Sharon Z. Herzka

  • Associate Professor
  • Marine Science

Currently recruiting graduate students and postdocs. 

Profile image of Sharon Z. Herzka

Contact Information

Biography

I conducted my undergraduate studies at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and my MA and PhD at UT MSI, graduating in 2000. 

Before returning to UT's Department of Marine Science as an Associate Professor, I was a researcher at the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE), a Mexican public research and higher education center in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, since January 2001. CICESE is the largest of 27 national centers of excellence affiliated with the Mexican Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT), and it is host to close to 200 full-time researchers supported by external funding. CICESE offers graduate programs in Marine Ecology, in which I have taught, as well as Physical Oceanography and other earth sciences, which was conducive to interdisciplinary research and collaborations in the Center and beyond. I have advised 20 graduate students and supervised three postdoctoral fellows, and served as Head of the Department of Biological Oceanography between March 2018-July 2021. 

 

 

Research

Migration and habitat use of marine fishes, Early life history of fish, Stable isotope ecology, Estuarine ecology, Gulf of Mexico oceanography

Fields of Interest

  • Marine Ecosystem Dynamics
  • Marine Chemistry
  • Plankton Biology
  • Physical Oceanography
  • Marine Population Dynamics
  • Coastal Ecosystem Processes
  • Biodiversity

Centers and Institutes

  • Marine Science Institute

Publications

  • (*SZ Herzka as Corresponding Author, SZ Herzka’s Students or posdocs  in Itallics)

    Contreras-Pacheco YV, Herzka SZ, Herguera García* JC (2023) Particulate organic carbon in the deep-water region of the Gulf of Mexico. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1095212.

     

    Herguera García JHC, Peters EM, Sheinbaum J, Pérez-Brunius P, Herzka SZ, Licea-Navarro AF, Ocampo-Torres FJ, Aguirre-Macedo ML, Vidal-Martínez WM, García-Nava H, Salgado T, Romero-Centeno R, Zavala-Hidalgo J, Pardo-López L, Gracia A. (2023) Ocean Monitoring, Observation Network and Modelling of the Gulf of Mexico by CIGOM. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1095212/full

     

    Amon R, Ochoa J, Candela J, Herguera JC, Herzka SZ,  Pérez-Brunius P, Sheinbaum J,  Hernández-Ayon M, Camacho-Ibar VF, and Key RM. (2023) Ventilation of the deep Gulf of Mexico and potential insights to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Science Advances. 9, eade1685. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ade1685

     

    Ramírez-León MR, Sosa-Nishizaki O, Pérez-BruniusO, Romo-Curiel AE, Ramírez-Mendoza Z, Fajardo-YamamotoA, Herzka SZ, García-Aguila MC (2023) Semi-quantitative risk assessment of marine mammal oil exposure: A case study in the western Gulf of Mexico. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1034647/full

     

    Daudén-Bengoa G, Jiménez-Rosenberg SPA, Fernández Alamo MA, Ordoñez-López U, Echeverri-García LP, and Herzka SZ*. (2023) Distribution and abundance of ichthyoplankton species with contrasting life histories as a function of oceanographic variables in the deep-water region of the southern Gulf of Mexico. PLOSone.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280422

     

    Gasca-Pineda J, Galindo CE, Martínez M, Jiménez-Rosenberg SPA, Hereu C, Nakamura Y, Compaire J, Gómez-Reyes REC, Robles-Flores J, Saavedra-Flores A, Herzka SZ, Arteaga MA. (2023) Community structure and diversity of five groups of zooplankton in the Perdido region of the Gulf of Mexico using DNA metabarcoding. Aquatic Ecologyhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-022-10002-w

     

    Hernández-Sánchez OG, Camacho-Ibar VF, Herguera JCH, Barbero L and Herzka SZ* (2023) A gulf-wide synoptic isoscape of zooplankton isotope ratios reveals the importance of nitrogen fixation in supporting secondary production in the central Gulf of Mexico. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1025387

     

