Woods Hole Research Center

Research Associate
Woods Hole Research Center
149 Woods Hole Road
Falmouth, MA 02540-1644

Phone:

508-444-1564

Fax:

508-444-1864

Email:

Education

PhD in Conservation Biology (2007) State University of New York; College of Environmental Science and Forestry; United States.
Dissertation: “A socio-ecological synthesis on the conservation of the pirarucu (Arapaima) in floodplains of the Amazon”

Masters in Public Administration and Environmental Policy (2004) Maxwell School of Citizenship, Syracuse University, NY, US

Bachelors in Oceanography (1998) Fundação Universidade do Rio Grande (FURG), Brazil.
Dissertation: “Ecologia larval da anchoita (Engraulis anchoita) na Bacia Sudeste do Brasil, Atlântico Sul-ocidental”

Professional Experience

• 2013 - Present: Research Associate, The Woods Hole Research Center
• December 2008 – 2012: Postdoctoral Researcher, The Woods Hole Research Center
• August 2002 – May 2006: Research Assistant at the State University of New York; College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Research Foundation, USA
• June 2002 – present: Associate scientist at the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute, Tefé, AM, Brazil.
• June 1998 – May 2002: Fisheries Scientist at the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute, Tefé, AM, Brazil.

Research Interests

Understanding of ecology and management of fishery resources in the Amazon. Including varied aspects of fish population ecology (e.g., migration, habitat, abundance), resource management approaches, and the impacts of changes in habitat cover and river hydrology.

Selected publications

Arantes, C.C., Castello, L., Cetra, M., Schilling, A. 2011. Environmental factors affecting the distribution of arapaima in floodplains of the Amazon. Environmental Biology of Fishes DOI: 10.1007/s10641-011-9917-9

Castello, L., McGrath, D.G. Beck, P. 2011. Resource sustainability in small-scale fisheries in the Lower Amazon. Fisheries Research 110: 35-365. DOI 10.1016/j.fishres.2011.05.002

Castello, L., Stewart, D. J., Arantes, C. C. 2011. Modeling population dynamics and conservation of arapaima in the Amazon. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 21(3): 623-640 DOI 10.1007/s11160-010-9197-z

Castello, L., Pinedo-Vasquez, M., and Viana, J.P. 2011. Participatory conservation and local knowledge in the Amazon várzea: The pirarucu management scheme in Mamirauá. pp. 261-176. In: The Amazon varzea: The decade past and the decade ahead. Pinedo-Vasquez, M.A.; Ruffino, M.; Padoch, C.J.; Brondízio, E.S. (Eds.). R. Springer-Verlag, 466 pp.

Castello, L. and D.J. Stewart. 2010. Assessing CITES non-detriment finding procedures for Arapaima in Brazil. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 26(1): 49-56. DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0426.2009.01355.x

Arantes, C. C., L. Castello, D. J. Stewart, H. L. Queiroz, and M. Cetra. 2010. Density compensation, growth, and reproduction of Arapaima in floodplains of the Amazon. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 19: 455-465. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0633.2010.00431.x

Luzadis, V.A., L. Castello, J. Choi, C.B. Franco, E. Greenfield, S. Kim, J. Munsell, E. Nordman, F. Olowabi. 2010. The Science of Ecological Economics: A Content Analysis of Ecological Economics, 1989-2004. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1185: 1-10. DOI 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05161.x

Castello, L., Viana, J.P., Watkins, G., Pinedo-Vasquez, M., and Luzadis, V. A. 2009. Lessons from integrating fishers of arapaima in small-scale fisheries management at the Mamirauá Reserve, Amazon. Environmental Management 43:197-209. DOI 10.1007/s00267-008-9220-5

Castello, L. 2008. Re-thinking the study and management of fisheries in Brazil. Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences 3(1): 18-22. [In Portuguese]

Castello, L. 2008. Lateral migration of Arapaima gigas in floodplains of the Amazon. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 17: 38–46. DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0633.2007.00255.x

Castello, L. 2008. Nesting habitat of pirarucu Arapaima gigas in floodplains of the Amazon. Journal of Fish Biology 72: 1520-1528. DOI 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2007.01778.x

Arantes, C. Castello, L, and Garcez, D.S. 2007. Variation among counts of Arapaima gigas (Schinz) (Osteoglossomorpha, Osteoglossidae) done by fishers individually in Mamirauá, Brazil. Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences 2(3): 263-269. [In Portuguese]

Castello, L., Castello, J.P., and Hall, C.A.S. 2007. Problems in the management of tropical fisheries. Gaceta Ecológica Numero Especial 84-85: 65-73. [In Spanish]

Arantes, C., Garcez, D.S., and Castello, L. 2006. Population densities of pirarucu (Arapaima gigas, Teleostei, Osteoglossidae) in lakes in the Sustainable Development Reserves of Mamirauá and Amanã, Amazonas, Brazil. Uakari 2: 37-43. [In Portuguese]

Castello, L. 2004. A method to count pirarucu Arapaima gigas: fishers, assessment, and management. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 24:379-389.

Crampon, W.G.R., Castello, L., and Viana, J.P. 2004. Fisheries in the Amazon várzea: historical trends, current status, and factors affecting sustainability. Pages 76-98. In People in Nature: Wildlife Conservation in South and Central America. Edited by Silvius, K., Fragoso, J., and Bodmer, R., Columbia University Press, New York.

Crampton, W.G.R., Viana, J.P., Castello, L., and Damasceno, J.M.B. 2004. Fisheries management in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve. Pages 99-122. In People in Nature: Wildlife Conservation in South and Central America. Edited by Silvius, K., Fragoso, J., and Bodmer, R., Columbia University Press, New York.

Viana, J.P., Damasceno, J.M.B., Castello, L., and Crampton, W.G.R. 2004. Economic incentives for sustainable community management of fishery resources in the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve, Amazonas, Brazil. Pages 139-154. In People in Nature: Wildlife Conservation in South and Central America. Edited by Silvius, K., Fragoso, J., and Bodmer, R., Columbia University Press, New York.

Castello, L. and Castello, J. P. 2003. Anchovy stocks (Engraulis anchoita) and larval growth in the SW Atlantic. Fisheries Research 59:409-421.

Achievements and Awards

Some of the projects that I have worked on have had important results on the conservation of the giant Arapaima spp., one of the most economically important—and overexploited—fish species of the Amazon.

• Played a key role in developing an effective scheme for population recovery and sustainable use of Arapaima.
• Legislation in Amazonas and Acre States now only permit arapaima harvest to fishers that follow arapaima management scheme mentioned above.
• Helped implement the arapaima management scheme in various areas in Brazil and in Guyana, where a detailed plan and legislation was developed.

Now helping design a policy and institutional framework for ecosystem management in the Lower Amazon region, and analyzing the fisheries situation using qualitative and quantitative data to better understand the fish-ecosystem-human interface.