scholarly journals Deepwater fish assemblages at Isla del Coco National Park and Las Gemelas Seamount, Costa Rica

2017 ◽  
pp. 347-362
Author(s):  
Richard M. Starr ◽  
Kristen Green ◽  
Enric Sala
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Oceanic Islands ◽  
Marine Conservation ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Tropical Eastern Pacific ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Rocky Habitats

The deepwater faunas of oceanic islands and seamounts of the Eastern Tropical Pacific are poorly known. From 11-22 September 2009 we conducted an exploration of the deepwater areas of the Isla del Coco Marine Conservation Area, Costa Rica and a nearby seamount using a manned submersible. The goal of the exploration was to characterize the habitats and biota, and conduct quantitative surveys of the deepwater portions of Isla del Coco National Park and Las Gemelas Seamount, located about 50km southwest of Isla del Coco. We completed a total of 22 submersible dives, spanning more than 80hr underwater, and collected a total of 36hr of video. We surveyed habitats from 50-402m and observed more than 45 species of fishes, some of which have not yet been described and are likely new to science. The diversity of fish species in deep water at Isla del Coco National Park was lower than the diversity of fishes in shallow water, and eight species groups accounted for more than 95% of the total fish biomass. The combined density of all fish species was higher at Las Gemelas Seamount (253 fishes/100m2) than at Isla del Coco National Park (138 fishes/100m2). The combined density of fishes in habitats comprised primarily of bedrock or large boulders outcrops was more than three times as high at Las Gemelas Seamount as it was at Isla del Coco National Park. This discrepancy was caused by the extremely high concentration of Anthiinae fishes in rocky habitats at Las Gemelas Seamount. Densities of fishes in the other habitats were similar between the two sites. Similarly, when estimates of fish density were plotted by slope categories the density was much greater on steep slopes, which were usually comprised of rock habitats. Also, the density of fishes was greatest on high rugosity habitats. Results of these submersible surveys indicate that seamounts in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean may be an important source of biodiversity and that more quantitative surveys are needed to characterize the fauna of the region. Citation: Starr, R.M., K. Green & E. Sala. 2012. Deepwater fish assemblages at Coco Island National Park and Las Gemelas Seamounts, Costa Rica. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (Suppl. 3): 347-362. Epub 2012 Dec 01.

scholarly journals Characterization of deepwater invertebrates at Isla del Coco National Park and Las Gemelas Seamount, Costa Rica

2017 ◽  
pp. 303-319
Author(s):  
Richard M. Starr ◽  
Jorge Cortés ◽  
Cheryl L. Barnes ◽  
Kristen Green ◽  
Odalisca Breedy
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
National Park ◽  
Sea Urchins ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Oceanic Islands ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Percent Cover ◽  
Tropical Eastern Pacific

The deepwater faunas of oceanic islands and seamounts of the Eastern Tropical Pacific are poorly known. From 11-22 September 2009, we conducted an exploration of the deepwater areas around Isla del Coco National Park and Las Gemelas Seamount, located about 50km southwest of Isla del Coco, Costa Rica using a manned submersible to survey the seafloor habitats. The goal of the exploration was to characterize the habitats and biota, and conduct quantitative surveys of the deepwater portions of Isla del Coco National Park and Las Gemelas. We completed a total of 22 successful submersible dives, spanning more than 80hr underwater, and collected a total of 36hr of video. With respect to invertebrates, our objectives were to gather quantitative information on species composition, density, distribution and habitat associations as well as to compare the invertebrate communities between the two sites. A total of 7172 invertebrates were counted from analysis of the video collected on this project. Larger organisms were counted and placed into 27 taxonomic groups to characterize the deepwater invertebrate fauna of Las Gemelas Seamount and Isla del Coco National Park. The Shannon-Weiner Index for biodiversity (H’) was calculated to be 0.14 ± 0.02 for Isla del Coco and 0.07 ± 0.03 for Las Gemelas surveys. Although richness was fairly equal between the two sites, evenness was greater at Isla del Coco (J = 0.04 ± 0.006) when compared to Las Gemelas (J = 0.02 ± 0.01). This lower level of evenness in the community at Las Gemelas was a result of high densities of a few dominant species groups, specifically sea urchins and black corals. We also evaluated invertebrate percent cover at both Isla del Coco and Las Gemelas Seamount with respect to habitat type, slope and rugosity. Results indicated that highly rugose habitats contained the highest frequencies of all invertebrates at both sites, with the exception of glass sponges and polychaetes at Isla del Coco, which were found in greater quantities at intermediate levels of rugosity. Information obtained from these submersible surveys indicate that seamounts in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean may be an important source of biodiversity and that more quantitative surveys are needed to characterize the fauna of the region. Citation: Starr, R.M., J. Cortés, C.L. Barnes, K. Green & O. Breedy. 2012. Characterization of deepwater invertebrates at Isla del Coco National Park and Las Gemelas Seamounts, Costa Rica. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (Suppl. 3): 303-319. Epub 2012 Dec 01.

