Diversity of soft-bottom benthos in a tropical estuary: Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica

✍ Scribed by D. Maurer; J. A. Vargas

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1984
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 943 KB
• Volume: 81
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0025-3162
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00397631

✦ Synopsis

The community structure of soft-bottom infauna is described for the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, Central America, with special reference to the relationship between diversity and a tropical estuary. Of the 205 species of invertebrates collected in July, 1980, polychaetes comprised 58.6% by number of species and 68.1% by number of individuals. Density ranged from zero to 8 744 m -2 with a mean of 1 269 m -2 per station, and biomass ranged from zero to 10.986 g rn -2 with a mean of 2.010 g m -2. Numerical analysis indicated considerable faunal homogeneity, characterized by polychaetes. Five major polychaete feeding guilds were recognized. From measures of diversity we concluded that the soft-bottom community of the Gulf of Nicoya was not rich for a tropical estuary. Physical processes (riverine runoff and frontal systems) mainly influenced community structure and function in the lower Gulf whereas biological processes (predation) seemed to prevail in the upper Gulf.