VII Jornada de Ciencias Veterinarias 2026

Overview

The video combines promotional material from the Technical University of Manabí (UTM) with recordings from the VII Veterinary Sciences Conference, held as part of the university’s 10th International Scientific Convention. The conference covers animal health, public health, production and reproduction, and advances in veterinary medicine. The main research talks address marine parasites, shark population demography, primate and ocelot monitoring, and reproductive biotechnology in cattle.

Institutional and Research-Center Material

• UTM doctoral programs: Promotional segments describe four-year doctorates in Education and Administration, as well as a doctorate in Agricultural Sciences. The Education program emphasizes interdisciplinary research, with the final two years devoted to research supported by academic tutors and co-tutors. The Administration program focuses on growth and sustainable development.
• Los Pinos Research and Technology Transfer Center: A UTM representative describes a 126-hectare site near Chone, including about 26 hectares of primary forest. The center was established to study plant genetic resources and animal biodiversity, support sustainability and climate-change mitigation, and connect research across undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
  • The site includes areas for cocoa research, citrus research, and bamboo.
  • The center is presented as a potential partner for national and international institutions.
• Tropical ecosystems course: Participants describe a field course as an unusually valuable learning experience. They highlight the natural setting, interdisciplinary collaboration, exposure to local guides and knowledge, and the potential to inspire future study and conservation work.

Conference Presentations

1. Marine Parasites as Indicators of Host Ecology and Ecosystem Interactions

Speaker: Dr. María Teresa González Llanes

The keynote reframes parasites as more than threats to human health, aquaculture, or host animals: they can also reveal how marine ecosystems function.

• Parasites connect multiple species through direct and indirect interactions. Their life cycles can link snails, crustaceans, fish, seabirds, marine mammals, and other hosts.
• Because parasites are often overlooked in biodiversity surveys, food-web studies, and environmental monitoring, excluding them can mean losing important information about ecosystem structure and processes.
• Parasite communities can provide clues about:
  • Host identity, relatedness, age, size, and susceptibility.
  • Habitat use and movement, including patterns associated with depth, substrate, and local conditions.
  • Feeding relationships and trophic interactions.
  • Environmental conditions such as temperature, oxygen, water masses, and oceanographic processes.
  • The evolutionary and biogeographic histories of hosts and parasites.
• Parasites vary in their effects. Some live on fish skin or gills; others affect crustaceans’ growth or development. Some can castrate hosts or contribute to their death. Parasites with complex life cycles may also alter host behavior or make infected prey more vulnerable to predators.
• Research examples described:
  • Parasite communities helped distinguish geographic populations of a gadiform fish in Chile.
  • In comparisons among fish species, trophic overlap appeared more important than host phylogenetic relatedness in explaining similarities in endoparasite communities.
  • Ectoparasite communities varied between years, suggesting monitoring studies should sample in comparable seasons and periods.
  • Parasites on fish larvae showed patterns associated with location, season, and oceanographic conditions.
  • Genetic differences among parasite populations were consistent with differences in their host populations.
• Parasites and environmental change: Experiments on free-living trematode larvae examined temperature, pH, and metal exposure. Higher temperatures were associated with more larval emergence but lower survival. Some larvae survived high metal concentrations, and gene-expression analyses suggested that metabolic pathways related to metal detoxification were active.
• Using parasites as bioindicators requires care. Researchers need reliable parasite identification, knowledge of life cycles and transmission routes, and an understanding of host ecology. Changes in parasite abundance can reflect direct effects of pollution, changes in intermediate-host abundance, altered food webs, or shifts in host defenses.
• The speaker recommends combining taxonomy, experiments, host ecology, environmental data, molecular tools, and rigorous statistical analysis. Parasites are not universal indicators, but they can integrate information about ecological relationships that studies of free-living organisms alone may miss.

2. Demography of the Crocodile Shark in the Eastern Pacific

Speaker: Biologist Marco Douglas Calle

This presentation uses life-history data and mathematical models to assess the crocodile shark’s population characteristics and likely response to fishing pressure.

• Demography examines population size and characteristics such as age, sex, survival, reproduction, and biological cycles. It can help evaluate fishing impacts when catch or effort data are limited.
• The crocodile shark is a small species, reaching roughly 1.2 metres in total length. The study was motivated by limited information on its population status and concern about fishing pressure in the Ecuadorian Pacific.
• The analysis used life-history information, including age, growth, longevity, reproduction, natural mortality, and survival. The speaker described using demographic models, including the Euler–Lotka equation, to estimate parameters such as:
  • Survival and age distribution.
  • Fertility and net reproductive rate.
  • Generation time, population growth, and time needed for population doubling.
• Main findings: Survival declines as sharks age, and the population is weighted toward newborn and juvenile individuals, with relatively few adults. The model suggested low biological productivity, particularly for males, and short life expectancy.
• When fishing mortality was included, estimated survival declined further. The speaker concluded that even low fishing pressure could reduce population size, making the species poorly suited to sustained extraction. He also noted that the species is now rarely encountered in Ecuador and that updated research is needed.
• In discussion, the speaker said that some other shark species may be more productive, but the exchange also cautioned that regional assessments can challenge assumptions about which species can withstand fishing pressure.

3. Abundance and Distribution of Mantled Howler Monkeys at Pacoche

Presenters identified in the recording: Melina and Diana

The study examined mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) in the Pacoche coastal-marine wildlife refuge, with the goal of documenting their abundance, distribution, and anthropogenic threats.

