Ecosystem Coastal Mangrove Seagrasses Coral reefs Sandy beaches Rocky studied lagoons forests shores 11.5% 4.1% 3.7% 1.4% 1.1% 0.5%

Taxonomic Fishes Birds and group Vertebrates 87.9% 6.7% 5.9%

Taxonomic Crustaceans Mollusks Cnidarians Echinoderms group 37.0% 36.6% 7.6% 4.6% Invertebrates

Institution UDO USB UCV IVIC FLASA LUZ 56.3% 11.4% 10.1% 6.0% 5.1% 2.8%

UDO: Universidad de Oriente UCV: Universidad Central de Venezuela USB: Universidad Simón Bolívar LUZ: Universidad del Zulia FLASA: Fundación La Salle de Ciencias Naturales IVIC: Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas

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FIGURE 2. The number of publications between 1958 and 2000 in the different areas of marine science (Data from Martín & Díaz 2000).

FIGURA 2. Número de publicaciones entre 1958 y 2000 en las distintas áreas de las ciencias marinas. (Información de Martín & Díaz 2000).

TABLE II. Numbers of documents, concerning aspects of marine science in Venezuela, which appeared in the decades from 1940 to 1990 (Martín & Díaz 2000).

TABLA II. Número de documentos respecto a los aspectos de la ciencia marina en Venezuela, entre las décadas de 1940 a 1990 (Martín & Díaz 2000).

Decade Number of total publications (*) Number of papers and books 1940-1949 45 43 1950-1959 79 59 1960-1969 448 331 1970-1979 1102 547 1980-1989 2605 781 1990-1999 3006 690

* Includes published books and papers, as well as unpublished “gray literature” (thesis, technical reports, and unpublished monographs)

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In the last six decades, the number of Los Roques National Park and Isla de Aves publications in the marine sciences in Wildlife Refuge in 1972. Politically, this was Venezuela has increased significantly (Table regarded as a commitment by Venezuela to II), demonstrating the remarkable increase in conserve marine ecosystems, honoring the sec- the knowledge of this field and the ond World Conference on National Parks held commitment of Venezuelan researchers to their in Yellowstone in 1972 (see Amend 1992). To work. date, Venezuela has designated 21 PAs that include, partially or totally, coastal and ma- (2) COASTAL AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS OF rine ecosystems; three of them are parts of VENEZUELA Lake Maracaibo.

Historical background and general consider- ations. REPRESENTATION OF COASTAL AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS Protected areas (PAs), as considered in this pa- per (Fig.1), are those whose primary objec- Venezuela has legal rights or sovereignty over tive is the protection of ecosystem or biotic approximately 900,000 km² of marine environ- resources. Accord with this, out of the ABRAE ment (MARN 2000). PAs represent only 0.6% categories, only the National Parks, Natural of this (5,470 km², Table III), relatively little Monuments, Wildlife Refuges, and Wildlife in comparison with the nearly 15% (142,306 Reserves (MARNR 1985) will be referred to km²) occupied by the continental PAs (MARN as PAs and these correspond to the IUCN 2000). However, in terms of ecosystem pro- (1994) categories as indicated in Table III. tection, the difference is exaggerated because • National Parks (República de Venezuela most of the maritime area is ocean, the Ven- 1966) aim to maintain ecosystems and scenic ezuelan continental shelf covering about resources as pristine as possible, though ac- 100,000 km². cepting some degree of human intervention for Coastal PAs incorporate 18.2% (682 km, Table recreational purposes, non-industrial fisheries, II) of the 3,964 km of Venezuelan continental and other forms of “sustainable use”, accord- coastline and almost all of the major reef eco- ing to a zoning and management plan. systems are included and protected within • Natural Monuments (República de Venezu- them. Two PAs alone, Los Roques and Isla de ela 1966) aim to preserve relevant physical Aves, comprise 68.7% (3,758 km²) of the pro- features, but within a framework of ecosys- tected marine space, a reflection of the great tem and biotic resources protection, function- importance they have in quantitative terms, ing, in fact, as small national parks that, de- and these two represent the nucleus of the Ven- pending upon the specific management plans ezuelan marine PAs system. From another per- and zoning, might be even more strictly con- spective, however, strictly marine areas (see trolled than National Parks. Table III) comprise only 3.84% of the total • Wildlife Refuges (República de Venezuela PAs of Venezuela, indicating a strong bias to- 1970) have as a primary goal the preservation wards the mainland. of faunal populations. Historically, these pro- All Venezuelan coastal and marine PAs are in grams have focused on migratory vertebrates the central Caribbean marine ecoregion (IUCN (i.e. sea turtles and birds) and their habitats, 1994), which is ranked as being of the highest but legally, they include all biotic resources. priority for conservation among the coastal • Wildlife Reserves (República de Venezuela biogeographical provinces of Latin America 1970) have, as a primary objective, the sus- and the wider Caribbean (Sullivan & Busta- tainable use of faunal resources, including mante 1999). The extent to which these PAs sport hunting and fishing. include representative regions of coastal and The first PAs established specifically to con- marine biodiversity in Venezuela is still not serve marine ecosystems were Archipiélago clear.