scholarly journals Potentials and Challenges of Existing Plastic Pollutant Biodegradation Using Bacteria in Jakarta Bay

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 475-485
Author(s):  
Syarifatun Nisa Nurdhy
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
National Park ◽  
Galleria Mellonella ◽  
Marine Conservation ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Plastic Debris ◽  
Degrading Bacteria ◽  
Thousand Islands

Research conducted by Research Center for Marine and Fisheries Product Processing and Biotechnology in the three different locations namely Tarakan, Tanjung Balai Asahan, and Jakarta Bay, has identified that Jakarta Bay had the highest plastic debris concentration among the others. Jakarta Bay is directly connected to Thousand Island National Park sea waters, in which large parts of it are marine conservation area. Thus, plastic pollutants potentially threat Jakarta Bay and Thousand Island National Park abundant biodiversity and underwater marine ecotourism. The tools such as garbage transport barges owned by Special Region of the Capital Jakarta Province are not enough to overcome the existing plastic debris. 21 tons waste end up to Jakarta Bay every day. There should be further research about solving existing plastic waste with other technology than using machine. This literature study aims to review and investigate the potentials and challenges of utilizing bacteria to combat existing marine plastic pollution in Jakarta Bay. Established researches showed that some bacteria strains isolated from plastic debris in some sea waters and sediments around the world are capable of degrading polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and possibly polystyrene (PS). Unfortunately, reports involving plastic degrading ability of bacteria isolated from plastic wastes in Indonesian sea waters, let alone Jakarta Bay, are hard to find if any. There were only researches about isolated bacterias from Jakarta Bay, which were capable of degrading oil spill. Further research about isolated bacteria from plastic debris of Jakarta Bay, should be established. It can be used to identify bacteria strains or consortia that are able to degrade plastic debris with environmentally friendly byproducts. There will be possibilities that oil spill degrading bacteria isolated from Jakarta Bay can also degrade plastics, as both oil spill and plastics are made up from hydrocarbon chains. A recently published research has revealed that Alvoranicus borkumensis isolated from marine plastic debris in Mediterranean Sea was able to degrade PE, while previously other study has isolated it from Thousand Islands sea waters and found it able to degrade marine oil spill. The expression possibility of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) sequence coding extracted from wax worm Galleria mellonella into widespread indigeneous Jakarta Bay bacteria and bacteria isolated from plastic debris in Jakarta Bay, can also be taken into account. 

scholarly journals Adaptive capacity of reef-associated fishes to Climate Change

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Abas ◽  
Hector Reyes-Bonilla
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Gulf Of California ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Marine Conservation ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Tropical Region

Climate change is affecting the structure and function of marine communities in the eastern Pacific, and to anticipate possible consequences of these modifications, a better understanding of the natural adaptation potential of the species is needed. This study aimed to build a metric of adaptive capacity of reef fishes, and evaluate it using data from fish assemblages from 12 rocky and coral reefs of western Mexico. The index was developed using six life history traits from 719 fish-species distributed along the tropical Eastern Pacific. Our results indicated low adaptive capacity for big sized carnivore fish such as the tunas, totoaba and most groupers (Mycteroperca spp.); conversely, high values were attributed to species with fast life strategies such as anchovies, gobies, and blennies. The application of the index to census data showed that the adaptive potential of fish assemblages had an inverse latitudinal trend (higher in the southern reefs), resulting from the abundance of large-sized carnivores in the central and northern Gulf of California, and of small herbivores in the tropical region. As the index allows to estimate reef-fish species and communities' adaptive capacity in a straightforward and simple way, it may be a useful tool for marine conservation.

