Helena Molina-Ureña
Areas of expertise
Fish ecology and conservation, Tropical fisheries ecology, Fish biology and ichthyoplankton, Biological Oceanography
Degrees
- B.S. in Biology, Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), Costa Rica (Honors)
- M.S. in Oceanography, Oregon State University, United States
- Ph.D. in Marine Biology & Fisheries, University of Miami, United States
Potential student research areas
- Marine Protected Areas and tropical fisheries management and conservation
- Tropical freshwater fish ecology, genetics and ethology
- Effects of fish feeding by tourists
- Artisanal fisheries studies
- Cold-seeps and deep-sea fish fauna
- Lionfish invasion in Caribbean reefs
- Ecological modeling
- Effects of large disturbances (e.g., pesticides, earthquakes, and flash floods) on stream fish communities
Biography
Helena was born and raised in San José, Costa Rica. As UCR faculty, she is an associate professor at the School of Biology and a researcher at the Marine Science and Limnology Research Center (CIMAR). She teaches General Biology (for Science and Health majors), Introduction to Biology (for Biology majors), Vertebrate Zoology, Ichthyology, Marine Protected Areas, Marine Biology, Zooplankton Ecology, Introduction to Fisheries Ecology, Environmental Interpretation, among others. Her field experience is mostly as biological oceanographer or fish specialist on board many research vessels (30-83 ft long) and the DSV Alvin (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s submersible). Those research cruises have taken her to coastal and oceanic waters off Oregon, Washington, Hawai'i, Cocos Island, Galapagos, Bahamas, Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas, as well as to 1040-m deep methane seeps in the Mesoamerican Trench. An advanced NAUI and IANTD-Nitrox certified scientific SCUBA diver, she is developing a visual census technique for Costa Rican streams based on her expertise on reef fish visual counts. Her outreach projects include Environmental interpretation in national parks, Sustainable seafood to chefs, and Transboundary workshops for regional fisheries co-management.