Abstract
The coral reef at Parque Nacional Cahuita, Limón, Costa Rica, is a reef under stress due to siltation. The amount of suspended sediments is high and resuspension of bottom sediments is also high. Growth rates of corals, live coral coverage and diversity were low. Colonies are generally larger than in other areas studied, and recruitment of planulae seems to be low. Most of the corals present are good at rejecting sediments and morphologies of some change to better resist the sediments (vertical fronds of Agaricia agaricites) or to receive more light (shingles of Montastrea annularis and Porites astreoides).
Analyses of the currents and the type of minerals present in the noncarbonate fraction of the sediments at the reef point to Río La Estrella as the source of sediments. The amount of sediments carried by this river has probably increased recently as a result of watershed deforestation. The problem of siltation in reef environments is bound to increase as new areas in the tropics are being developed.
Sediments affect both the individual coral and the coral community. Whether a reef is (or was) under stress due to siltation, can be determined by analyzing the following: growth rates of the corals, amount of trapped sediments in the skeletons, live coral coverage, species composition and diversity, and morphologies.
References
Aller, R. C., & R. E. Dodge. 1974. Animal-sediment relations in a tropical lagoon, Discovery Bay, Jamaica. J. Mar. Res., 32: 209-232.
Bak, R. P.M. 1978. Lethal and sublethal effects of dredgingon reef corals. Mar. Poll. Bull., 9: 14-16.
Bak, R. P. M., & J. H. B. W. Elgershuizen. 1976. Patterns of oil-sediment rejection in corals. Mar. Biol. 37: 105-113.
Barnard, L.A., I.G. Macintyre, & J.W. Pierce. 1974. Possible environmental index in tropical reef corals. Nature, 252: 219-220.
CoIlier, A. 1964. The American Mediterranean, p. 122-142. In R.C.West, & R. Wauchope (eds.). Handbook of Middle American Indians. Vol. 1. University of Texas Press. Austin, Texas.
Conover, W. J. 1971. Practical Nonparametric Statistics. Wiley, New York. 462 p.
Cortés N., J. 1981. The Coral Reef at Cahuita, Costa Rica: A Reef Under Stress. Tesis de Maestría: McMaster University, Hamilton, Canadá. 176 p.
Dodge, R.E. 1980. Preparation of coral skeletons for growth studies. Apprendix 1. Part B: 615-618. In D.C. Rhoads y R. A. Lutz (eds.). Skeletal Growth of Aquatic Organisms. Plenum Press.
Dodge, R. E., & J. R. Vaisnys. 1977. Coral populations and growth patterns: Responses to sedimentation and turbidity associated with dredging. J.Mar. Res., 35: 715-730.
Dodge, R. E., R.C. Aller, & J. Thompson. 1974. Coral growth related to resuspension of bottom sediments. Nature, 247: 574-577.
Dustan, P. 1975. Growth and form in the reef-building coral Montastrea annularis. Mar. Biol., 33: 101-108.
Eason, G., C. W. Coles, & G. Gettinby. 1980. Mathematics and statistics for the Bio-Sciences. Ellis Horwood Limited. Chichester, England. 578 p.
Gómez, E. D. 1980. Status report on research and degradation problems of the coral reefs of the East Asian Seas. South China Sea Fisheries Development and Coordinating Programme. Manila,
Phillippines. 68 p.
Goreau, T.F., & J.W. Wells. 1967. The shallow-water Scleractinia of Jamaica: Revised list of species and their vertical distribution range. Bull. Mar. Sci., 17: 442-453.
Graus, R.R. y I. G. Macintyre, 1982. Variation in growth forms of the reef coral Montastrea annularis (Ellis & Sollander): A quantitative evaluation of growth response to light distribution using computer simulation. Smithsonian Contrib. Mar. Sci., 12:441-464.
Hein, F. J., & M. J. Risk. 1975. Bioerosion of coral heads: Inner patch reefs, Florida Reef Tract. Bull, Mar. Sci., 25: 133-138.
Hubbard, J.A.E.B., & Y. P. Pocock. 1972. Sediment rejection by recent ScIeractinian corals: A key to palaeo-environmental reconstruction. Geol. Rundschau., 61: 598-626.
Hutchenson, K. 1970. A test for comparing diversities based on the Shannon formula. J. Theoret. Biol., 29: 151-154.
Jackson, J.B.C., & L. Buss. 1975. Allelopathy and spatial competition among coral reef invertebrates. Proc, Nat. Acad. Sci., 72: 5160-5163.
Johannes, R. E. 1972. Coral reefs and pollution, p. 364-374. In M. Ruivo (ed.). Marine Pollution and Sea Life. FAO Fishing News Ltd., England.
Johannes. R. E. 1975. Pollution and degradation of coral reef communities. Elsevier Publishig Company, Netherlands. Oceanographic Series, 12: 13-51.
Kaye, C. A. 1959. Shoreline features and Quaternary shoreline changes, Puerto Rico. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Papel No. 31 7-8. 140 p.
Kinder, T. H. 1983. Shallow currents in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of México as observed with satellite-tracked drifters. Bull. Mar. Sci., 33: 239-246.
Lang, J. C. 1973. Interspecific aggression by scleractinian corals. 2. Why the race is not only to the swift. Bull. Mar. Sci., 23: 260-279.
