This course is aimed to highlight the importance of Conservation Marine Biology in managing Costa Rican Elasmobranch species (sharks and rays) with the emphasis on recent conservation efforts in the Easter Tropical Pacific (ETP). Marine ecosystems of the ETP provide a baseline source for sharks and rays species of high commercial interest in satisfying human demand for nationa and international food.

However, numerous sharks and rays species are threatened by unsustainable human activities, such as overfishing and habitat destruction. We will develop a critical understanding of conservation biology, by emphasizing the general concept of the different level of biodiversity and different approaches used in Conservation Genetics to document the biodiversity and connectivity of sharks and rays. The students will be introduced to a wide range of practical activities by visiting field stations and natural laboratories on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, lecture and practical activities in the Molecular Biology Lab (BIOMOL) at Universidad Veritas.