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THREATS AND LEVELS OF RISK IN COASTAL AND MA- fectiveness is more dependent on issues be- RINE PROTECTED A REAS yond formal planning. Institutional strength and professional capability are the most ur- A number of significant threats to these PAs gent needs of the PAs management agencies. are listed in Table III; it is clear that coastal Public support for strong management is even and marine areas are under pressure. The level more necessary, in addition to the significant of risk faced by the National Parks and Natu- involvement of universities and non-govern- ral Monuments of Venezuela was recently as- mental organizations (NGOs) in research, sessed (Rivero Blanco et al. 2001). Risk was monitoring, and assisting with specific re- considered to be the degree to which an area source management. Morrocoy, Cuare, and is prone to reach a high level of deterioration, now the Orinoco Delta are good examples of given the intrinsic sensitivity of and the pres- such involvement. sures exerted on each PA. The results of this work indicate that 7 of the 43 National Parks (3) BIOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS in Venezuela have a risk level of >80 (on a scale of 0-100), 4 of these being in the coastal- The collections of preserved and living ani- marine category - Mochima, Morrocoy, San mals and plants represent powerful means for Esteban, and the Península de Paria, in de- conserving, ex situ, biodiversity. Herbariums creasing order of risk. The lowest level among and zoological collections exist, in the main, the coastal-marine parks is held by for species identification and to make this type Archipiélago Los Roques, with a rating of 60, of information available to the general public the rest having risk levels between 60 and 80. in the form of a database. Venezuela has 25 On the other hand, only two coastal-marine herbariums (15 of them registered in the In- Natural Monuments have ratings around 60, dex Herbarium) which contain 626,000 speci- the Laguna de Las Marites and the Tetas de mens and 5,494 “types”. There are also zoo- María Guevara (Nueva Esparta State), which rank logical museums and collections with a total eighth and eleventh out of 21 Natural Monu- of 2,080,000 vertebrate specimens and about ments. A similar analysis remains to be conducted 3,000,000 specimens of invertebrates as well for Wildlife Reserves and Refuges, but the re- as 59 “types”. The 10 botanical gardens and sults are not expected to be significantly differ- 18 zoos with living specimens need to be im- ent from those for the National Parks. proved to properly function as centers for the conservation of biodiversity (Aguilera 2000). MANAGEMENT The most important collections of marine fauna in Venezuela are on Margarita Island at There is no doubt that the management of the the Museo Marino de Margarita, and in the coastal and marine areas is the most demand- Fundación La Salle de Ciencias Naturales, ing and difficult of all the PAs in Venezuela. Caracas and Margarita Island and the Museo All of them are subject to impacts coming from de Ciencias Biológicas, UCV, Caracas. outside their legal boundaries and, thus, be- The outcome of a workshop on zoological di- yond the reach of the administrative agency, versity Guanare city ( State) in INPARQUES (Instituto Nacional de Parques), 1999, where more than 30 Venezuelan re- responsible for PAs management and law en- searchers participated, will be published in forcement. Little or no coordination between Acta Biológica Venezuelica by the end of central government agencies and state and lo- 2003. It consists basically of a list of species, cal government makes it difficult to resolve genera, and families of each major phylum. or diminish the effects of these impacts. Little From this workshop, the diversity of marine attention is paid politically to coastal and ma- invertebrates reported in Venezuela is made up rine environmental problems. Twelve of these of about 558 families, 1,382 genera, and 2,697 PA have adequate management zoning and species as specified in Table IV; this is con- management plans, but real management ef- sidered to be highly underestimated.

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9

Significant Threats

Poaching and overfishing. Oil spills by terrorist activities. Pollution from oil pro- duction and transport systems. Poaching and overfish- ing. Oil spills by terrorist activities. Pollution from oil pro- duction and transport systems. Pollution from oil pro- duction and transport systems.

Poaching and overfishing. Impacts from industrial salt production systems.

8

8

Year of legal Year designation (Management plan)

1991 (——)

1975 (——)

2000 (——)

1986 (2001)

6, 7 6,

icantes.

icant threats.

