Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T15:48:43.321Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Broadening reef protection across the Marine Conservation Corridor of the Eastern Tropical Pacific: distribution and diversity of reefs in Las Perlas Archipelago, Panama

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2008

HECTOR M. GUZMAN ,
SARAH BENFIELD ,
ODALISCA BREEDY  and
JAMES M. MAIR
HECTOR M. GUZMAN*
Affiliation:
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, PO Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Republic of Panama
SARAH BENFIELD
Affiliation:
Marine and Coastal Development Unit, Argyll and Bute Council, Lorn House, Oban, Argyll PA34 4LF, UK
ODALISCA BREEDY
Affiliation:
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, PO Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Republic of Panama Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar Limnología and Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
JAMES M. MAIR
Affiliation:
Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, John Muir Building, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
*
*Correspondence: Hector M. Guzman Tel: + 507 212 8733 e-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The protected sites defined under the Marine Conservation Corridor of the Tropical Eastern Pacific (MCCTEP) include most of the endemism and a fraction of the areas of high diversity for reef corals and fishes. Although those areas are connected biologically over distances >600 km, lack of large-scale sampling and attention to taxa other than scleractinian corals has limited the protection of shallow coral reef and coral community habitats in some areas of the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) region, particularly non-offshore islands in Ecuador, Panama and Costa Rica. The newly created Las Perlas marine protected area (1688 km2), the second largest archipelago in the TEP, fills a regional conservation gap for the protection of reefs and potentially becomes the second highest coral diversity area in the MCCTEP. This study describes the distribution of live coral cover and species alpha-diversity over 307 ha of shallow coral reefs and coral communities in the Las Perlas Archipelago. Nineteen scleractinian and 38 octocorals were observed, including species previously thought to be uncommon. Although coral communities generally had a greater number of species than coral reefs, species richness did not differ between habitats. However, their coral and octocoral composition and benthic makeup (coral cover, macroalgae, sponge, etc.) differed. The reefs had higher live coral cover (61.2%) and lower algal cover (32.5%) than the coral communities (26.0% and 65.7%, respectively). Octocorals were more common in the communities than on the reefs. There was a negative relationship between live coral cover and species richness, low to moderate cover generally coinciding with coral community sites and higher species richness. Areas are recommended for marine reserve zoning within the new Las Perlas marine protected area to ensure the protection of important habitats and maintenance of diversity in the TEP, both highlighting the importance of the southern islands of the archipelago for coral diversity and the northern islands for their high live coral cover. Review of the representativeness of regional coral diversity would facilitate better design of small-scale reserves across the TEP, following comparable survey methods.

