Coral Reef Conservation in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Alvarado, Juan José; Aburto‐Oropeza, Octavio; Abad, Rubén; Barraza, Enrique Wolpert; Brandt, Margarita; Cantera, Jaime; Estrada, Priscila; Gaymer, Carlos F.; Guzmán-Mora, Ana Gloria; Herlan, James J.; Maté, Juan L.

doi:10.1007/978-94-017-7499-4_21

Cited by 12 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…3; Cuadro 1). En estudios realizados en otras regiones del Pacífico Centroamericano, señalan a D. mexicanum como especie predominante (Alvarado et al, 2011(Alvarado et al, , 2015(Alvarado et al, , 2016bAlvarado, Guzman, & Breddy, 2012). Los erizos de mar son especies claves en los arrecifes y su monitoreo es fundamental para poder realizar diagnóstico de la salud de los arrecifes y comunidades coralinas.…”

Section: Macroinvertebrados Móvilesunclassified

“…En el presente estudio, P. gracilis fue especie predominante, sin embargo, su densidad relativa promedio se mantuvo cerca del valor central. La mayor densidad de este organismo fue observada en Islas Tortuga y Sámara-Carrillo, con máximo de 0.1 ind m -2 , densidad similar a la observada en el Pacífico Sur de Costa Rica (Alvarado et al, 2015) y la Isla del Coco (Alvarado et al, 2016b).…”

Section: Macroinvertebrados Móvilesunclassified

“…En contraste, esta investigación permite complementar una visión amplia de la composición de los ensamblajes de peces en esta costa del país. Dominici-Arosemena et al (2005) reportan un total de 70 especies para el Golfo de Papagayo en 1997, mientras que Espinoza, & Salas (2005) (Alvarado et al, 2015) o la Isla del Coco (Alvarado et al, 2016b), con 90 y 93 especies respectivamente, pero superior a sitios como San Juan del Sur en Nicaragua (Alvarado et al, 2011) que en el 2009 se encontraron 53 especies. MacNeil et al (2015), al hacer un análisis de las biomasas de peces de varias regiones del mundo, determinan que un arrecife se encuentra en una condición semejante a la prístina cuando posee biomasa superior a 1t ha -1 .…”

Section: Peces Arrecifalesunclassified

“…Este compromiso requiere el manejo integral de cuencas, efectivo ordenamiento espacial marino-costero (que incluya reglamentos de uso de los recursos), manejo efectivo de las áreas marinas protegidas, el control sobre las regulaciones pesqueras y ambientales existentes, controlar las entradas de aguas (servidas y negras) no tratadas al mar, realizar y ejecutar estudios de capacidad de carga para la actividad turística, establecer programas de control de las especies invasoras, poner en práctica la jardinería y restauración arrecifal, desarrollar un manejo ecosistémico de las pesquerías, ampliar los programas de educación ambiental marino costeros y continuar con los programas de monitoreo biológico. Ante este panorama, el manejo ecosistémico se vuelve crucial ante la posible entrada de amenazas mayores a los ecosistemas de la región, como lo son la intención de crear un canal interoceánico en Nicaragua (Alvarado et al, 2016b) y la propuesta de desarrollar un canal seco en el Norte de Costa Rica (http://www.elmundo.cr/costa-ricapresenta-proyecto-canal-seco-interoceanico-16-billones-dolares/). Esto pondría en riesgo la gran cantidad de recursos marino-costeros en la zona del Parque Nacional Santa Rosa, una de las localidades menos deterioradas del Pacifico Norte.…”

Section: Peces Arrecifalesunclassified

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Cuando la conservación no puede seguir el ritmo del desarrollo: Estado de salud de los ecosistemas coralinos del Pacífico Norte de Costa Rica