scholarly journals Adaptive capacity of reef-associated fishes to Climate Change

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Abas ◽  
Hector Reyes-Bonilla
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Gulf Of California ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Marine Conservation ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Tropical Region

Climate change is affecting the structure and function of marine communities in the eastern Pacific, and to anticipate possible consequences of these modifications, a better understanding of the natural adaptation potential of the species is needed. This study aimed to build a metric of adaptive capacity of reef fishes, and evaluate it using data from fish assemblages from 12 rocky and coral reefs of western Mexico. The index was developed using six life history traits from 719 fish-species distributed along the tropical Eastern Pacific. Our results indicated low adaptive capacity for big sized carnivore fish such as the tunas, totoaba and most groupers (Mycteroperca spp.); conversely, high values were attributed to species with fast life strategies such as anchovies, gobies, and blennies. The application of the index to census data showed that the adaptive potential of fish assemblages had an inverse latitudinal trend (higher in the southern reefs), resulting from the abundance of large-sized carnivores in the central and northern Gulf of California, and of small herbivores in the tropical region. As the index allows to estimate reef-fish species and communities' adaptive capacity in a straightforward and simple way, it may be a useful tool for marine conservation.

scholarly journals First record of the blacktip reef shark Carcharhinus melanopterus (Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae) from the Tropical Eastern Pacific

2017 ◽  
pp. 275-278
Author(s):  
Andrés López-Garro ◽  
Ilena Zanella ◽  
Geiner Golfín-Duarte ◽  
Maikel Pérez-Montero
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
National Park ◽  
First Record ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Juvenile Male ◽  
Eastern Tropical Pacific ◽  
Tropical Eastern Pacific ◽  
Reef Shark ◽  
Reef Sharks ◽  
Carcharhinus Melanopterus

The blacktip reef shark Carcharhinus melanopterus, is one of the most common Indo-Pacific reef sharks. On April 29, 2012, a juvenile male blacktip reef shark measuring 89 cm total length (TL), was incidentally caught during a research expedition in Chatham Bay, Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica, located in the Tropical Eastern Pacific. This is the first record of the species from Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica, and from the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Citation: López-Garro, A., I. Zanella, G. Golfín-Duarte & M. Pérez-Montero. 2012. First record of the blacktip reef shark Carcharhinus melanopterus (Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae) from the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (Suppl. 3): 275-278. Epub 2012 Dec 01.

scholarly journals Composición taxonómica y abundancia espacio-temporal de la ictiofauna del Río Presidio, Sinaloa, México

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Sánchez-Gonzáles ◽  
Gorgonio Ruiz-Campos ◽  
Alejandro Herrrera-Flores ◽  
María de Lourdes Lozano-Vilano ◽  
Adrián F. González-Acosta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Neotropical Region ◽  
Taxonomic Composition ◽  
Middle Part ◽  
Freshwater Species ◽  
Tropical Eastern Pacific ◽  
Rainy Period ◽  
Temporal Abundance

Taxonomic composition and spatio-temporal abundance of the ichthyofauna in Presidio River, Sinaloa, Mexico. The Rio Presidio in the southern Sinaloa, Mexico belongs to Nearctic-Neotropical zoogeographical transition zone, where its fish fauna could manifest changes in the abundance and distribution of the species during rainy and dry periods. The main objective of this study was to describe the taxonomic composition and spatial and temporal abundance of the fish fauna from the lower and middle Rio Presidio, by means of bimonthly samplings from April 2008 to February 2009. Forty fish species (39 native and 1 exotic) belonging to 32 genera and 19 families were registered. Two families (Gerreidae and Poeciliidae) contained the highest numbers of species (five and four, respectively). Six species (Lile stolifera, Oreochromis aureus, Awaous banana, Anchoa analis, Gobiomorus maculatus and Atherinella crystallina) in this order of importance contributed with almost 49 % of the total fish abundance. Species richness and salinity showed a direct relationship and an inverse relationship with the altitude. Based on the coefficient of similarity of species among sites two fish assemblages were identified. The first assemblage formed by species from marine derivation (peripheral) occurring in the lower part of the river, and the second assemblage by secondary freshwater species in the middle part. The higher fish species similarity observed in August and September was under the influence of the highest flows of the rainy period. Twenty-seven 27 species showed affinity to the Tropical Eastern Pacific Region, six species to the Neotropical region and two to the Nearctic region (Dorosoma smithi and Ictalurus cf. pricei ); one species has an Amphiatlantic distribution (Mugil curema), another is circumtropical (Mugil cephalus), two species have Amphiamerican distribution (A. monticola and G. cinereus), and one is exotic (O. aureus). Rev. Biol. Trop. 66(2): 848-862. Epub 2018 June 01. 