Lemieux, G. 1969. Oportunidades para el desarrollo curístico del litoral Atlántico al sur de Puerto Limón, Costa Rica; IICA, OEA, Turrialba. 197 p.
Lewis, J. B. 1974. Settlement and growth factors influencing the contagious distributions of some Atlantic reef corals. Proc. 2nd Int. Coral Reef Symp., 2: 201-206.
Lewis, J. B. 1976. Experimental test of suspension feeding in Atlantic reef corals. Mar. Biol., 36: 147-150.
Loya, Y. 1976. Effects of water turbidity and sedimentation on the community structure of Puerto Rican corals. Bull. Mar. Sci., 26: 450-466.
Maragos, J. E. 1974. Reef corals of Fanning Island, Pac. Sci., 28: 247-255.
Mergner, H. 1977. Hydroids as indicator species for ecological parameters in Caribbean and Red Sea coral reefs. Proc. 3rd Int. Coral Reef Symp. 1: 119-125.
Miller, K. R. 1969. Planeamiento del manejo del Monumento Nacional Cahuita. FAO e IICA de la OEA. Turrialba, Mimeogr., sin paginar.
Pillai, C.S.G. 1971. Composition of the coral fauna of the southeastern coast of India and the Laccadives, p. 301-327. In D. R. Stoddart & M. Yonge (eds.). Regional Variation in Indian Ocean Coral Reefs. Symposia Zool. Soc. London, No. 28.
Pittier, H. F. 1912. Kostarika, Beitrage zur Orographie und Hydrographie Petermanns Mitt., Enganzungsheft, Gotha. 175 p.
Redfield, 1923. The petroleum possibilities of Costa Rica. Econ. Geol., HS: 354-381.
Rigby, J. K,. & H. H. Roberts. 1976. Geology, reefs, and marine communities of Grand Cayman Island, B. W. I. Brigham Young Univ. Geology Studies, Special Publication, No. 4: 1-95.
Risk, M.J. 1972. Fish diversity on a coral reef in the Virgin Islands. Atoll Res. Bull., 153: 1-6.
Risk, M. J., M. M. Murillo y J. Cortés. 1980. Observaciones biológicas preliminares sobre el arrecife coralino en el Parque Nacional de Cahuita, Costa Rica. Rev. Biol. Trop., 28: 361-382.
Rógers, C. S. 1977. The Response of a Coral Reef to Sedimentation. Tesis doctoral. Univ. Florida, Gainesville, FI. 195 p.
Rogers, C. S. 1979. The effect of shading on coral reef structure and function. J. Exp. Mar. BioI. Ecol. 41: 269-288.
Roy, K. J., & S. V. Smith. 1971. Sedimentation and coral reef development in turbid water: Fanning Lagoon. Pac. Sci., 25: 234-248.
Sammarco, P. W. 1980. Diadema and its relationship to coral spat mortality: Grazing competition, and biological disturbance. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol., 45: 245-272.
Scholl, D. W. 1966. Florida Bay: a modern site of limestone formation, p. 282-288. In F. W. Fairbridge (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Oceanography. Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York. 1021 p.
Stephenson. W. R., R. Endean, & I. Bennet. 1958. An ecological survey of the marine fauna of Low lsles, Queensland, Australia. J. Mar. Fw. Res., 9: 261-318.
Thompson, J. H., Jr. 1979. Effects of drilling mud on seven species of reef-building corals as measured in field and laboratory. Final report to the U.S. Geol. Survey. Grant No. 14-08-00 1-1627, 29 p. más figuras.
Tipper, J. C. 1979. Rarefaction and rarefiction-The use and abuse of a method in paleoecology. Paleobiology, 5: 423-434.
Tosi, J. H. 1975. Parque Nacional Cahuita-Manzanillo. Informe Servicio de Parques Nacionales del MAG, San José. 16 p. (mecanografiado).
Valdez, M. F. & C. R. Villalobos. 1978. Distribución espacial, correlación con el substrato y grado de agregación en Diadema antillarum Phillippi (Echinodermata: Echinoidea). Rev. Biol. Trop., 26: 237-245.
Wallis, O. L. 1972. The significance of Cahuita National Monument, Costa Rica: An evaluation of the present and plans for the future. Mission report for UNESCO. 44 p.
Weiss, M. P., & D. A Goddard. 1977. Man's impact on coastal reefs-an example from Venezuela, p. 111-124. In S. H. Frost, M. P. Weiss, & J. B. Saunders (eds.). Reefs and Related Carbonates-Ecology and Sedimentology. Amer. Ass. Petro. Geol., Studies in Geology, No. 4.
Wellington, G. M. 1973. Additions to the Atlantic benthic flora of Costa Rica. Brenesia, 2: 17-20.
Wellington, G. M. 1974 a. The benthic flora of Punta Cahuita: An annotated list of species with new additions to the Costa Rican Atlantic Flora. Brenesia, 3: 19-30.
Wellington. G. M. 1974 b. An ecological description of the marine and associated environments at Monumento Nacional Cahuita. Subdirección de Parques Nacionales, San José, 81 p. (mecanografiado).
Comments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 1984 Revista de Biología Tropical