The shallow-water fish assemblage of Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica: structure and patterns in an isolated, predator-dominated ecosystem
Fishes at Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica, were surveyed as part of a larger scientific expedition to the area in September 2009. The average total biomass of nearshore fishes was 7.8 tonnes per ha, among the largest observed in the tropics, with apex predators such as sharks, jacks, and gro...
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Vicerractoría Investigación
2012-11-01
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| Series: | Revista de Biología Tropical |
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442012000800021&lng=en&tlng=en |
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| author | Alan M. Friedlander Brian J. Zgliczynski Enric Ballesteros Octavio Aburto-Oropeza Allan Bolaños Enric Sala |
| author_facet | Alan M. Friedlander Brian J. Zgliczynski Enric Ballesteros Octavio Aburto-Oropeza Allan Bolaños Enric Sala |
| author_sort | Alan M. Friedlander |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fishes at Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica, were surveyed as part of a larger scientific expedition to the area in September 2009. The average total biomass of nearshore fishes was 7.8 tonnes per ha, among the largest observed in the tropics, with apex predators such as sharks, jacks, and groupers accounting for nearly 40% of the total biomass. The abundance of reef and pelagic sharks, particularly large aggregations of threatened species such as the scalloped hammerhead shark (up to 42 hammerheads ha-1) and large schools of jacks and snappers show the capacity for high biomass in unfished ecosystems in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. However, the abundance of hammerhead and reef whitetip sharks appears to have been declining since the late 1990s, and likely causes may include increasing fishing pressure on sharks in the region and illegal fishing inside the Park. One Galapagos shark tagged on September 20, 2009 in the Isla del Coco National Park moved 255km southeast towards Malpelo Island in Colombia, when it stopped transmitting. These results contribute to the evidence that sharks conduct large-scale movements between marine protected areas (Isla del Coco, Malpelo, Galápagos) in the Eastern tropical Pacific and emphasize the need for regional-scale management. More than half of the species and 90% of the individuals observed were endemic to the tropical eastern Pacific. These high biomass and endemicity values highlight the uniqueness of the fish assemblage at Isla del Coco and its importance as a global biodiversity hotspot. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T19:19:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5b8a6534094c4a79a9bfad7ec4b25f09 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0034-7744 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T19:19:50Z |
| publishDate | 2012-11-01 |
| publisher | Vicerractoría Investigación |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista de Biología Tropical |
| spelling | doaj.art-5b8a6534094c4a79a9bfad7ec4b25f092023-08-02T05:13:21ZengVicerractoría InvestigaciónRevista de Biología Tropical0034-77442012-11-0160suppl 3321338S0034-77442012000800021The shallow-water fish assemblage of Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica: structure and patterns in an isolated, predator-dominated ecosystemAlan M. Friedlander0Brian J. Zgliczynski1Enric Ballesteros2Octavio Aburto-Oropeza3Allan Bolaños4Enric Sala5University of HawaiiUniversity of CaliforniaCentre d’Estudis Avançats de BlanesUniversity of CaliforniaPRETOMACentre d’Estudis Avançats de BlanesFishes at Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica, were surveyed as part of a larger scientific expedition to the area in September 2009. The average total biomass of nearshore fishes was 7.8 tonnes per ha, among the largest observed in the tropics, with apex predators such as sharks, jacks, and groupers accounting for nearly 40% of the total biomass. The abundance of reef and pelagic sharks, particularly large aggregations of threatened species such as the scalloped hammerhead shark (up to 42 hammerheads ha-1) and large schools of jacks and snappers show the capacity for high biomass in unfished ecosystems in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. However, the abundance of hammerhead and reef whitetip sharks appears to have been declining since the late 1990s, and likely causes may include increasing fishing pressure on sharks in the region and illegal fishing inside the Park. One Galapagos shark tagged on September 20, 2009 in the Isla del Coco National Park moved 255km southeast towards Malpelo Island in Colombia, when it stopped transmitting. These results contribute to the evidence that sharks conduct large-scale movements between marine protected areas (Isla del Coco, Malpelo, Galápagos) in the Eastern tropical Pacific and emphasize the need for regional-scale management. More than half of the species and 90% of the individuals observed were endemic to the tropical eastern Pacific. These high biomass and endemicity values highlight the uniqueness of the fish assemblage at Isla del Coco and its importance as a global biodiversity hotspot.http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442012000800021&lng=en&tlng=engrandes depredadoresPacífico tropical orientalIsla del Cocopesca de tiburonesáreas marinas protegidasendemismossitios de alta biodiversidadCosta Rica |
| spellingShingle | Alan M. Friedlander Brian J. Zgliczynski Enric Ballesteros Octavio Aburto-Oropeza Allan Bolaños Enric Sala The shallow-water fish assemblage of Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica: structure and patterns in an isolated, predator-dominated ecosystem Revista de Biología Tropical grandes depredadores Pacífico tropical oriental Isla del Coco pesca de tiburones áreas marinas protegidas endemismos sitios de alta biodiversidad Costa Rica |
| title | The shallow-water fish assemblage of Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica: structure and patterns in an isolated, predator-dominated ecosystem |
| title_full | The shallow-water fish assemblage of Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica: structure and patterns in an isolated, predator-dominated ecosystem |
| title_fullStr | The shallow-water fish assemblage of Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica: structure and patterns in an isolated, predator-dominated ecosystem |
| title_full_unstemmed | The shallow-water fish assemblage of Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica: structure and patterns in an isolated, predator-dominated ecosystem |
| title_short | The shallow-water fish assemblage of Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica: structure and patterns in an isolated, predator-dominated ecosystem |
| title_sort | shallow water fish assemblage of isla del coco national park costa rica structure and patterns in an isolated predator dominated ecosystem |
| topic | grandes depredadores Pacífico tropical oriental Isla del Coco pesca de tiburones áreas marinas protegidas endemismos sitios de alta biodiversidad Costa Rica |
| url | http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442012000800021&lng=en&tlng=en |
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