    Mohan JA, Romo-Curiel A, Herzka SZ*, Wells RJD, Sosa-Nishizaki O, García-Rodriguez E. (2023) Inferring habitat use of the Pacific White Shark using vertebral chemistry. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1082219/full

     

    LaFreniere BR, Sosa-Nishizaki O, Herzka SZ, Snodgrass O, Dewar H, Miller N, Wells RJD, Mohan JA (2023) Vertebral chemistry distinguishes nursery habitats of juvenile shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science15:e10234. https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/mcf2.10234

     

    Morales-Pulido JM, Galindo-SánchezCE, Arteaga CM, Batta-Lona PG, HerzkaSZ, and Jiménez-Rosenberg SPA. (2022) Identification of Bothus ocellatus and Bothus robinsi larvae using morphological and molecular approaches leads to a distribution record for two summer cruises in the Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Marine Systems. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01370-1

     

    Karina Chávez-Martínez, Eduardo Morteo, Isabel Hernández-Candelario, Sharon  Z Herzka, Christian A. Delfin-Alfonso.(2022) Opportunistic gillnet predation by common bottlenose dolphins in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico: testing the relationship with ecological, trophic, and nutritional characteristics of their prey. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.8700

     

    Romo-Curiel AE, Ramírez-Mendoza Z, Fajardo-Yamamoto Z, Ramírez-León MR, García-Aguilar MC, Herzka SZ, Pérez-Brunius P, Saldaña-Ruiz LE, Sheinbaum J,  Koztakoulakis K, Rodríguez-Outerelo J, Medrano F, and Sosa-Nishizaki O. (2022) Assessing the ecological risk of large pelagic fish to oil spills scenarios in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Pollution Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113434

     

    Echeverri-García LPDaudén-Bengoa GCompaire JC, Jiménez-Rosenberg SPA, Pérez-Brunius P, Ferreira-Bartrina V, and Herzka SZ.* (2022) Variability of fish larvae assemblages relative to mesoscale features in the deepwater region of the southern Gulf of Mexico. Hydrobiologia. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-022-04797-w 

     

    Hernández-Sánchez OG, Camacho-Ibar VF, Fernández-Alamo MA, and Herzka SZ*. (2022) Nitrogen sources (NO3 vs N2 fixation) inferred from bulk δ15N values of zooplankton from the deep water region of the Gulf of Mexico (2022). Journal of Plankton Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbab089

     

    Cervantes-Díaz GY, Hernández-Ayón JM, Zirino A, Herzka SZ, Camacho-Ibar VF, Norzagaray O, Montes I, Sudre J, Delgado JA (2022). Understanding upper water mass dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico by linking physical and biogeochemical features. Journal of Marine Systems. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2021.103647

     

    Cicala F, Arteaga MC, Herzka SZ, Hereu C, Jiménez-Rosenberg SPA, Saavedra-Flores A, Robles-Flores J, Gómez R, Batta-Lona P, and Galindo C (2021). Environmental conditions drive zooplankton community structure in the deep-water region of the southern Gulf of Mexico: a molecular approach. Molecular Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16251

     

    Malpica-Cruz L, Abadía-Cardoso A, Aquino-Baleytó M, Beas-Luna R, Becerril-García E, Castillo-Géniz J, Galván-Magaña F, García-Rodríguez E; Herzka SZ; Hoyos-Padilla E, Lara-Mendoza R, Lorda J, Oñate-González E, Pérez-Weil R, Saavedra-Sotelo N, Santana-Morales O, Towns V, Zepeda-Domínguez J (2021). Empowering fishers for Great White Shark stewardship: Reply to Madigan et al. 2021. Conservation Letters. e12828. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12828

     

    García-Rodríguez E, Herzka SZ*, Sosa-Nishizaki O*, Lowe CG, O’Sullivan JB (2021). Stable isotope analysis of juvenile white sharks inside a nursery area reveals foraging in demersal-inshore habitats and trophic overlap with sympatric sharks. Frontiers in Marine Science. 8:687738. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.687738

     

    Martínez MA, Hereu C,  Saavedra-Flores A, Robles-Flores A, Gómez R, Batta-Lona P, Gasca J, Galindo-Sánchez G, Arteaga M, Jiménez-Rosenberg PSA and Herzka SZ (2021). Epipelagic zooplankton diversity in the deep-water region of the Gulf of Mexico: a metabarcoding survey. ICES Journal of Marine Science. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsab090

     

    Ursella L, Pensieri S, Pallàs-Sanz E, Herzka SZ, Bozzano R, Tenreiro M, Cardin V, Candela J and Sheinbaum S (2021). Diel, lunar and seasonal vertical migration in the deep western Gulf of Mexico evidenced from a long-term data series of acoustic backscatter. Progress in Oceanography. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2021.102562.

