The composition of marine macroinvertebrates in two localities (Isla Palma and Los Negritos) of Malaga Bay was studied. This bay is located in the Pacific coast of Colombia and was recently declared National Natural Park. The rapid ecological assessment revealed a total of 128 species belonging to 64 families and 11 classes (including threatened species). The most common groups were: Gastropoda (27%), Polychaeta (26%), Malacostraca (16%) and Pelecypoda (13%). Even though the two sites are relatively near, being apart only by 6 km, the composition of the respective communities was very different. They shared only 7.8% of the species found; which might have profound and interesting effects for conservation purposes.
We report the occurrence of a major corallivore, the Crown-of-thorns Starfish Acanthaster planci, on the coral reefs of Gorgona Island, Tropical Eastern Pacific. Three individuals were sighted on opposite sides of the island, where they fed on small coral colonies of Pavona varians and Pocillopora damicornis. These sightings are noteworthy in light of reports that have demonstrated that the geographic distribution of A. planci is gradually increasing in the equatorial eastern Pacific, particularly south of the Gulf of Chiriquí (Panama) where it was previously absent.
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