• The team used observational field monitoring, walking approximately 10 km per day on morning and afternoon routes. Records came from direct visual and auditory observations, binoculars, photographic evidence, and GPS-based mapping.
• The study reported a relative abundance index of 235.82 individuals per 100 km travelled and recorded a total of 122 individuals during the October–December 2025 monitoring period.
• The presentation reported six family groups and noted records across several sectors, with more detections in the morning. The monkeys were associated mainly with native forest cover.
• The presenters emphasized that forests provide food, movement routes, and habitat, while roads, power lines, human activity, and habitat fragmentation can threaten connectivity.
• They recommended extending monitoring across more of the refuge; using camera traps, acoustic monitoring, and geographic information systems; studying food plants and their phenology; and strengthening environmental education and collaboration among universities, refuge managers, researchers, and local communities.
• In response to a question, the presenters noted that monitoring results could help inform conservation action by universities and environmental authorities.

4. Ocelots on Cerro de Hojas-Jaboncillo

Presenter identified in the recording as Milenka; the slides were shared by Richard

This study used camera-trap photographs from 2023–2024 to identify ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) and examine where and when they were detected.

• Researchers used 10 camera traps and compared each animal’s coat patterns, especially its rosettes and markings on the flanks, back, and face, to distinguish individuals and avoid counting repeat photographs as new animals.
• The analysis included detection frequency, camera-trap effort, a minimum observed-density estimate, and comparisons between dry and rainy seasons and among forest types.
• The presentation reported 13 distinct identified individuals in one section, but later gave a result of three identified individuals and an estimated minimum density of 128.84 individuals per km². These figures are inconsistent in the subtitles, so the exact totals and density should be treated cautiously.
• One female was recorded repeatedly, and the team said two offspring were associated with her, suggesting the area may be used for reproduction as well as movement.
• Camera 12 had the highest reported detection frequency. The presenters suggested that the cloud-forest location and vegetation may have influenced detections, but stressed that camera detections do not by themselves establish a biological corridor or true population density.
• Statistical tests found no significant differences between seasons or among forest types, although the cloud forest showed greater variability in records.
• In discussion, the presenter explained that ocelots help regulate populations of prey such as rodents and reptiles. The team described Cerro de Hojas-Jaboncillo as a varied landscape that includes dry, evergreen, cloud, and transitional forest.

5. Reproductive Biotechnology in Cattle Under Humid-Tropical Conditions

Speaker: Dr. Denis García Ramón The keynote was delivered by video because of connection problems.

The presentation surveys reproductive technologies that can help increase livestock production, while stressing that their success depends on animal health, nutrition, infrastructure, and skilled personnel.

• The speaker argued that traditional reproduction alone may not meet projected future food demand, and presented reproductive biotechnology as one possible tool, particularly in tropical conditions where not all breeds perform equally well.
• Artificial insemination (AI):
  • AI has enabled wider use of valuable male genetics.
  • Timed-insemination protocols synchronize breeding so that many animals can be inseminated together.
  • Sex-sorted semen can increase the likelihood of producing offspring of a desired sex, though processing is slow and the semen generally costs more.
  • Genomics, improved semen preservation and fertility testing, estrus-detection devices, and improved catheter techniques can support breeding decisions and outcomes.
• Embryo transfer:
  • Superovulation and embryo collection can multiply the offspring of genetically valuable females, whose natural reproduction would otherwise be limited.
  • Embryos are generally collected around seven days after insemination and either transferred or frozen.
  • Successful transfer depends on synchronizing the recipient’s reproductive cycle with the embryo’s developmental stage.
  • The speaker cited an average of about six embryos per donor treatment and pregnancy rates of roughly 50%, while noting considerable variation and that some females do not respond.
• In-vitro embryo production (IVF):
  • IVF involves oocyte maturation, fertilization, and culture until embryos are ready for transfer.
  • Oocytes can be collected from slaughterhouse ovaries or, through ultrasound-guided follicular aspiration (OPU), from live animals.
  • OPU can produce embryos from valuable females repeatedly, including some pregnant or very young animals, and can increase offspring numbers beyond conventional embryo transfer.
  • IVF requires specialized laboratory equipment, media, maintenance, and trained staff, making it costly and technically demanding.
• Cloning and genetic modification:
  • The speaker described cloning as producing an animal from a donor cell and an enucleated oocyte, then outlined transgenesis and newer gene-editing approaches.
  • Potential goals include modifying traits such as muscle growth, horn development, heat tolerance, disease resistance, and production of specific products.
  • These approaches face challenges, including unintended genetic changes, mosaicism, technical accuracy, cost, and the need to confirm the health, fertility, and productivity of resulting animals.
• Across the technologies, the speaker emphasized that reproductive tools will not compensate for poor management: balanced nutrition, mineral availability, health, and appropriate facilities are essential, especially for costly procedures.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Dr. María Teresa González Llanes — keynote on marine parasites and ecosystem ecology.
• Richard Cobos — introduced Dr. González, moderated discussion, and shared the ocelot presentation slides.
• Dr. Montes — conference organizer/moderator, identified during the transition after the first keynote.
• Biologist Marco Douglas Calle — presentation on crocodile shark demography.
• Melina and Diana — named in the howler-monkey presentation segment; the individual presenter is not fully clear in the subtitles.
• Milenka — identified as the ocelot-study presenter; “Pamela” is also mentioned during the technical handoff, so the presenter’s name is uncertain in the transcript.
• Dr. Denis García Ramón — prerecorded keynote on bovine reproductive biotechnology.
• Unidentified UTM promotional narrators and tropical-course participants — featured in university advertisements and testimonials.
• Unidentified conference hosts and technical staff — responsible for welcomes, session transitions, and presentation setup.