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

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Abstract

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 m-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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southern California Ocean Studies Consortium, California State University, 90840, Long Beach, California, USA

    D. Maurer

  2. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia (CIMAR), Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica

    J. A. Vargas

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  1. D. Maurer
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  2. J. A. Vargas
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Communicated by N. D. Holland, La Jolla

Southern California Ocean Studies Consortium Contribution No. 23

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Maurer, D., Vargas, J.A. Diversity of soft-bottom benthos in a tropical estuary: Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica. Mar. Biol. 81, 97–106 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00397631

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