BioMar‐ACG: A successful partnership to inventory and promulgate marine biodiversity

Abstract

Initiated in 2015, the marine inventory of Área de Conservación Guanacaste (BioMar-ACG) is rapidly advancing knowledge of biodiversity. Key aspects include synergizing with parataxonomists, barcoding specimens and making information available. After 85 years, 594 species were reported. Now, after four years, BioMar-ACG documented 1,123 species, for a total of 1,479.

Área de Conservación Guanacaste Echinoderms, North Pacific of Costa Rica

“…One specimen of each morpho-species was photographed and used as a voucher for bar-coding tissue sample extraction. Samples from all vouchered specimens were sent to the Center for Biodiversity Genomics, at the University of Guelph, for DNA sequencing and barcoding (Cortés & Joyce, 2020). That could lead us to build a barcode library (Hebert, Cywinska, Ball & de Waard, 2003;Janzen & Hallwachs, 2019), and will serve as a reference inventory and as the start point for many kinds of ecological, phylogeographic, systematic, genomic, and evolutive studies.…”

“…These spatial and biologic connection becomes a sanctuary at many natural scales (physics and organics), that engages the deep sea and surface ocean, salty, and freshwater systems, that extends from the rugose Pacific shore and dry forest, to the cloud mountains, at the Atlantic basin (SINAC, 2013;WHC, 2013;Janzen & Hallwachs, 2016;Janzen & Hallwachs, 2020). ACG was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site, highlighting its geographic, socio-cultural and biological importance, in administrating and secure the preservation of the natural resources, as well as shelter the genetic diversity to perpetuity (Cortés & Joyce, 2020;Janzen & Hallwachs, 2020).…”

“…The BioMar-ACG Project, was established to increase the knowledge of marine biodiversity in ACG. Beginning operations in 2015, with an inter-institutional partnership between CIMAR, the Museo de Zoología (MZ-UCR) and the Herbario de Biología (USJ) of the Universidad de Costa Rica, the Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación (SINAC), and the Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund (GDFCF) (Cortés & Joyce, 2020). According to the literature, there are 594 species of marine organisms listed for ACG, of which crustaceans, mollusks, and cnidarians, are the richest groups (Cortés, 2017).…”

“…That compilation does not include ophiuroids, although its presence is known because of direct observations at field, samplings, and specimen collections (Granja-Fernández, Pineda-Enríquez, Solís-Marín & Laguarda-Figueras, 2020). Is expected that, by redirecting sampling effort, the improvement in technology, as by the survey of deeper waters or new habitats, the echinoderm representativeness in ACG might increase (Cortés, 2017;Cortés & Joyce, 2020).…”

Insights from five decades of biodevelopment and long‐term research at Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica

“…Montalvo et al (2020) present a study that is only possible because of ACG habitat diversity, focusing as it does on the movement of jaguars through a habitat matrix made up of turtle nesting beaches and adjacent tropical dry forest. As evidence that ACG continues to expand its scope of interest and influence, the final paper reports early results of a biodiversity survey of ACG's marine zone, which until recently was a critical knowledge gap (Cortés & Joyce, 2020). This novel collaborative effort between ACG and Costa Rican university researchers has developed from groundwork laid by ACG and its historic commitment to biodiversity inventory, the development of local expertise, and integration or research outputs with ongoing education and outreach efforts.…”