Keywords
arrecife coralino
Rhodophyta
Phaeophyta
Chlorophyta
Caribe
Costa Rica
How to Cite
Abstract
This paper describes the Punta Cocles reef (Limón, Costa Rica). Data were obtained by sampling nine transects along the coast and observations done by skin diving between September and November of 2002. This reef consist of 10.5 hectares, where 13 species of corals, 39 of macroalgae, two of seagrasses, two of zoantids, one anemone, one corallimorpharian, and one sponge were identified. Life coral coverage (16%), was higher than in other years (5% for 1985, and 13.2% for 1995), and death coral coverage was very low (0.2%). Macroalgae have the highest coverage (59%), particularly brown algae with a patchy distribution of Sargassum and Padina. Laurencia brongniartii (Rhodophyta) is added to the list of marine flora of Costa Rica. The Punta Cocles reef works as a refuge for organisms, because there are no towns or river mouths nearby, and because of the coast formation. The refuge character is enhanced by the environmental conscience of the people that live close to the reef and help to protect the environment.References
Agardh, J. G. 1841. In historiam algarum symbolae. Linnaea. 15: 1-50.
Bold, H.C. & M.J. Wynne. 1985. Introduction to the Algae. 2° Ed. Prentice Hall, Inc, Englewood Cliffs, Nueva .Jersey. 720p.
Cintrón, G., J.R. García & F. Geraldes. 1994. Manual de métodos para la caracterización de arrecifes de coral. WWF, Washington, D.C. 67 p.
Cortés, J. 1992a. Los arrecifes coralinos del Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Gandoca-Manzanillo, Limón, Costa Rica. Rev. Biol. Trop. 40: 325-333.
Cortés, J. 1992b. Organismos de los arrecifes coralinos de Costa Rica. V. Descripción y distribución geográfica de hydrocorales (Cnidaria; Hydrozoa: Milleporina & Stylasterina) de la costa Caribe. Brenesia 38: 45-50.
Cortés, J. 1992c. Nuevos registros de corales (Anthozoa: Scleractinea) para el Caribe de Costa Rica: Rhizosmilia maculata y Meandrina meandrites. Rev. Biol. Trop. 40: 243-244.
Cortés, J. 1996-1997. Biodiversidad marina de Costa Rica. Filo Cnidaria. Rev. Biol. Trop. 44/45: 323-334.
Cortés, J. 1997. Status of the Caribbean coral reefs of Central America. Proc. 8th Int. Coral Reef Symp. Panamá 1: 335-340.
Cortés, J. & H.M. Guzmán. 1985a. Arrecifes coralinos de la costa Atlántica de Costa Rica. Brenesia 23: 275-292.
Cortés, J. & H.M. Guzmán. 1985b. Organismos de los arrecifes coralinos de Costa Rica III. Descripción y distribución geográfica de corales escleractinios (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Scleractinia) de la costa Caribe. Brenesia 24: 63-123.
Cortés, J. & C. Jiménez. 2003. Past, present and future of the coral reefs of the Caribbean of Costa Rica. In Pp 223-239. Cortés, J. (ed.). Latin American Coral Reefs. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam.
Cortés, J. & A. León. 2002. Arrecifes coralinos del Caribe de Costa Rica. INBio, Heredia. 140 p.
Cortés, J & M.J. Risk. 1984. El arrecife coralino del Parque Nacional Cahuita, Costa Rica. Rev. Biol. Trop. 32: 109-121.
Cortés, J. & M.J. Risk. 1985. A reef under siltation stress: Cahuita, Costa Rica. Bull. Mar. Sci. 36: 39-356.
Dudgeon, S.R., J.E. Kübler, R.L Vadas & I.R. Davison. 1995. Physiological responses to environmental variation in intertidal red algae: does tallus morphology matter? Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 117: 193-206.
Goreau, T.F. & J.W. Wells. 1967. The shallow-water Scleractinia and their vertical distribution range. Bull. Mar. Sci. 17: 442-453.
Humann, P. 1996. Reef Creature Identification: Florida, Caribbean & Bahamas. Paramount Miller Graphics, Florida. 320 p.
Littler, D. S. & Littler, M. M. 1992. Systematics of Avrainvillea (Bryopsidiales, Chlorophyta) in the tropical western Atlantic. Phycologia 31: 375-418.
Littler, D.S. & M.M. Littler 2000. Caribbean Reef Plants: An Identification Guide to the Reef Plants of the Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida and Gulf of Mexico. OffShore Graphics, Washington D.C. 542p.
Littler, M. & D. Littler. 1985. Handbook of Phycological Methods. Cambridge University, New York. 617 p.
Porter, J.W. 1972. Patterns of species diversity in Caribbean reef corals. Ecology 53: 745-748.
Risk, M.J, M.M. Murillo & J. Cortés. 1980. Observaciones biológicas preliminares sobre el arrecife coralino en el Parque Nacional de Cahuita, Costa Rica. Rev. Biol. Trop. 28: 361-382.
Rogers, C.S., M. Gilnack & C. Fitz. 1983. Monitoring of coral reefs with linear transects: a study of storm damage. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 66: 285-300.
Rogers, C.S., G. Garrison, R. Grober, Z.M. Hillis & M.A. Franke. 2001. Manual para el monitoreo de arrecifes de coral en el Caribe y el Atlántico occidental. TNC, WWF, Islas Vírgenes. 70 p.
Round, F.E. 1973. The Biology of the Algae. 2° Ed. Edward Arnold, Londres. 278 p.
Soto, R. & D. Ballantine. 1986. La flora bentónica marina del Caribe de Costa Rica. (Notas preliminares). Brenesia 25/26: 123-162.
Veron, J.E.N. 2000. Corals of the World. Vol 3. Australian Institute of Marine Science and CRR, Townsville. 490 p.
Wells, S.M. 1998. Coral Reefs of the World. Atlantic & Eastern Pacific. Vol. 1. UICN, UNEP. 373 p.
Zar, J.H. 1984. Biostatistical Analysis. 2º Ed. Prentice- Hall, Nueva Jersey. 718 p.
Comments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2004 Revista de Biología Tropical