scholarly journals Microplastic ingestion by a herring Opisthonema sp., in the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Bermúdez-Guzmán ◽  
Crista Alpízar-Villalobos ◽  
Johan Gatgens-García ◽  
Gabriel Jiménez-Huezo ◽  
Marco Rodríguez-Arias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Marine Life ◽  
Multidisciplinary Study ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Tropical Areas ◽  
Filter Feeders ◽  
Aquatic Food

AbstractDespite there is a growing interest in studying the presence and effects of microplastics (MP) in fishes and other aquatic species, knowledge is still limited in tropical areas. In this study, we examined the presence of MP in the gastrointestinal content of 30 filter feeders of thread herring, Opisthonema complex (Clupeiformes: Clupeidae) from the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica. We detected the presence of MP in 100% of the individuals with an average of 36.7 pieces per fish, of which 79.5% were fibers and 20.5% particles. To our knowledge, this is the first study in Costa Rica that demonstrates the presence of MP in planktivorous fishes. The effects of microplastics ingestion by O. libertate and its transit through aquatic food webs should be studied in greater detail, with greater number of sampling points at different times of the year. However, our work confirms that contamination by microplastics is having direct effects on the marine life of Costa Rica.CapsuleThis is the first multidisciplinary study in Costa Rica demonstrating the presence and nature of microplastics in the digestive tract of planktivorous fish.

scholarly journals The community of Mata de Limón, central Pacific coast of Costa Rica and the extraction of colonchos Callichirus seilacheri (Bott, 1955) (Decapoda: Axiidea: Callianassidae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 575-580
Author(s):  
Patricio Hernáez ◽  
Hernán Granda-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central America ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Total Abundance ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Sustainable Harvesting ◽  
Local Resource ◽  
The Pacific

We conducted monthly visits to the coastal community of Mata de Limón (December 2011 to November 2012) in central Pacific of Costa Rica for assessment the extraction of the burrowing shrimp called coloncho Callichirus seilacheri, a species intensely caught as bait for fishing along the Pacific coast of Central America. The outcomes indicate that fishery effort varied between 4 and 14 harvesters day-1 with a high percentage of them from the same community (70-100%). Daily catch varied between 76 and 1120 shrimps and its value was strongly correlated with catches realized for the local harvesters (R2= 0.88). The shrimps density and total abundance in Mata de Limón was estimated in 1.2 ± 0.88 ind m-2 and 49,607 ± 3,638 individuals, respectively. Ovigerous females were exclusively present between May and November, peak in September. According to our outcomes, population of C. seilacheri in Mata de Limón could be in risk of overfishing if the daily catches exceed 800 individuals. The main results of the present study allow recommend the implementation of a total fishing ban during the reproduction peak of C. seilacheri directed to protection and conservation of this local resource for its sustainable harvesting. Also, we suggest the establishment of a management program between the community of Mata de Limón and the Instituto Costarricense de Pesca y Acuicultura (INCOPESCA) in order to optimize and legalize the extraction of this important resource.

First study of the Polycladida (Rhabditophora, Platyhelminthes) from the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4964 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-381
Author(s):  
PATRICIA SOUTULLO ◽  
DANIEL CUADRADO ◽  
CAROLINA NOREÑA
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Intertidal Zone ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
New Records ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Invertebrate Diversity ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Rocky Intertidal Zone ◽  
The Pacific

In the present work was carried out in the intertidal zone of Las Baulas de Guanacaste National Marine Park (PNMB) located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.                The main objective was to contribute to knowledge about the invertebrate diversity of the park, one of the richest bioregions on the planet, about which little is known. This study assesses the Order Polycladida Lang, 1884, a cornerstone of this ecosystem and one of the most cosmopolitan and plastic invertebrate taxa in the animal kingdom.                In total, 57 individuals were collected in the rocky intertidal zone of Carbón and Langosta beaches. Nine different species were identified, of which four are new for Costa Rica: Semonia bauliensis n. sp.; Cryptostylochus sesei n. sp.; Paraplanocera angeli n. sp., Prostheceraeus fitae n. sp.; and five new records: Paraplanocera oligoglena (Schmarda, 1859); Marcusia ernesti Hyman, 1953; Enchiridium magec Cuadrado, Moro & Noreña, 2017; Pseudobiceros bajae (Hyman, 1953); and the genus Boninia spp. 

Cimaria vargasi n. gen, n. sp. (Gastropoda: Pyramidellidae: Odostomiinae) from the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, Central America

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3178 (1) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
TORE HØISÆTER
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Central America ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Biogeographic Province ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Family

The Panamic biogeographic province has long been thought to harbour a rich pyramidellid fauna. In the compilation of Keen (1971) the family is second only to the Turridae in being the most speciose gastropod family in the region, and no less than 350 species are listed. However a number of these have later been recognized to be synonyms, and in the update of the compilation by Skoglund (2002) the number of pyramidellids was reduced to 258.

scholarly journals A new species of Leptogorgia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Octocorallia) from Golfo Dulce, Pacific, Costa Rica

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3182 (1) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
ODALISCA BREEDY ◽  
HECTOR M. GUZMAN
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Single Species ◽  
San Jose ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Deep Waters ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
A New Species

The description of this single species is necessary to facilitate the publication of ongoing research conducted by Rita Vargas at the Museum of Zoology, University of Costa Rica, dealing with the associated microfauna. Presently 24 species of Leptogorgia have been reported for the eastern Pacific, 13 of which have been found in Costa Rica (Breedy & Cortés 2011). Although octocoral surveys have been conducted as part of biodiversity studies, there is no published information regarding the occurrence of this taxon in Golfo Dulce. Here we describe a new species of Leptogorgia and compare it with other Leptogorgia species with similar characteristics. Golfo Dulce is a bay located on the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica. It is about 50 km long, 10–15 km wide, and covers an area of approximately 680 km². The inner part of Golfo Dulce has a maximum depth of slightly over 200 m with a 60 m deep sill at the opening to the Pacific Ocean (Cortés 1999). It has been considered a tropical fjord because of the bathymetry and the presence of anoxic deep waters (Cortés 1999, Svendsen et al. 2006). Specimens were collected by Scuba diving, preserved in 70% ethanol or air dried, and treated and identified following the current methodology (Breedy & Guzman 2002). The holotype and paratypes are deposited in the Museo de Zoología, Universidad de Costa Rica (MZUCR, formerly UCR), San José, P.O. Box 11501-2060, Costa Rica.

scholarly journals Microcanuella bisetosa gen. n., sp. n., a new taxon of Canuellidae (Crustacea, Copepoda) from the Costa Rican Pacific coast, with remarks on Galapacanuella beckeri

1994 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Mielke
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Beach Slope ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Coarse Sediments ◽  
Gulf Of Nicoya

A new canuellid, Microcanuella bisetosa gen. n., sp. n., was collected on the Pacific coast (Gulf of Nicoya) of Costa Rica. Though the male is still unknown, a new genus is established, mainly because of the reduced armature of P1, P4, and P5. The small-sized M. bisetosa sp. n. is a mesopsammic species, inhabiting the interstices of coarse sediments of a beach slope.

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