About Carlos and Allison Estapé
Carlos and Allison Estapé are photographers, citizen scientists, and underwater naturalists. Our love for the sea has taken us all over the world and combined we have made thousands of dives in locations such as the Caribbean, Baja, Micronesia, Indonesia, Australia, the Coral Sea, Fiji, the Indian Ocean and the Florida Keys.
We are Citizen Scientists that photo document fish species in their natural habitat, collect geographical distribution data, publish our findings and images in scientific papers, and work with scientists to collect data and provide images for their research and publications. We are proud to be the #1 Citizen Scientist Contributors to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean website, and to have authored/co-authored five scientific papers, with more on the way.
Our current project is photo documenting fish species in the Tropical Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific. In December 2020, we published our findings from St. Eustasius where we documented 40 fish species that had not been previously recorded and most recently in St. John, USVI, photographed 27 fish species not known to be in those waters – a demonstration of the effectiveness of citizen science!
We are Underwater Naturalists and Featured Speakers who have entertained and educated audiences on fish behavior and identification across a wide range of marine focused events, month long international festivals, museum and marine park programs, and monthly educational classes. We created the 100fishid educational website to promote citizen science by enabling divers, snorkelers and marine biology students to improve their fish id skills.
Our Images have been featured internationally in websites/apps, scientific publications, museums, aquariums, fish id books, textbooks, children’s books, magazines, interpretive displays, restaurants, dive shops, private collections and more.
Follow the links below to learn more:
Scientific Papers:
The Indo-Pacific damselfish Neopomacentrus cyanomos at Trinidad, southeast Caribbean
Robertson DR, Kingon KC, Baksh S, Estapé CJ, Estapé AM (2021)
Aquatic Invasions 16, https://doi.org/10.3391/ai.2021.16.2.03
Robertson DR, Kingon KC, Baksh S, Estapé CJ, Estapé AM (2021)
Aquatic Invasions 16, https://doi.org/10.3391/ai.2021.16.2.03
The marine fishes of St. Eustatius Island, northeastern Caribbean: an annotated, photographic catalog
D. Ross Robertson, Carlos J Estapé, Allison Morgan Estapé, Ernesto Peña, Luke Tornabene, Carole C. Baldwin; ZooKeys 30 Dec 2020 https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1007.58515
The fishes of Alligator Reef and environs in the Florida Keys: a 2020 update
Carlos J. Estapé, Allison Morgan Estapé & Walter A. Starck
Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, Volume 36, 3 November 2020 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4243097
An update to the list of shore-fishes from the Parque Nacional de la Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano, Veracruz, Mexico
D Ross Robertson1, Horacio Perez-España2, Omar Dominguez-Dominguez3, Carlos J Estapé4, Allison Morgan Estapé4 ZooKeys 23 Oct 2019 https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.882.38449
The fishes of Alligator Reef and environs in the Florida Keys: a half-century update
Walter A Starck II, Carlos J. Estapé & Allison Morgan Estapé
Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, Volume 27, 29 August 2017; http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.851651
Underwater Naturalists / Featured Speakers
Seahorse Festivals & Great Fish Count Festivals 2018 & 2019, CoCoView Resort, Roatan
100 Fish Behavior & ID Classes, Monthly Presentations 2014–2019, REEF.org, Key Largo, FL
Delicate Balance of Nature Series 2014, 2017, John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park, Key Largo, FL
Immerse Yourself Lecture Series 2016, 2017, 2019, History of Diving Museum, FL Keys
Our images have been used in:
Educational Websites:
Monaco Nature Encyclopedia website; Dr. Guiseppe Mazza
Killi-Data presents information on extant oviparous and viviparous Killies or Cyprinodontiformes
Scientific Papers, Educational Programs, Annual Reports:
The Evolution of Egg Trading in Simultaneous Hermaphrodites; The American Naturalist, Volume 195, Number 3 March 2020
How new species arise in the sea; Tropicos, Pg 31, The Magazine of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
How some Fishes have Adapted to the Ocean; The Experts are Online, Smithsonian Distance Learning, May 2020
Long-term Monitoring at East and West Flower Garden Banks: 2018 Annual Report, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries
ECOLOGY: Aquatic animal telemetry: A panoramic window into the underwater world, June 2015, Science 348(6240):1221
Educational Materials & Exhibit Signage
Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, OR – Won a National Outdoor Exhibit Award for a panel with our diving cormorant image
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, FL – Educational materials to train staff and educate visitors
In Museum Exhibit Signage at the: American Museum of Natural History, NY; New York State Museum, NY; Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, CA
Apps, Books, Magazines, Newspapers
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Fishes: Greater Caribbean app
Easy Fish ID App by John Hoover
REEF Fish Identification Florida Caribbean, Bahamas (Humann/DeLoach),
Newspapers/Magazines: Miami Herald, Nature, Keys Dive Traveler, Scuba Diving, Alert Diver, Outdoor Fishing Magazine…