     

    Compaire JC, Pérez-Brunius P, Jiménez-Rosenberg SPA, Rodríguez-Outerelo J, Echeverri-García LP and Herzka SZ* (2021). Connectivity of coastal and neritic fish larvae to the deep waters of the Perdido region (western Gulf of Mexico) inferred from in situ sampling and ocean circulation modelling. Limnology and Oceanography. 9999:1–19https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11762

     

    Dirani K, Wowk K, Medina-Centina Z, Bandaulf J, Herzka SZ, Bello-Bolio R, Gutiérrez-Martínez V and Muñoz-Ubando LA (2021). Learning organization as a framework for networks’ collaboration and knowledge sharing. The Learning Organization. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-05-2020-0089

     

    Nuche-Pascual MT, Ruiz-Cooley RI and Herzka SZ* (2021). Effect of macronutrients, feeding regimes, life stage and habitat type on amino acid δ15N trophic enrichment factors in teleost fish: a meta-analysis. Ecosphere. 12:e03570

    https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3570

     

    Ochoa J, Ferreira V, Candela V, Sheinbaum J, López M, Pérez-Brunius P, Herzka SZ and Amon R  (2021). Last decade warming in the abyssal Gulf of Mexico Journal of Physical Oceanography. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0295.1.

     

    Le-Alvarado M, Romo-Curiel AE, Sosa-Nishizaki O, Hernández-Sánchez O, Barbero L, Herzka SZ* (2021). Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) foraging habitat and trophic position in the Gulf of Mexico based on intrinsic isotope tracers. PLOS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246082

     

    Hereu CM, Arteaga MC, Galindo-Sánchez CE, Herzka SZ, Batta-Lona PG and Jimenez-Rosenberg SPA (2021). Zooplankton summer composition in the southern Gulf of Mexico with emphasis on salp and hyperiid amphipod assemblages. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 100: 665-680. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315420000715

     

    Juárez-Rodríguez M, Heckel G, Herguera-García JC, Elorriaga-Verplancken FR, Herzka-Llona SZ, Schramm Y (2020). Trophic ecology of Mexican Pacific harbor seal colonies using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. PLoS ONE 15(1): e0225889. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0225889 

     

    Daudén-Bengoa G, Jiménez-Rosenberg SPA, Compaire-Cano J, Echeverri-García LP, Pérez-Brunius P, Herzka SZ (2019). Larval fish assemblages of myctophids in the deep water region of the southern Gulf of Mexico linked to oceanographic conditions. Deep-Sea Research Part I https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2019.103181

     

    Vidal-Martínez VM, Velázquez-Abunader I, Pech-Pool, D, Mariño-Tapia I, Enriquez-Ortíz C, Herrera-Silveira, J, Herzka, SZ,  Ordoñez-López, U, Aguirre-Macedo ML (2019). Metazoan parasite infracommunities of the dusky flounder (Syacium papillosum) as bioindicators of environmental conditions in the continental shelf of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Parasites and Vectors. 12:277. doi.org/10.1186/s13071-019-3524-6

     

    Mohan JR, Miller NR, Herzka SZ, Sosa-Nishizaki O, Kohin S, Dewar H, Kinney M, Snodgrass O, Wells RJD (2018). Elements of time and place: Manganese and barium in shark vertebrae reflect age and upwelling histories. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 285: 20181860. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1760

     

    Nuche-Pascual MT, Lazo JP,  Ruiz-Cooley RI, Herzka SZ (2018). Amino acid- specific δ15N trophic enrichment factors in fish fed with formulated diets varying in protein quantity and quality. Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4295