Keywords

alpha-diversitycoral reefsLas Perlasmarine reservesPanama
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , March 2008 , pp. 46 - 54
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, G.R. & Robertson, D.R. (1994) Fishes of the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA: University of Hawaii Press.Google Scholar
Beger, M., Jones, G.P. & Munday, P.L. (2003) Conservation of coral reef biodiversity: a comparison of reserve selection procedures for corals and fishes. Biological Conservation 111: 53–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benfield, S.L. (2005) Mapping coral reefs and associated sublittoral habitats: a comparison of optical remote sensors and image classifiers and a study of the community structure of reef-associated fish. Ph.D. thesis, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.Google Scholar
Benfield, S., Baxter, L., Guzman, H.M. & Mair, J.M. (2008) A comparison of coral reef and coral community fish assemblages in Pacific Panama and environmental factors governing their structure. Environmental Biology Fishes (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breedy, O. & Guzman, H.M. (2004) New species of the gorgoniian genus Pacifigorgia (Coelenterata: Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae) from the Pacific of Panamá. Zootaxa 541: 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, K.R. & Warwick, R.M. (2001) Change in Marine Communities: An Approach to Statistical Analysis and Interpretation. Second Edition. Plymouth, UK: PRIMER-E Ltd.Google Scholar
Cortés, J. (1997) Biology and geology of coral reefs of the eastern Pacific. Coral Reefs 16: S39–S46.Google Scholar
Cowen, R.K., Lwiza, K.M.M., Sponagule, S., Paris, C.B., & Olson, D.B. (2002) Connectivity of marine populations – open or closed? Science 287: 857–859.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
D'Croz, L. & O'Dea, A. (2007) Variability in upwelling along the Pacific shelf of Panama and implications for the distribution of nutrients and chlorophyll. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 73: 325–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gladstone, W. & Davis, J. (2003) Reduced survey intensity and its consequences for marine reserve selection. Biodiversity and Conservation 12: 1525–1536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glynn, P.W. (1977) Coral growth and upwelling areas off the Pacific coast of Panama. Journal of Marine Research 35: 567–583.Google Scholar
Glynn, P.W. (2003) Coral communities and coral reefs of Ecuador. In: Latin American Coral Reefs, ed. Cortes, J., pp. 449–472. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Elsevier Science BV.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glynn, P.W. (2004) High complexity food webs in low-diversity Eastern Pacific reef-coral communities. Ecosystem 7: 358–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glynn, P.W. & Ault, J.S. (2000) A biogeographic analysis and review of the far eastern Pacific coral reef region. Coral Reefs 19: 1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glynn, P.W. & Maté, J.L. (1996) Field guide to the Pacific coral reefs of Panama. In: Proceedings 8th International Coral Reef Symposium Volume 1, ed. Lessios, H.A. & MacIntyre, I.G., pp. 145–166. Balboa, Panama: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.Google Scholar
Glynn, P.W. & Stewart, R.H. (1973) Distribution of coral reefs in the Pearl Islands (Gulf of Panama) in relation to thermal conditions. Limnology and Oceanography 18: 367–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glynn, P.W. & Wellington, G.M. (1983) Corals and Coral Reefs of the Galapagos Islands. Berkeley, CA, USA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Glynn, P.W., Cortes, J., Guzman, H.M. & Richmond, R.H. (1988) El Niño (1982–83) associated coral mortality and relationship to sea surface temperature deviations in the tropical eastern Pacific. In: Proceedings 6th International Coral Reefs Symposium, ed. Choat, J.H.. et al., pp. 237–243. Townsville, Australia: 6th International Coral Reefs Symposium Executive Committee.Google Scholar
Glynn, P.W., Gassman, N.J., Eakin, C.M., Cortés, J., Smith, D.B. & Guzman, H.M. (1991) Reef coral reproduction in eastern Pacific: Costa Rica, Panama, and Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), Part I. Pocilloporidae. Marine Biology 109: 355–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glynn, P.W., Mate, J.L., BakerA, C. A, C. & Calderón, M.O. (2001) Coral bleaching and mortality in Panama and Ecuador during the 1997–98 El Niño-Southern Oscillation event: spatial/temporal patterns and comparisons with the 1982–1983 event. Bulletin of Marine Science 69: 79–109.Google Scholar
Glynn, P.W., Wellington, G.M., Riegl, B., Olson, D.B., Borneman, E. & Wieters, E.A. (2007) Diversity and biogeography of the scleractinian coral fauna of Easter Island (Rapa Nui). Pacific Science 61: 67–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guzman, H.M. & Breedy, O. (2007) Distribución de la Diversidad y Estado de Conservación de los Arrecifes Coralinos y Comunidades Coralinas del Pacífico Occidental de Panamá (Punta Mala-Punta Burica). The Nature Conservancy (in press).Google Scholar
Guzman, H.M. & Cortés, J. (1993) Los arrecifes coralinos del Pacífico oriental ecuatorial: revision y perspectives. Revista Biologia Tropical 41: 535–557.Google Scholar
