Assessing the vulnerability of demersal elasmobranchs to a data-poor shrimp trawl fishery in Costa Rica, Eastern Tropical Pacific

2018 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 321-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tayler M. Clarke ◽  
Mario Espinoza ◽  
Raquel Romero Chaves ◽  
Ingo S. Wehrtmann
2017 ◽  
pp. 235-242
Author(s):  
Eduardo Suárez-Morales ◽  
Rebeca Gasca

Among the several groups of copepods that are teleost parasites, the siphonostomatoid family Caligidae is by far the most widespread and diverse. With more than 108 nominal species, the caligid genus Lepeophtheirus von Nordmann is one of the most speciose. There are no reports of this genus in Costa Rican waters. A new species of Lepeophtheirus is herein described based on female specimens collected from plankton samples in waters off Bahía Wafer, isla del Coco, an oceanic island in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. The new species, L. alvaroi sp. nov., has some affinities with other congeners bearing a relatively short abdomen, a wider than long genital complex and a 3-segmented exopod of leg 4. it differs from most of these species by the presence of an unbranched maxillular process and by the relative lengths of the terminal claws of leg 4, with two equally long elements. it is most closely related to two other Eastern Pacific species: L. dissimulatus Wilson, 1905 and L. clarionensis Shiino, 1959. it differs from these species by the proportions and shape of the genital complex, the shape of the sternal furca, the relative length of the maxillar segments, the absence of a pectiniform process on the distal maxillar segment, the length of leg 4 and the armature of leg 5. The new species represents the first Lepeophtheirus described from Costa Rican waters of the Pacific. The low diversity of this genus in this tropical region is explained by its tendency to prefer hosts from temperate latitudes. Until further evidence is found, the host of this Lepeophtheirus species remains unknown. Citation: Suárez-Morales, E. & R. Gasca. 2012. A new Lepeophtheirus (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Caligidae) from isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica, Eastern Tropical Pacific. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (Suppl. 3): 235-242. Epub 2012 Dec 01.


2020 ◽  
Vol 729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebeca Granja-Fernández ◽  
Tania Pineda-Enríquez ◽  
Francisco Alonso Solís-Marín ◽  
Alfredo Laguarda-Figueras

The widespread Ophioderma hendleri sp. nov., from the Eastern Tropical Pacific (Mexico to Colombia) is distinguished from its congeners by having radial shields covered by granules, naked adoral shields, up to 11 arm spines, and by its brown and beige coloration. Ophioderma hendleri sp. nov. belongs to the group of species with naked adoral shields (i.e., O. pentacanthum H.L. Clark, 1917, O. variegatum Lütken, 1856), and it has frequently been misidentified as O. panamense Lütken, 1859 or O. variegatum. Therefore, the main aim of the present work was to describe Ophioderma hendleri sp. nov. and differentiate it from its congeners. The original description of O. panamense was incomplete; thus, we provide a redescription. Due to the confusion in previous designations of its type material, we designate a lectotype and paralectotype of O. variegatum. Finally, we expand the distribution range of O. pentacanthum to Cocos Island, Costa Rica. With this work, the total number of valid species of Ophioderma Müller & Troschel, 1840 in the world increases to 33 and in the Eastern Pacific to nine species.


2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Auster ◽  
Astrid Sánchez-Jiménez ◽  
Jesús A. Rodríguez-Arrieta ◽  
Andrés J. Quesada ◽  
Cinthya Pérez ◽  
...  

<p>The shallow waters around Isla del Coco, Costa Rica, have the highest density of apex predators within the Eastern Tropical Pacific. This represents a unique opportunity to assess the structure of predatory interactions in a community relatively unimpacted by fishing. Facilitation of predation has commonly been observed in shallow reef systems, limited in depth by observations via scuba divers. Here we present a preliminary catalog of facilitative behavioral interactions between 12 taxa of deepwater piscivores at Isla del Coco and Las Gemelas Seamount in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, collected via video from submersible vehicles to depths of approximately 311 m from 2002-2012. Observations were ad hoc and likely represent only a portion of the web of interactions that occur in this ecological setting. That such interactions can be observed to 300 m during the narrow time frame of submersible dives suggests that direct behavioral facilitation of piscivory may play a significant role in the apex predator guild of deepwater fishes. Investigating the extent and population-community consequences of such interactions will provide valuable insight into patterns and processes that occur in communities protected from direct fisheries as well as focus conservation actions. Rev. Biol. Trop. 64 (Suppl. 1): S187-S196. Epub 2016 February 01.</p><p> </p>


Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3427 (1) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
DORA N. PADILLA-GIL ◽  
BERNALD PACHECO-CHAVES

Three species of the genus Rheumatobates, R. peculiaris, R. longisetosus, and R. probolicornis are recorded from the Pacific coast of Colombia, municipality of Tumaco (department of Nariño); and R. bergrothi is recorded from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica; the macropterous morph of R. longisetosus is described, ecological data are provided and it is included together with other four species in a key to adult males from Eastern Tropical Pacific; the male habitus for six species is illustrated.


Check List ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 2113
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Azofeifa-Solano ◽  
Sebastián Mena ◽  
Juan José Alvarado ◽  
José Leonardo Chacón-Monge ◽  
Tayler M. Clarke ◽  
...  

Echinoderms within the Eastern Tropical Pacific have mainly been studied in association with coral reefs. Investigations on echinoderms associated with soft-bottoms and estuaries are still scarce. The present study reports on the echinoderm species inhabiting the soft-bottom sediments of shallow-brackish waters adjacent to the largest river basin along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Térraba-Sierpe wetland. Nine species were recorded, three of them new records for Costa Rica: Luidia columbia, L. latiradiata, and L. superba. The most common species were L. columbia, Astropecten armatus, A. regalis, and L. latiradiata. This contributes towards current knowledge on the biodiversity of Térraba-Sierpe wetland and should be considered as a baseline upon which to monitor the effects of future impacts on this important mangrove area.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keilor Rojas-Jimenez ◽  
Hans Peter Grossart ◽  
Erik Cordes ◽  
Jorge Cortés

AbstractDeep waters represent the largest biome on Earth and the largest ecosystem of Costa Rica. Fungi play a fundamental role in global biogeochemical cycling in marine sediments, yet, they remain little explored. We studied fungal diversity and community composition in several marine sediments from 16 locations sampled along a bathymetric gradient (from a depth of 380 to 3474 m) in two transects of about 1500 km length in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) of Costa Rica. Sequence analysis of the V7-V8 region of the 18S rRNA gene obtained from sediment cores revealed the presence of 787 fungal amplicon sequence variants (ASVs). On average, we detected a richness of 75 fungal ASVs per sample. Ascomycota represented the most abundant phylum with Saccharomycetes constituting the dominant class. Three ASVs accounted for ca. 63% of all fungal sequences: the yeast Metschnikowia (49.4%), Rhizophydium (6.9%), and Cladosporium (6.7%). Although we distinguished a cluster dominated by yeasts and a second cluster dominated by filamentous fungi, we were unable to detect a strong effect of depth, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH on the composition of fungal communities. We highlight the need to understand further the ecological role of fungi in deep-sea ecosystems.


2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Omar G. Lizano

<p>The Costa Rica Thermal Dome (CRTD) is an oceanographic phenomenon in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP). This is a region of very high biological productivity, resulting in high concentrations of phytoplankton, sea birds, and large pelagics, such as tunas, dolphins and whales. Few publications have looks at the station variability of the water column of the CRTD. Here, horizontal and vertical distribution of some oceanic parameters was analyzed to show the dynamics of ETP, its influence on the CRTD, climatic variations and relationships that justify their distributions. Climatological monthly mean data of Ocean Data View (ODV) from 1900 to 2009 were used to compile profiles of the water column’s temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen, and their spatial distributions around the Costa Rica Thermal Dome (CRTD). Monthly variations of these parameters depend on the intensity and extent of ocean-meteorological phenomena in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), which are related to the north-south migration of Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The monthly climatic variation of these variables is analyzed down to 200 m depth. Increased climate variability is found in the water column at stations north and east of the CRTD. The two stations north of the CRTD, closer to the coast, are the ones most affected by the wind in front of the Gulf of Papagayo and where the greatest monthly upwelling variation occurs in this region. The distribution and concentration of dissolved oxygen depends on the ocean-atmospheric dynamics. Oxygen is consumed by respiration and organic matter oxidation around CRTD. Moreover, this is one of the regions of the tropical oceans where an Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) exist, which is related also to poor water circulation or lack ocean ventilation. Sources of dissolved oxygen are linked with sub-surface currents coming from the west and from the south of the geographic equator.</p><div> </div>


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document