Marine and coastal habitat types present Ecosystems

Estuarine: Flooded savannas Flooded forests (freshwaters)

Estuarine: Flooded savannas Flooded forests (freshwaters) Interconnected with Ciénagas del Catatumbo Coastal : Mangroves Sandy beaches (estuarine brack- ish waters) Coastal lagoon: Mangroves Sandy and muddy beaches

(km)

5

Continental coast line

90.1 (lake coast)

56 (lake coast)

NA (lake coast)

44

management plans and signif

planes de manejo y amenazas signif

4

)

2

Islands area

(km

——

——

4.6

3

)

2

area, ecosystems, area,

Marine area

(km

159.2 (lake area)

104 (lake area)

65

área, ecosistemas,

)

2

2

Total area

(km

2500.00

706.80

25.26

222.04

10

1

eas in Venezuela: eas in

IUCN Category (Ramsar Site)

II

VI

VI

IV (1996)

III. Areas marinas protegidos en Venezuela: en protegidos marinas III. Areas

III. The marine protected ar The marine III.

ABLE

ABLA

Name * (State)

Ciénagas del Catatumbo (NP) (Zulia)

Ciénagas de Juán Manuel de Aguas Blancas y Aguas Negras (WRs) (Zulia)

Ciénaga La Palmita e Isla de Pájaros (WRs) (Zulia)

Ciénaga de Los Olivitos (WRf) (Zulia and )

T

T

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Simposio.p65 287 02-04-04, 09:34 a.m. Gayana 67(2), 2003 9 Significant Threats Impacts from adjacent tourism developments. Mangrove extraction. Pollution from marine transportation systems. Impacts from human settlements. Poaching and overfishing. Impacts from human settlements. Impacts from adjacent tourism developments. Impacts from human settlements. Impacts from adjacent tourism developments. Recreational activities. 8 8 1989 (——) 1974 (1995) 2001 (——) 1972 (1993) 1975 (Management plan) Year of legal Year designation 6, 7 Ecosystems Marine and coastal habitat types present (estuarine brackish waters) Coastal lagoon: Sandy beaches Mangroves Flat sandy coast: Sandy beaches Mangroves Soft bottoms Estuarine coastal lagoon: Sandy beaches Mangroves Coastal lagoon: Seagrasses Mangroves Sandy beaches Rocky shores Coral reefs Soft bottoms Coral keys system: (km) 5 —— 96.8 NA 24 101.0 Continental coast line 4 ) 2 Islands area (km —— —— NA NA 42.00 3 ) 2 Marine area (km —— 598.80 NA 18.92 205.00 ) 2 2 Total area (km 4.53 912.80 178.00 118.53 320.90 10 1 IUCN Category (Ramsar Site) IV II VI IV (1988 only 84% of total area) II Boca de Caño (WRf) (Falcón) Médanos de Coro (NP) (Falcón) (WRs) Tucurere (Falcón) Cuare (WRf) (Falcón) Morrrocoy Name * (State) Continuación Tabla III Continuación Tabla

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Simposio.p65 288 02-04-04, 09:34 a.m. Marine biodiversity in Venezuela: MILOSLAVICH, P. ET AL. 9 Pollution from marine transportation and in- dustrial systems. Sedimentation from the upper watersheds. Pollution from marine transportation systems. Sedimentation from the upper watersheds. Impacts from human settlements. Recreational and naval activities Impacts from human settlements. Poaching and overfish- ing. Recreational activities Significant Threats 8 8 (1995) 1987 (1996) 1937 (1995) 1972 (Management plan) Year of legal Year designation 6, 7 6, Ecosystems Marine and coastal habitat types present Sandy beaches Rocky shores Seagrasses Coral reefs Mangroves Soft bottoms Interconnected with Cuare Coral keys system: Sandy beaches Rocky shores Seagrasses Coral reefs Mangroves Coastal lagoons Soft bottoms Steep coast: Rocky shores Seagrasses Coral reefs Mangroves Sandy beaches Coral keys system: (km) 5 22.0 56.0 Continental coast line 4 ) 2 Islands area (km 0.88 —— 32.85 3 ) 2 Marine area (km 36.25 —— 2178.35 ) 2 2 Total area (km 435.00 1078.00 2211.20 10 1 II II II IUCN Category (Ramsar Site) (NP) (Falcón) San Esteban (NP) () Henri Pittier (NP) () Archipiélago Los Name * (State) Continuación Tabla III Continuación Tabla