scholarly journals Diet of the gecko Hemidactylus frenatus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) in Coco’s Island National Park, Costa Rica

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-101
Author(s):  
Sergio A Villegas-Retana ◽  
Adriana Picado-Rossi ◽  
Alejandro Durán-Apuy
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
National Park ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Oceanic Islands ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Direct Capture ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Common ◽  
Hemidactylus Frenatus ◽  
Common House

The common house gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, is a native of Indonesia that has rapidly colonized new environments. Normally it is found in human constructions, but it can also invade natural environments and is causing the displacement and extinction of some native lizards, mostly in oceanic islands. In the Pacific reserve of Isla del Coco (Costa Rica) we captured nine specimens with sticky traps and direct capture. Theridium spp. accounted for 54% of its stomach contents (25,7% were unidentified remains and 18,8% Hymenoptera).

scholarly journals Mangrove-associated fish assemblages off the southern Panama Bight region (tropical eastern Pacific)

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo A. Castellanos-Galindo ◽  
Rodrigo A. Baos ◽  
Luis A. Zapata
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Trophic Relationships ◽  
Mangrove Forests ◽  
Artisanal Fishery ◽  
Fish Community Structure ◽  
Tropical Eastern Pacific

ABSTRACT The Panama Bight ecoregion (PBE) in the eastern Pacific contains probably the best developed mangrove forests in the American continent. Fishes inhabiting the mangrove-estuary mosaic play fundamental ecological roles and sustain the artisanal fishery operating there. Here, using data collected along ~300 km between 2012 and 2017, we examine the spatial dynamics of mangrove fish assemblages that undertake intertidal migrations in the southern part of the PBE (southern Colombian Pacific coast), where the largest and least disturbed mangroves of Colombia are located. Sixty-one fish species used intertidal mangrove habitats in these areas, constituting ~30% of all fishes inhabiting the whole mosaic of mangrove habitats in this ecoregion. Species within Clupeidae, Ariidae, Centropomidae and Tetraodontidae, all common in mangroves of the eastern Pacific, were the most dominant. Half of the fish species found are commercially important to the artisanal fishery. Differences in fish community structure could be related to salinity differences, but other environmental and ecological factors could also play a role in explaining these differences. A better understanding of the ecological role of mangrove fishes in the region could be gained by examining the ichthyofauna of other habitats within the mosaic and their trophic relationships.

scholarly journals Adaptive capacity of reef-associated fishes to Climate Change

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Abas ◽  
Hector Reyes-Bonilla
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Gulf Of California ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Marine Conservation ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Tropical Region

Climate change is affecting the structure and function of marine communities in the eastern Pacific, and to anticipate possible consequences of these modifications, a better understanding of the natural adaptation potential of the species is needed. This study aimed to build a metric of adaptive capacity of reef fishes, and evaluate it using data from fish assemblages from 12 rocky and coral reefs of the western Mexico. The index was developed using six life history traits from 719 fish-species distributed along the tropical Eastern Pacific. Our results indicated low adaptive capacity for big sized carnivore fish such as the tunas, totoaba and most groupers (Mycteroperca spp.); conversely, high values were attributed to species with fast life strategies such as anchovies, gobies, and blennies. The application of the index to census data showed that the adaptive potential of fish assemblages had an inverse latitudinal trend (higher in the southern reefs), resulting from the abundance of large-sized carnivores in the central and northern Gulf of California, and of small herbivores in the tropical region. As the index allows to estimate reef-fish species and communities' adaptive capacity in a straightforward and simple way, it may be a useful tool for marine conservation. conservation.

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