Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Isla del Coco, Costa Rica, Eastern Tropical Pacific

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems

Part of the book series: Coral Reefs of the World ((CORW,volume 12))

Abstract

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs), at ocean depths between 40 and 150 m, have been found throughout the tropics but are different in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP). This observation is based on submersible dives that have explored several ETP mesophotic areas. The ETP is characterized by a shallow thermocline (approximately 50 m depth), reduction in light availability at deeper depths due to the accumulation of particulate matter at the thermocline, cold temperatures, low oxygen concentrations, and low aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) that may explain the absence of zoothanthellate corals below 40 m. Isla del Coco is located 500 km off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The MCEs of this island have been explored using the DeepSee submersible. There is a sharp change in benthic fauna, in both soft and hard bottoms, at approximately 50 m depth. The combination of the shallow thermocline bringing cold and low pH waters to near the surface plus the turbidity (low light) at the thermocline leads to a situation where zooxanthellate corals do not generally thrive below about 15–25 m depth (maximum around 40 m) and do not build reefs in deeper waters. The substrate between 50 and 150 m is densely covered with red algae (down to 90 m), octocorals, black corals, azooxanthellate corals, and calcareous hydroids. This chapter is the first synthesis of mesophotic environments of any ETP site and characterizes the MCEs of Isla del Coco National Park.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 299.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 379.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Agassiz A (1892) Reports on the dredging operations off the west coast of Central America to the Galápagos, to the west coast of Mexico, and in the Gulf of California, in charge of Alexander Agassiz, carried on by the U.S. Fish Commission Steamer “Albatross”, Lieut. Commander Z.L. Tanner U.S.N., commanding. II. General sketch of the expedition of the “Albatross,” from February to may, 1891. Bull Mus Comp Zoöl 23:1–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Alvarado JJ, Chiriboga A (2008) Distribución y abundancia de equinodermos de las aguas someras en la Isla del Coco, Pacifico Oriental, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 56(Suppl 2):99–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Angulo A, Naranjo-Elizondo B, Corrales-Ugalde M, Cortés J (2014) First record of the genus Paracaristius (Perciformes: Caristiidae) from the Pacific of Central America, with comments on their association with the siphonophore Praya reticulata (Siphonophorae: Prayidae). Mar Biodiv Rec 7:e132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Auster PJ, Sánchez-Jiménez A, Rodríguez-Arrieta JA, Quesada AJ, Pérez C, Naranjo-Elizondo B, Blum S, Cortés J (2016) Facilitative behavioral interactions between deepwater piscivores at Isla del Coco National Park and Las Gemelas Seamount, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 64(Suppl 1):S187–S196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beebe W (1926) The Arcturus Oceanographic Expedition. Zoologica 8:1–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O (2009) Octocorals. In: Wehrtmann IS, Cortés J (eds) Marine biodiversity of Costa Rica, Central America. Springer, Berlin, pp 161–167, List of species, CD: p 108–111

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Cortés J (2008) Octocorals (Coelenterata: Anthozoa: Octocorallia) of Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 56(Suppl 2):71–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Cortés J (2011) Morphology and taxonomy of a new species of Leptogorgia (Cnidaria: Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae) in Cocos Island National Park, Pacific Costa Rica. Proc Biol Soc Washington 124:62–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Guzman HM (2003) Octocorals from Costa Rica: the genus Pacifigorgia (Coelenterata: Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae). Zootaxa 281:1–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Guzman HM (2013) A new species of the genus Eugorgia Verrill, 1868 (Cnidaria: Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae) from mesophotic reefs in the eastern Pacific. Bull Mar Sci 89:735–743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Guzman HM (2015) A revision of the genus Muricea Lamouroux, 1821 (Anthozoa, Octocorallia) in the eastern Pacific. Part I: Eumuricea Verrill, 1869 revisited. ZooKeys 537:1–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Guzman HM (2016a) A revision of the genus Muricea Lamouroux, 1821 (Anthozoa, Octocorallia) in the eastern Pacific. Part II. ZooKeys 581:1–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Guzman HM (2016b) A new Muricea species (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Octocorallia) from the eastern tropical Pacific. ZooKeys 629:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Guzman HM, Vargas S (2009) A revision of the genus Eugorgia Verrill, 1868 (Coelenterata: Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae). Zootaxa 2151:1–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Breedy O, Williams GC, Guzman HM (2013) Two new species of gorgonian octocorals from the tropical eastern Pacific biogeographic region (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Gorgoniidae). ZooKeys 350:75–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breitburg D, Levin LA, Oschlies A, Grégoire M, Chavez FP, Conley DJ, Garçon V, Gilbert D, Gutiérrez D, Isensee K, Jacinto GS, Limburg KE, Montes I, Naqvi SWA, Pitcher GC, Rabalais NN, Roman MR, Rose KA, Seibel BA, Telszewski M, Yasuhara M, Zhang J (2018) Declining oxygen in the global ocean and coastal waters. Science 359:46

