RESEARCH INTERESTS
I am interested in marine ecological research and fishery biology. I
have worked on the population dynamics, reproductive and fishery biology
of marine commercial invertebrates in Leyte, Philippines. With this
project, we determined the growth parameters, the fishing grounds,
maturation and spawning, and the natural food and feeding habits of blue
crabs, abalone, nylon shell and spider conch. We also formulated
management implications based on the results we obtained.
My Master's degree is in Ecological Marine Management (major in Marine
Biodiversity) from Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB) in Brussel,
Belgium. For my Thesis research, I studied the ecology and biodiversity
of meiofauna and harpacticoid copepods in tropical seagrass beds. The
results of my meiofauna research in tropical seagrass bed are important
information to the world-wide knowledge of marine coastal biodiversity
and marine conservation.
Currently, I am working on the ecological modeling approach to study the
interactions between whales and fisheries in the Gerber Lab. The goal of
the project is to examine the scientific evidence for the assertion that
commercial fisheries are negatively impacted by whales. I contribute to
the project by developing and managing a database to provide sources of
information needed for ecosystem modeling (Ecopath with Ecosim).
Furthermore, I compile marine fisheries and biological data needed for
food web modeling purposes from available databases (Sea Around Us, Fish
Base and AquaMaps) and other literature, and prepare data for
incorporation in mass-balance food web model.
PUBLICATIONS
De Troch, M, Melgo, J.F. , Angsinco-Jimenez, L., Gheerardyn, H. and Vincx, M. submitted. Diversity of harpacticoid copepods from seagrass beds in Pujada Bay, The Philippines. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
Melgo J. 2007. Biodiversity of the meiofauna with special emphasis on harpacticoid copepods in tropical seagrass beds in Pujada Bay, The Philippines, in: Mees, J.; Seys, J (Ed.) (2007). Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee (VLIZ) Young Scientist Day, Brugge, Belgium, 2 March 2007: book of abstracts. VLIZ Special Publication, 39: pp. 43, details
Germano, B.P. and Melgo, J. F. , 2003. The population, reproductive and fishery biology of the blue crab Portunus pelagicus in Leyte and Samar and management implications. University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) Journal of Natural Science. 8:63-82
Cesar, S.A., Germano, B.P. and Melgo, J.F. , 2003. Preliminary results on the population, reproductive and fishery biology of the nylon shell Paphia textile, (Gmelin 1791), in Leyte. University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) Journal of Natural Science. 8:83-95
Germano, B.P., Cesar, S.A., Mazo, A.M. and Melgo, J.F. 2003. Inventory of commercially important invertebrates in Leyte and Samar. University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) Journal of Natural Science. 8:247-270
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