Sharon Z. Herzka

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

Martínez-Mercado MA, Compaire JC, Hernández FJ, Zapfe G, Jiménez-Rosenberg SPA, Saavedra-Flores A, Galindo-Sánchez CE, Barbero L, Herzka SZ* (2025) Basin-wide morphology and metabarcoding-based comparison of ichthyoplankton diversity and community structure in the Gulf of Mexico. Progress in Oceanography. 235 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2025.103482

Daudén-Bengoa G, Ordoñez, Uriel, Herzka SZ* (2024) Relationship between oceanographic variables and fish larval abundance and distribution of two commercially important species (Auxis spp. and Caranx crysos) over the Yucatan shelf. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2024.109011

Morales-Pulido JM, Galindo-Sánchez CE, Jiménez-Rosenberg SPA, Batta-Lona PG, Herzka SZ, Arteaga MC (2024) A molecular approach to identify parrotfish (Sparisoma) species during early ontogeny. Journal of Fish Biology. doi: 10.1111/jfb.15921. 

Daudén-Bengoa G, Sheinbaum J, Rodríguez-Outerelo J, Herzka SZ*. (2024) Coupling of potential habitat models with particle transport experiments to examine larval dispersal and connectivity in deepwater regions. Submitted to PlosONE. 19(8): e0308357. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0308357

Samperio-Ramos G, Vidal-Nieves C, García-Esquivel Z, Herzka S. Z., Sandoval-Gil J.M., Camacho-Ibar V.F. (2024) Environmental influence on feeding and biodeposition rates of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) throughout its culture cycle in a coastal lagoon with upwelling influence. Estuaries and Coasts. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-024-01357-4

Ramírez-Mendoza Z, Sosa-Nishizaki O, Pardo MA, Sharon Z. Herzka, R. J. David Wells, Jay R. Rooker, Brett J. Falterman, Michael J. Dreyfus-León (2024) Mesoscale features in the Gulf of Mexico drive the habitat suitability of yellowfin tuna: Seasonal and interannual predictions. Scientific Reports. 14:8256 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58613-7

Gaona-Hernández A, Suárez-Morales E, Linacre L, Lara-Lara R, Compaire JC and SZ Herzka* (2024). Calanoid copepod community structure in two hydrographically contrasting regions of the Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Plankton Research. 00, 1–16. fbad057, https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbad057

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 Ecology. https://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://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.870012/full

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 LP, Daudén-Bengoa G, Compaire 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. 9999:1–19. https://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 ONE. doi.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