     

    González-Medina E, Castillo-Guerrero JA, Herzka SZ, Fernández-Aceves GJ (2018). High quality diet improves lipid metabolic profile and breeding performance in the blue-footed booby, a long-lived seabird. PLoS ONEdoi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193136

     

    Erauskin-Extramiana M, Herzka SZ*, Hinojosa-Arango G, Aburto-Oropeza O (2017). An interdisciplinary approach to evaluate the status of large-bodied Serranid fisheries: The case of Magdalena-Almejas Bay lagoon complex, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Ocean & Coastal Management 145:21-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.05.005

     

    González-Medina E, Castillo-Guerrero JA, Herzka SZ, Fernández G (2017). Flexibility in food resource allocation in parents and selectivity for offspring: variations in δ15N and δ13C values during breeding of the Blue-footed Booby. Marine Biology. 164:38.

    DOI: 10.1007/s00227-017-3070-8 

     

    Oñate-González EC, Sosa-Nishizaki O, Herzka SZ, Lowe CG, Lyons K, Santana-Morales O, Sepulveda C, Guerrero-Ávila C, García-Rodríguez E, O'Sullivan J (2017). Importance of Bahia Sebastian Vizcaino as a nursery area for white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in the northeastern Pacific: A fishery dependent analysis. Fisheries Research. 188:125-137. 10.1016/j.fishres.2016.12.014

     

    López-Rasgado FJ, Herzka SZ, Balart, E.F., Lluch-Cota, SE (2016). Comparison of trophic niche of three mangrove fish communities from the Gulf of California, Mexico based on stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N). Bulletin of Marine Science 92:399-422. DOI: 10.5343/bms.2015.1100

     

    Mohan JA, Smith SA, Connelly TL, Attwood ET, McClelland JW, Herzka SZ, Walther BD (2016). Tissue-specific isotope turnover and discrimination factors are affected by diet quality and lipid content in an omnivorous consumer Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 479:35-45. DOI: 10.1016/j.jembe.2016.03.002

     

    Romo-Curiel A, Herzka SZ, Sepulveda CA, Aalbers SA (2016). Rearing conditions and habitat use of white seabass (Atractoscion nobilis) in the Northeastern Pacific based on otolith isotopic composition. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 170:134-144 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecss.2016.01.016

     

    Badillo D, Lazo JP, Herzka SZ, Viana MT (2015). The effect of substituting fishmeal with poultry by-product meal in diets for Totoaba macdonaldi juveniles. Aquaculture Research 6:1778-1789. https://doi.org/10.1111/are.12636

     

    Romo-Curiel AE, Herzka SZ, Sosa-Nishizaki O, Sepulveda C, Aalbers SA (2015). Otolith-based growth estimates and insights into population structure of white seabass, Atractoscion nobilis, off the Pacific coast of North America. Fisheries Research 161: 374-383 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2014.09.004

     

    Badillo D, Herzka SZ, Viana MT (2014).  Protein retention assessment of four levels of poultry by-product substitution of fishmeal in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) diets using stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N) as natural tracers. PLOS ONE 9(9):e107523 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107523

     

    Malpica-Cruz L, Herzka SZ, Sosa-Nishizaki O, Escobedo-Olvera MA (2013). Tissue-specific stable isotope ratios of shortfin mako and white sharks as indicators of size-based differences in foraging habitat and trophic level. Fisheries Oceanography 22:429-455.  https://doi.org/10.1111/fog.12034

     

    Fodrie FJ and Herzka SZ (2013). A Comparison of Otolith Geochemistry and Stable Isotope Markers to Track Fish Movement: Describing Estuarine Ingress by Larval and Post-larval Halibut Estuaries and Coasts 36:906-917 DOI: 10.1007/s12237-013-9612-5

     

    Herzka SZ,  Mellink E, Talley DM, Huxel GR and Dayton PK (2013). Stable isotope ratios of egg albumen of three waterbird species nesting in the Colorado River Delta indicate differences in foraging ground and isotopic niche breadth. Aquatic Conservation: Freshwater and Marine Systems. 23: 546–563. DOI: 10.1002/aqc.2326