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Simposio.p65 289 02-04-04, 09:34 a.m. Gayana 67(2), 2003 9 Significant Threats Impacts from human settlements Poaching and overfishing. Sedimentation from the upper watersheds. Impacts from human settlements Poaching and overfishing Recreational activities Impacts from human settlements Sedimentation from the upper watersheds. Impacts from human settlements Poaching and overfishing. Pollution from marine transportation systems. 8 8 (1991) 1974 (1991) 1973 (1993) 1974 (1995) (Management plan) Year of legal Year designation 6, 7 Sandy beaches, rocky shores, seagrasses, coral reefs, mangroves, soft bottoms Coastal lagoon: Sandy beaches Mangroves Soft bottoms Steep coast: Sandy beaches Rocky shores Seagrasses Coral reefs Mangroves Soft bottoms Coastal lagoons Coastal lagoon: Mangroves Coastal lagoons Sandy beaches Ecosystems Marine and coastal habitat types present (km) 5 —— 23.0 104.7 10.0 (insular coast line) Continental coast line 4 ) 2 Islands area (km All emerged areas —— 42.87 —— 3 ) 2 Marine area (km 207.00 491.70 4.0 ) 2 2 Total area (km 391.00 949.35 16.70 10 1 IUCN Category (Ramsar Site) (1996) II (1996) II III Name * (State) Roques (NP) (Federal Depen- dencies) Laguna de (NP) Tacarigua (Miranda) Mochima (NP) (Sucre and Fed- eral Dependen- cies) de María Tetas Guevara (NM) (Nueva Esparta) Continuación Tabla III Continuación Tabla

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Simposio.p65 290 02-04-04, 09:34 a.m. Marine biodiversity in Venezuela: MILOSLAVICH, P. ET AL. 9 Recreational activities Impacts from human settlements Poaching and overfish- ing. Impacts from human settlements Poaching and overfishing. Impacts from human settlements. Poaching and overfish- ing. Moderate impacts from Navy post. Pollution from maritime transportation Influence of human settlements. Significant Threats 8 8 1974 (1991) 1974 (1993) 1979 (——) 1972 (1978, regula- tions only) 1992 (——) (Management plan) Year of legal Year designation 6, 7 6, Coastal lagoon: Sandy beaches Coral reefs Rocky shores Mangroves Coastal lagoons Soft bottoms Coastal lagoon: Mangroves Soft bottoms Steep coast: Rocky shores Mangroves Coastal lagoons Coral keys sys- tem: Sandy beaches Coral reefs Soft bottoms Flat coast: Sandy and muddy beaches Mangroves Ecosystems Marine and coastal habitat types present (km) 5 35.0 (insular coast line) 4.0 (insular coast line) 64.0 0.7 (insular coast line) 46.6 Continental coast line 4 ) 2 Islands area (km —— —— 1.26 0.04 Single emerged area —— 3 ) 2 Marine area (km 63.64 0.9 —— 1580.17 20.5 ) 2 2 Total area (km 171.80 36.74 375.00 1580.21 700.00 10 1 II (1996) III II IV II IUCN Category (Ramsar Site) (NP) (Nueva Esparta) Laguna de Las Marites (NM) (Nueva Esparta) Península de Paria (NP) (Sucre) (WRf) Isla Aves (Federal Depen- dencies) (NP) Turuépano (Sucre) Name * (State) Continuación Tabla III Continuación Tabla

291

Simposio.p65 291 02-04-04, 09:34 a.m. Gayana 67(2), 2003 9 Significant Threats Pollution from maritime transportation Poaching and overfishing 8 8 (Management plan) Year of legal Year designation 1992 (——) 6, 7 Coastal lagoons Flooded savan- nas Flooded forests : Sandy and muddy beaches Mangroves Flooded savan- nas Flooded forests (estuarine brack- ish waters) Ecosystems Marine and coastal habitat types present (km) 5 50.0 827.9 (681.8 strictly marine) Continental coast line 4 ) 2 Islands area (km —— 124.5 3 ) 2 Marine area (km —— 5733.43 (5470,23 strictly marine) ) 2 2 Total area (km 3310.00 16243.86 10 1 II IUCN Category (Ramsar Site) Delta del Orinoco (NP) () TOTAL Name * (State) Continuación Tabla III Continuación Tabla

