Abstract
Coral reefs have a rather limited distribution along the Eastern Tropical Pacific. The reefs found in Costa Rican Pacific waters are small and contain at the mast a dozen coral species. Although coral communities are widespread along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, reefs in different stages of development are confined to Golfo Dulce, Isla del Caño and Isla del Coco. The coral communities are characterized by isolated corals of the following genera: Pocillopora, Porites and Psamororo. The reefs of Golfo Dulce are dominated by Porites lobata, whilst those of Isla del Caño and Isla del Coco are typified by Pocillopora spp. in shallow waters and by Porites lobata in deeper areas. Costa Rican coral reefs show clear signs of environmental impact due to natural and human induced pressures. Stress of natural originan is related to temperature changes, basically the effects derived from cold upwelled waters and from warm waters such as those associated to El Niño 1982-83. Human induced impact is due mainly to increasing loads of terrigenous sediments and to the extraction of corals. Corrective measures are in order to reduce siltation by stopping deforestation of watersheds, improving agricultural practices and by prohibiting all coral extraction.
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