Research activities are underway in Nuquí

Earlier this month, COLDEMAR researchers teamed up with local environmental organization Guardianes del Mar, to begin field activities to monitor the rocky reefs of the Gulf of Tribugá.

The team is collecting baseline information on reef fish and benthic communities across two prioritized sites in the southern part of the Gulf, while simultaneously building up local reef monitoring capacities. By establishing permanent monitoring transects and capturing underwater photographic records, the project will generate valuable information to track changes in this ecosystem over time, particularly during the ongoing El Niño event.

This initiative brings together scientific expertise, local knowledge, community-driven monitoring and AI-assisted tools to deepen our understanding of coral and rocky reefs in the Colombian Pacific. Funding from COLDEMAR , provided by BMFTR, is further supported by Colombia’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation through its “Women in Science” Program (Orquídeas), awarded to the Coral Reef Ecology Research Group at Universidad del Valle.

We would like to extend our gratitude to the Community Council Los Riscales and the members of the Management Committee of the Regional District of Integrated Management (DRMI) Golfo de Tribugá-Cabo Corrientes for their support and valuable feedback, which helped us strengthen our project.