     

    López-Rasgado F, Herzka SZ, del Monte-Luna P, Serviere-Zaragoza S, Balart-Paez E, Lluch-Cota S (2012). Fish assemblages from three arid mangrove systems of the Gulf of California: contrasting observations from 1980 and 2010. Bulletin of Marine Science. 88:919-945. DOI: 10.5343/bms.2011.1111

     

    Malpica-Cruz L, Herzka SZ, Sosa-Nishizaki O and Lazo JP (2012). Tissue-specific isotope trophic discrimination factors and turnover rates in a marine elasmobranch: empirical and modeling results. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 69:1-14. DOI: 10.1139/F2011-172

     

    Martínez-Porchas M, Hernández-Rodríguez M, Herzka SZ and Gutierrez-Millán LE (2011). Evaluation of the physiological status of the Pacific sardine, Sardinops sagax caeruleus, acclimated to different thermal regimes based on blood parameters. Environmental Biology of Fishes. 91-39-49

     

    Francisco V and Herzka SZ (2010).  Regulation of feeding mode by the sand dollar Dendraster excentricus in a shallow estuarine habitat. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 383-145-157. DOI: 10.1016/j.jembe.2009.11.016

     

    López-Rasgado F and Herzka SZ (2009). Assessment of habitat quality for juvenile California halibut (Paralichthys californicus). Fishery Bulletin.107:343-358. WOSUID: WOS:000268440700009

     

    Herzka SZ, Griffiths R, Fodrie J and MacCarthy I (2009). Short-term size-specific distribution and movement patterns of juvenile flatfish in a Pacific estuary derived through length-frequency and mark-recapture data. Ciencias Marinas. 35:41-57. EID: 2-s2.0-65749083296

     

    Fodrie FJ and Herzka SZ (2008). Tracking juvenile fish movement and nursery contribution within arid coastal embayments via otolith microchemistry. Marine Ecology Progress Series 61:253-265. DOI: 10.3354/meps07390

     

    Valle S and Herzka SZ (2008). Natural variability in δ18O values of otoliths of young Pacific sardines captured in Mexican waters indicates mixing during the first year of life. ICES Journal of Marine Science. 65: 174-190. DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsn001

     

    Fodrie FJ, Herzka SZ, Lucas AJ and Francisco V (2007). Intraspecific density regulates positioning and feeding mode selection of the sand dollar Dendraster excentricus.Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 340:169-183. DOI: 10.1016/j.jembe.2006.09.009

     

    Herzka SZ (2005). Assessing connectivity of estuarine fishes based on stable isotope ratio  analysis. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science. 64:58-69. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecss.2005.02.006

     

    Herzka SZ, Holt GJ and Holt SA (2002). Stable isotope ratios as tracers of migration during the early life stages of marine fishes. Fisheries Science. Vol. 68, No. 1, pp 182-185. 

     

    Herzka SZ, Holt SA and Holt GJ (2002). Characterization of settlement patterns of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) larvae to estuarine nursery habitat: a stable isotope approach. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 226:143-156. DOI: 10.3354/meps226143

     

    Herzka SZ, Holt SA and Holt GJ (2001). Documenting the settlement history of individual fish larvae using stable isotope ratios: Model development and validation. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 265:49-74. DOI: 10.1016/S0022-0981(01)00324-0

     

    Herzka SZ and Holt GJ (2000).  Changes in isotopic composition of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) larvae in response to dietary shifts: Potential applications to settlement studies. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 57:137-147. DOI: 10.1139/cjfas-57-1-137            

     

    Herzka SZ and Dunton KH (1998). Light and carbon balance in the seagrass Thalassia testudinum: Evaluation of current production models. Marine Biology. 132:711-721. DOI: 10.1007/s002270050435

     

    Herzka SZ and Dunton KG (1997). Seasonal photosynthetic patterns of the seagrass Thalassia  testudinum in the western Gulf of Mexico. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 152:103-117. DOI: 10.3354/meps152103