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Notes: 6: Names according to Penchaszadeh et al. (2000) *: NP=National Park, NM=Natural Monuent, Names in italics translated from Rodriguez- WRf=Wildlife Refuge, WRs=Wildlife Reserve Altamiranda (1999). “Muddy beaches”, accord- ing to Cowardin et al (1979). “Soft bottoms”, 1: Protected Areas categories applying according to Miloslavich (pers. com), refered IUCN(1994) criteria: II=managed mainly for eco- only to soft bottoms habitats at open sea. Pre- system protection and recreation; III= managed dominantly marine waters, except where indi- mainly for conservation of specific natural fea- cated between parenthesis (-) and coastal la- tures; IV= managed mainly for conservation goons where conditions are locally variable. through management intervention; VI= man- 7: Edgard Yerena, Hedelvy Guada, Vicente Vera, aged mainly for the sustainable use of natural Jorge Padrón, Profauna 1998. ecosystems. 8: Year of legal designation as protected area or approval of management plan, as published in 2: Inparques (Venezuelan National Parks Ser- Official Gazette. All approved management plans vice) and MARN (Biological Diversity National are in force and include regulations. Source: Office) INPARQUES and MARN (Biological Diversity 3: Luis Romero (INPARQUES), Vicente Vera National Office) (MARN), Jorge Padrón. Predominantly marine, 9: Three most important threats or sources of except where indicated between parenthesis (- threats. Source: For NP and NM: Rivero-Blanco ). et al (2001); For WRf and WRs: Lentino and 4: Luis Romero (INPARQUES), Vicente Vera Bruni (1994); Vicente Vera (MARN); Edgard (MARN). Yerena. 5: Continental sea shore line. Edgard Yerena. 10: Year of acceptance as Ramsar Site. Rolando Vera. Predominantly marine, except ——: Data does not apply to such area. where indicated between parenthesis (-). NA: Data not available

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TABLE IV. Estimated diversity of marine invertebrates in Venezuela.

TABLA IV. Diversidad estimada de los invertebrados marinos en Venezuela.

Group Number of Families Number of Genera Number of Species

Porifera 31 55 86 Cnidaria 38 65 108 Platyhelminthes 4 4 6 Nemertina 1 1 1 Rotifera 6 8 14 Nematoda 28 79 166 Annelida 47 158 287 185 395 815 Sipuncula 3 7 14 Crustacea 161 498 1024 Chelicerata (Pycnogonida) 4 10 10 Chaetognatha 1 3 12 Echinodermata 42 85 139 Urochordata 6 13 14 Cephalocordata 1 1 1 TOTAL 558 1382 2697

(4) THE LEGAL INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK IN THE proving Law on September 12, 1994. This commit- COUNTRY ted Venezuela to formulate strategies, plans, and programs aimed at the conservation and sustain- One of the first steps taken in Venezuela towards able use of the biota and its diversity and to incor- an environmental policy aimed at the conservation porate them into the country’s future schemes. The of ecosystems and pristine areas and the preserva- new Venezuelan constitution, approved in Decem- tion of biological diversity was the setting-up, in ber 15, 1999, estipulates in Article 127 as an obli- 1973, of INPARQUES. However, it was in 1976 gation of the State, the protection of the environ- that a formal environmental policy was initiated ment, biological and genetic diversity, ecological with the promulgation of the Organic Law of the processes, and the areas of special ecological im- Environment (June 7, 1976) and the Organic Law portance. Finally, on May 24, 2000, the Law on of Central Administration (December 28, 1976). Biological Diversity was signed and the National This led to the creation of the Ministry of Environ- Office of Biological Diversity (Oficina Nacional ment and Natural Renewable Resources (MARNR) de Diversidad Biológica, ONDB) was established and was the institutional response of the State to in the now MARN, which replaced the former the need to reconcile the physical demands of eco- MARNR to develop a national strategy in nomic growth and development with the sustain- biodiversity. able use of renewable natural resources. Its strate- gic goals are the conservation, defense, and im- THE NATIONAL STRATEGY IN BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND provement of the environment. PLAN OF ACTION Venezuela actively participated in the 1992 Nairobi Convention for the establishment of Agenda 21 and The National Strategy in Biological Diversity was in the elaboration of the Agreement on Biological undertaken by MARN and ONDB. The project Diversity itself, which was signed at the Conven- started in 1997 with the first stage, an assessment tion on Biological Diversity at The Earth Summit of the status of biological diversity in Venezuela, (the United Nations conference about Environment supported financially by the Global Environmen- and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, tal Fund (GEF) through the United Nations Pro- in 1992. This commitment was supported by an Ap- gram for Development (UNPD). There were 3