Barrientos

Beita-Jiménez

Mena

et al. 2018

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When conservation can keep up with development´s pace: Health status of coral ecosystems in the North Pacific of Costa Rica. Coral reefs are diverse and productive ecosystems, despite this, they are being threatened by human activities that enhance the detrimental impact of the natural phenomenon's like Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB). The north Pacific of Costa Rica has been characterized as one of the best regions for the coral reefs development in the country. However, many of these ecosystems are being lost as a result of eutrophication, overfishing, invasive species and others impacts that affect the region. In the present study, live coral cover in the north Pacific was 5.0 ± 10.4(s.d.) %, with a domination in the ecosystems by turf algae. Twenty-six invertebrate taxa were registered in the region with the predominance of the sea urchin Diadema mexicanum. Ninety-four species of reef fish were identified. Snappers and some planktivores species were the groups with the highest frequency and abundance. The localities previously studied in the 1990 decade, presented a mean live coral cover between 40-50 %, whereby the actual state of the reef reflect a significant deterioration. This decline in coral cover is due to natural events like the El Niño, as well as the decrease in water quality in the region. In recent years, proliferations of the invasive seaweed Caulerpa sertularioides and high densities of bioerosive sea urchins have been reported, mainly associated with HAB events. Likewise, fish communities have low biomass, especially in the vicinity of fishing villages. The state of the reefs in the North Pacific is worrying and requires actions for its recovery and conservation, for which there must be better planning of the development of projects and activities on the coast. Rev. Biol. Trop. 66(Suppl. 1): S280-S308. Epub 2018 April 01.

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Section: Macroinvertebrados Móvilesunclassified

Section: Peces Arrecifalesunclassified

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Cuando la conservación no puede seguir el ritmo del desarrollo: Estado de salud de los ecosistemas coralinos del Pacífico Norte de Costa Rica

Barrientos

Beita-Jiménez

Mena

et al. 2018

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“…In the last 40 years, marine conservation strategies in Costa Rica have focused on the creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that can safeguard vulnerable ecosystems (Alvarado, Cortés, Esquivel, & Salas, 2012). Most of these MPAs include coral reefs as conservation elements (Alvarado, Herrera, Corrales, Asch, & Paaby, 2011;Alvarado et al, 2017), and the reduction of certain anthropogenic pressures (fishing, tourism, sewage) in these MPAs is thought to result in greater resilience and reproductive success for reefs (Hughes, Graham, Jackson, Mumby, & Steneck, 2010;Mumby & Steneck, 2011;Richmond, Tisthammer, & Spies, 2018). Therefore, this research seeks first to determine the impact of the most recent El Niño event (2015-2016) on the coral reefs of the Pacific coast of southern Costa Rica and Isla del Coco, as well as to quantify if the established conservation actions (MPAs) have been key in the resilience of these ecosystems.…”

Section: Impact Of El Niño 2015-2016 On the Coral Reefs Of The Pacifimentioning

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Impact of El Niño 2015-2016 on the coral reefs of the Pacific of Costa Rica: the potential role of marine protection

Alvarado

Sánchez-Noguera

Arias‐Godínez

et al. 2020

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Introduction: El Niño 2015-2016 was considered one of the most severe worldwide, causing the third global event of coral bleaching. Previous high-intensity El Niño events (1982-83 and 1997-98) caused high coral mortalities and deterioration of coral reef structures along the Eastern Tropical Pacific, affecting both ecosystem and associated economical activities. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the most recent El Niño event on coral reefs from Cocos Island and the Pacific coast of southern Costa Rica. Methods: Coral reefs were surveyed before (2013-2014) and after (2016) the disturbance, using underwater visual censuses within belt transects, to quantify the bottom coverage at different depths. Results: In general, average live coral cover decreased 50% after the 2015-2016 El Niño event, with Golfo Dulce being the most affected area with 75% of live coral cover decline. However, in certain localities such as Isla del Coco and Isla del Caño, the effects of El Niño were apparently minimal, since no substantial loss of live coral cover was detected. Differences in the level of deterioration found between coral reefs could be related to several factors, including the age of the protected area, the distance to centers of human population, and the effectiveness in the application of management strategies. Conclusions: The synergistic impact of the 2015-16 El Niño event and other stressors (e.g. illegal fishing and unregulated coastal human development) increased the levels of disturbance on coral reefs, threatening their structure and functioning. It is necessary to strengthen conservation strategies in order to improve the resilience of coral reefs to the impact of natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Concrete actions such as coral reef restoration, marine environmental education, and marine spatial planning must become important tools to maintain the good health of coral reefs and ensure the sustainability of the goods and services provided by these ecosystems.

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