Guzman, H.M. & Cortes, J. (2007) Reef recovery 20 years after the 1982–83 El Niño massive mortality. Marine Biology 151: 401–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guzman, H.M. & Guevara, C.A. (1999) Arrecifes coralinos de Bocas del Toro, Panamá: III. Distribución, estructura y estado de conservación de los arrecifes de las Pastores, Cristóbal, Popa y Cayo Agua. Revista Biologia Tropical 47: 659–675.Google Scholar
Guzman, H.M., Guevara, C.A. & Breedy, O. (2004) Distribution, diversity, and conservation of coral reefs and coral communities in the largest marine protected area of Pacific Panama (Coiba Island). Environmental Conservation 31: 111–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, J.B.C. (1991) Adaptation and diversity of reef corals. Bioscience 41: 475–482.Google Scholar
Jackson, J.B.C (1994) Constancy and change of life in the sea. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society London 44: 55–60.Google Scholar
Kati, V., Devillers, P., Dufrene, M., Legakis, A., Vokou, D. & Lebrun, P. (2004) Hotspots, complementary or representativeness? Designing optimal small-scale reserves for biodiversity conservation. Biological Conservation 120: 471–480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kessler, W.S. (2006) The circulation of the eastern tropical Pacific: a review. Progress in Oceanography 69: 181–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krupnick, G.A. & Kress, W.J. (2003) Hotspots and ecoregions: a test of conservation priorities using taxonomic data. Biodiversity and Conservation 12: 2237–2253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lessios, H.A. & Robertson, D.R. (2006) Crossing the impassable: genetic connections in 20 reef fishes across the eastern Pacific barrier. Proceedings of the Royal Society (London) 273: 2201–2208.Google ScholarPubMed
Levin, L.A. (2006) Recent progress in understanding larval dispersal: new directions and digressions. Integrative and Comparative Biology 46: 282–297.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lubchenco, J., Palumbi, S.R., Gaines, S.D. & Andelman, S. (2003) Plugging a hole in the ocean: the emerging science of marine reserves. Ecological Applications 13: 3–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Margules, C.R. & Pressey, R.L. (2000) Systematic conservation planning. Nature 405: 243–253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maté, J.L. (2003) Corals and coral reefs of the Pacific coast of Panama. In: Latin American Coral Reefs, ed. Cortés, J., pp. 387–417. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Elsevier Science B.V.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Millar, I. & Müller, R. (1999) Validity and reproducibility of benthic cover estimates made during broadscale surveys of coral reefs by manta tow. Coral Reefs 18: 353–356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mumby, P.J., Dahlgren, C.P., Harborne, A.R., Kappel, C.V., Micheli, F., Brumbaugh, D.R., Holmes, K.E., Mendes, J.M., Broad, K., Sanchirico, J.N., Buch, K., Box, S., Stoffle, R.W. & Gill, A.B. (2006) Fishing, trophic cascades, and the process of grazing on coral reefs. Science 311: 98–101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murdoch, T.J.T. & Aronson, R.B. (1999) Scale-dependent spatial variability of coral assemblages along the Florida Reef Tract. Coral Reefs 18: 341–351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Research Council (1995) Understanding Marine Biodiversity. Washington, DC, USA: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
Norse, E.A., ed. (1993) Global Marine Biological Strategy: A Strategy for Building Conservation into Decision Making. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press.Google Scholar
Pennington, J.T., Mahoney, K.L., Kuwahara, V.S., Kolber, D.D., Calienes, R. & Chavez, F.P. (2006) Primary production in the eastern tropical Pacific: a review. Progress in Oceanography 69: 285–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reyers, B., Fairbanks, D.H.K., Wessels, K.J. & Van Jaarsveld, A.S. (2002) A multicriteria approach to reserve selection: addressing long-term biodiversity maintenance. Biodiversity and Conservation 11: 769–793.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salomon, A.K., Ruesink, J.L. & DeWreede, R.E. (2006) Population viability, ecological processes and biodiversity: valuing sites for reserve selection. Biological Conservation 128: 79–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spalding, M.D., Fox, H.E., Allen, G.R. & Davidson, N. (2007) Marine ecoregions of the world: a bioregionalization of coastal and shelf areas. Bioscience 57: 573–583.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Terlizzi, A., Bevilacqua, S, Franschetti, S. & Boero, F. (2003) Taxonomic sufficiency and the increasing insufficiency of taxonomic expertise. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 46: 556–561.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wellington, G.M. & Victor, B.C. (1992) Regional differences in duration of the planktonic larval stage of reef fishes in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Marine Biology 113: 491–498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Guzman et al. supplementary material

Appendix 1

Download Guzman et al. supplementary material(File)
File 151.6 KB