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themes: state of knowledge, conservation, and • To promote the concepts of ecosystem fo- sustainable use. Following this, MARN organized cus and bioregional planning in the develop- several workshops and then presented a National ment of the country. Strategy with a clear mission: “the State will pro- • To promote the participation of society at large mote the necessary actions to increase knowl- in the conservation, management, and dissemi- edge, ensure the conservation and the sustainable nation of knowledge of biological diversity. use of Biological Diversity, and incorporate these • To fulfill the commitments acquired by sign- actions into the national, regional, and munici- pal development plans. To carry out the proposed ing the Treaty of Biological Diversity and other objectives, national and international strategic al- agreements. liances will be established”. • To achieve a fair and equitable national par- The general objectives of the National Strat- ticipation in the benefits produced by the access egy are: to genetic resources. • To establish actions to increase knowledge about biological diversity at the ecosystem and Following meetings, workshops, and other dis- community level, about wild and domestic spe- cussions, 15 projects or lines of research were cies, about genetic resources and about envi- established as the National Strategy: ronmental services. 1. The valuation and dissemination of informa- • To establish the necessary actions to ensure tion about biological diversity. the conservation of biological diversity, tak- 2. The promotion of conservation in situ. ing into account their importance, strategic 3. The promotion of conservation ex situ. character, economic value, and significance for 4. The assurance and promotion of the participa- accomplishing the sustainable use of the tion of society in the management of biological country’s resources. resources and their diversity. • To promote programs for the sustainable use 5. The incorporation of knowledge about biologi- of biological resources; cal diversity in formal and informal education • To contribute with the active participation and the training of human resources. of the local and indigenous populations in the 6. The involvement of local and indigenous com- conservation and sustainable use of biologi- munities in the management of biological re- cal resources. sources. • To promote the divulgation of and create 7. The prevention, mitigation, and control of the awareness in society about the importance of impact of human activities on biological diver- biological diversity. sity. • To prevent, mitigate, and restore any dam- 8. The promotion of the sustainable use of bio- age caused to the ecosystems by economic ac- logical resources. tivities such as mining, oil activities, fisher- 9. The establishment of mechanisms regulating ies, farming, forestry, tourism, urban and in- access to genetic resources. dustrial development. 10. The development of biotechnologies for aid- ing the sustainable use of biological resources. • To prevent and control the introduction of 11. The strengthening of international, regional invasive exotic species to the different ecosys- and subregional cooperation. tems in the country. 12. The strengthening of the institutions dedi- • To promote the outreach of biotechnologies cated to the conservation of biological diversity that will allow the sustainable use of the bio- and of conducting the National Strategy. logical resources, properly regulating access 13. The promotion of funding for the National to the genetic wealth of the country. Strategy on biological diversity. • To prevent and control the risks derived from 14. The development of programs to fulfill in- the use of genetically modified living organ- ternational commitments within the framework isms. of the Treaty of Biological Diversity.

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15. The development of other programs of na- aimed at their protection and sustainable use. tional priority. Further ecological and biogeographical studies Item 14 includes several programs relevant to the are needed in order to determine in more detail marine environment: (1) the conservation of the the biodiversity in the marine PAs. More PAs will wetland ecosystems and their biodiversity; (2) the probably be needed to reach an adequate repre- use and carrying capacity of the ecosystems for sentation of the biodiversity of all of the ecosys- tourist activities; (3) the prevention and control tems. The risk levels faced by PAs are high and of exotic invasive species; and (4) the conserva- management effectiveness is poor. Stronger sup- tion and sustainable use of coral reefs. Among port of PA agencies, local governments, scien- the projects developed in Item 15, the most im- tific institutions, and NGOs is needed in order to portant is the conservation of biodiversity and reverse this situation. the sustainable use of biological resources in Table V summarizes, within the main objectives of marine coastal and insular areas. the Concepción Census of Marine Life South America workshop, what is known on a local scale, OTHER INITIATIVES RELATED TO THE CONSERVATION OF what we want to know on a broader scale, and ideas BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY for new integrated projects concerned with the ma- rine ecosystems and their associated biodiversity. Venezuela has also been an active participant in In the short term (10 years), priorities are the esti- non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the mation of the areas of and the completion of spe- subject of biological diversity, being the sole cies lists and health status assessments for the main Latin American country participating as a founder ecosystems. The resulting information must be com- of the UICN and the first Latin American State piled and summarized in nationwide Geographic to request membership. One of the most impor- Information Systems (GIS) databases, accessible to tant recent contributions to the subject was the both the scientific community and the management workshop, “Management in the Venezuelan agencies. In the longer term, a genetic inventory will NGOs involved with the Conservation of Bio- also be required in order to provide more detailed logical Diversity”, held in Caracas in June, 1996 knowledge of the biological resources. In both cases, and organized by Fundación Polar, the Venezu- the training of human resources in taxonomy, sys- elan Association for the Conservation of Natural tematic; and techniques in molecular biology is nec- Areas (ACOANA) and the Interamerican Center essary. for the Development of and Research on the Territorial Environmental (CIDIAT). Notable themes included: the management of natural re- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS sources, environmental education, the manage- ment of protected areas, research and monitor- We wish to thank Geog. Rolando Vera for the ing, ecosystem recovery, and threatened species. design of the map and Geog. Vicente Vera for All of these projects are being carried out thanks helping with the compilation of the maps used to the support, coordination, and direction of the for Figure 1. We are also indebted to Dr. Víctor NGOs, particularly FUDENA, PROVITA, and Ariel Gallardo, Centro de Investigaciones Econatura in the marine areas. Oceanográficas en el Pacífico Sur-Oriental (COPAS), Universidad de Concepción, Chile, for his invaluable help in promoting the First South CONCLUSIONS: THE UNKNOWN American Workshop on Marine Biodiversity, and the sponsors of this workshop, Dr. Shuha This paper has documented the information avail- Sathyendranath (POGO), Dr. Ronald O’Dor able in Venezuela regarding scientific research (Census of Marine Life) and Dr. Jesse Ausebel in biodiversity, the different ecosystems, and de- (Sloan Foundation). This work was partially sup- gree of knowledge that has been generated, the ported by a Decanato de Investigación y importance and extent of the PAs as biodiversity Desarrollo, Universidad Simón Bolívar grants to reserves, and the legal institutional framework the Grupo de Ciencias Marinas.

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TABLE V. Current knowledge and research needs for the marine ecosystems in Venezuela.

TABLA V. Conocimientos actuales y necesidades para la investigación de los ecosistemas marinos en Venezuela.

What we need to What we need to know know Beyond 10 Ecosystem Area What we know 10 year program year program

Sandy ? Species list, trophic GIS: area, physical charac- Dynamics of the Beaches structure (few), popula- teristics, production and biological commu- tion studies (few), re- associated fauna nities, energy/ productive biology of matter fluxes mollusks

Rocky ? Local horizontal zona- GIS: area, horizontal and Dynamics of the Shores tion, macroalgae spe- vertical zonation, associated biological commu- cies list species, temporal variability. nities, energy/ mater fluxes. Inter- actions between hydrodynamics and communities

Sea ? Species list of associ- GIS: area, physical charac- Interaction with grasses (Morrocoy ated fauna (few local), teristics, production and other ecosystems, 373 has) production and produc- associated fauna. with genetic and tivity, biomass, demo- Human impacts energetic flow graphic studies (local, few)

Coral reefs ? Species List (corals, GIS: area, health status, and Consolidate Car- (Los fishes, macro-inverte- species cover. Epidemiologi- ibbean wide stud- Roques brates). Health status cal approach to coral dis- ies. Genetic stud- 150,000 (local). Coral cover (lo- eases. Impacts (fisheries, ies has) cal). Coral and fish com- tourism), population inter- (Las Aves munity structure (local) connections, influence area 30,000 has) studies (Hinterland ap- proach)

Man- 300,000 Area, species composi- GIS: area, vertical zonation groves has tion, uses, associated (sediment, roots and canopy)

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Continuación Tabla V.

What we need to What we need to know know Beyond 10 Ecosystem Area What we know 10 year program year program

fauna (birds, terrestrial and marine), legislation

673,700 Area, species list (lo- GIS: area, species composi- Hydrodynamics Coastal has cal) tion, circulation dynamics. and community Lagoons Impacts (fisheries, aquacul- interactions. ture, tourism)

Orinoco 3,000,000 Area, fish community GIS: physical characteristics. Integrated pro- Delta has composition in the Complete species inventory grams for sustain- southern delta. Cover and community structure able use of the of mangrove forest and ecosystems mangrove species com- position. Limited knowledge of indigenous use of local flora and fauna

Non- ? Species list (incomplete GIS: area, physical charac- vegetated and local) teristics, production and Sustained moni- soft associated fauna toring of bottom bottoms Updated inventory list, communities. Con- natural barriers tinental shelf

Pelagic 90,000,000 General oceanographic GIS realms has characteristics (out- More remote sensing capa- Sustained moni- dated), upwelling dy- bilities. Circulation measure- toring program of namics, fisheries (in- ments. Plankton dynamics deep sea research dustrial, artisan), fish (horizontal, vertical and tem- (beyond continen- species list poral) tal shelf). Species lists and habitat characterization

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POSSIBLE FUTURE PROJECTS: LOCAL, REGIONAL AND BONE, D. & P. SPINIELLO (Eds). 2000. Estudio Integral del GLOBAL sistema Parque Nacional Morrocoy con miras al desarrollo de planes de uso y gestión para su Local (Venezuela) conservación. III Informe Técnico, Tomos I y II, FONACIT, Caracas. • Charting and the production of maps (Geo- BONE, D., D. PÉREZ, A. VILLAMIZAR, P.E. PENCHASZADEH graphical Information Systems) of key coastline & E. KLEIN. 1998. Parque Nacional Morrocoy, Venezuela. In: Kjerfve B. (Ed.). CARICOMP- and island ecosystems, the extent and status of each Caribbean , Seagrass and Mangrove of them. Comparison of systems and of biodiversity. sites. UNESCO, París: 151-159 pp. Crosslink between floral and faunal inventories. BONE, D., A. CROQUER, E. KLEIN, D. PÉREZ, F. LOSADA, A. • Integration of the information about local ecosys- MARTIN, C. BASTIDAS, M. RADA, L. GALINDO & P. PENCHASZADEH. 2001. Programa CARICOMP: tems. Monitoreo a largo plazo de los ecosistemas • Elaboration of a biodiversity database. marinos del Parque Nacional Morrocoy, Venezuela. Interciencia 26(19): 457-462. Regional (Southern Caribbean: Colombia, Venezuela, CARICOMP. 1997. Caribbean Coastal Marine Produc- tivity (CARICOMP): a research and monitoring and the Netherlands Antilles) network of marine laboratories, parks and re- serves. Proceedings of the 8th International • Upwelling zones Coral Reef Symposium 1: 641-646. CERVIGON, F. 1966. Los peces marinos de Vene- • Natural barriers (rivers) zuela.Tomos I y II. Fundación La Salle de • Global (South America) Ciencias Naturales, (Eds.). Fundación La Salle • Pacific-Atlantic north-south gradients of sandy de Ciencias Naturales.Caracas, 941 pp. CERVIGON, F. 1989. Los peces marinos de Venezuela. and rocky ecosystems Caracas. Editorial Arte. • Comparative studies of estuarine and deltaic sys- CERVIGON, F. 1991a. Los peces marinos de Venezuela. tems Volumen I. 2nd edition, Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas, Cromotip, 425 pp. CERVIGON, F. 1991b. Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volumen II. 2nd ed. Fundación Científica Los BIBLIOGRAPHY Roques.Caracas, Cromotip, 497 pp. CERVIGON, F. 1994. Los peces marinos de Venezuela. ACOSTA, J. M. 1974. Estudio de las comunidades Volumen III. Editorial Exlibris. Caracas, 295 pp. vegetales de la Bahía de Los Totumos. Boletín CERVIGON, F. 1996. Los peces marinos de Venezuela. 2nd Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales, ed. Caracas: 254 pp. Caracas, 31(128/129): 79-112. CERVIGON, F. & A. ALCALA. 1999. Los peces marinos de AGUILERA, M. 2000. Especiación y Biodiversidad. Venezuela. Tiburones y rayas. Fundación Museo Trabajo de Ascenso, Universidad Simón Bolívar, del Mar, (Eds.). 230 pp. Caracas 238 pp. CERVIGON, F. & A. ALCALA. 2000. Peces del Archipiélago AGUILERA, M., A. AZÓCAR & E. GONZÁLEZ-JIMÉNEZ. (Eds.) de Los Roques. Fundación Museo del Mar y (IN PRESS). Venezuela: Un País Megadiverso. Fundación Científica Los Roques (Eds). CONICIT-Fundación Polar. Caracas. Caracas, 79 pp. ERVIGON ISHER AMEND, T. (Ed.). 1992. Parque Nacional Archipiélago Los C , F. & W. F . 1979. Catálogo de especies Roques. Parques Nacionales y Conservación marinas de interés económico actual o potencial Ambiental Nº 3. Fundación Polar e Instituto para América Latina, Parte 1-Atlántico centro y Nacional de Parques. Caracas. 225 pp. suroccidental. Infopesca, FAO/UNDP SIC/79/1, ATIENZA, D. 2000. Taxonomía y ecología de los 372 pp. anfípodos asociados a praderas de Thalassia CERVIGON, F., R. CIPRIANI, W. FISHER, L. GARIBALDI, M. testudinum en el Parque Nacional Morrocoy. HENDRICKX, A. J. LEMUS, R. MÁRQUEZ, J. M. Undergraduate Thesis, Universidad Simón POUTIERS, G. O. ROBAINA & B. RODRÍGUEZ. 1992. Bolívar, Caracas, 129 pp. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales BETZ, M. & M. BOCK. 1981. La situación hidrográfica marinas y de aguas salobres de la costa en Golfo Triste. Boletín Instituto Oceanográfico septentrional de Sur América. FAO Fisheries Universidad de Oriente 20(1/2): 63-78. Report, 513 pp. ONDE LARCON BITTER, R. 1988. Análisis multivariado de la comunidad C , J. E. & C. A . 1993. Mangroves of asociada a Thalassia testudinum en el Parque Venezuela. In: Lacerda L. D. (Ed.). Conser- Nacional Morrocoy. Ph.D Thesis, Universidad vation and sustainable utilization of mangrove Central de Venezuela, 240 pp. forests in the Latin America and Africa Regions.

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Fecha de recepción: 05/05/03 Fecha de aceptación: 101/09/03

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