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bussing WA (2010) A new fish, Peristedion nesium (Scorpaeniformes: Peristediidae) from Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 58:1149–1156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bussing WA, López MI (2005) Peces de la Isla del Coco y peces arrecifales de la costa Pacífica de América central meridional/fishes of Cocos Island and reef fishes of the Pacific coast of lower Central America. Rev Biol Trop 53(Suppl 2):192

    Google Scholar 

  • Cairns SD (1986) Stylasteridae (hydrozoa: Hydroida) of the Galapagos Islands. Smithsonian Contr Zool 426:1–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Cairns SD (1991a) A revision of the ahermatypic Scleractinia of the Galápagos and Cocos Islands. Smithsonian Contr Zool 504:1–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Cairns SD (1991b) New records of Stylasteridae (hydrozoa: Hydroida) from the Galápagos and Cocos Islands. Proc Biol Soc Washington 104:209–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Corrales-Ugalde M, Quesada A, Naranjo-Elizondo B, Cortés J (2017) New records of gelatinous zooplankton from an oceanic island in the eastern tropical Pacific. J Mar Biol Assoc U K:1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Cortés J (2008) Historia de la investigación marina de la Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 56(Suppl 2):1–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Cortés J (2011) Eastern tropical Pacific coral reefs. In: Hopley D (ed) The encyclopedia of modern coral reefs: structure, form and process. Springer, Berlin, pp 351–358

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cortés J (2012) Marine biodiversity of an eastern tropical Pacific oceanic island, Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 60(Suppl 3):131–185

    Google Scholar 

  • Cortés J (2016) Isla del Coco: coastal and marine ecosystems. In: Kappelle M (ed) Costa Rican ecosystems. University of Chicago Press, Chicago/London, pp 162–191

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cortés J, Blum S (2008) Life to 450 m depth at Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 56(Suppl 2):189–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Cortés J, Sánchez-Jiménez A, Rodríguez-Arrieta JA, Quirós-Barrantes G, González PC, Blum S (2012) Elasmobranchs observed in deepwaters (45–330m) at Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica (eastern tropical Pacific). Rev Biol Trop 60(Suppl 3):257–273

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham S, Guzman HM, Bates R (2013) The morphology and structure of the Hannibal Bank Fisheries Management Zone, Pacific Panama using acoustic seabed mapping. Rev Biol Trop 61:1967–1979

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Disalvo LH, Randall JE, Cea A (1988) Ecological reconnaissance of the Easter Island sublittoral marine environment. Nat Geogr Res 4:451–473

    Google Scholar 

  • Durham JW, Barnard JL (1952) Stony corals of the eastern Pacific collected by the Velero III and Velero IV. Allan Hancock Pac Exped 16(1):1–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Erisman BE, Konotchick TH, Blum S (2009) Observations of spawning in the leather bass, Dermatolepis dermatolepis (Teleostei: Epinephelidae), at Cocos Island, Costa Rica. Environ Biol Fish 85:15–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández C (2008) Flora marina del Parque Nacional Isla del Coco, Costa Rica, Pacífico Tropical Oriental. Rev Biol Trop 56(Suppl 2):57–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiedler PC, Lavín MF (2017) Oceanographic conditions of the eastern tropical Pacific. In: Glynn PW, Manzello D, Enochs I (eds) Coral reefs of the eastern Pacific: persistence and loss in a dynamic environment, Coral reefs of the world 8. Springer Science+Business Media, Dordrecht, pp 59–83

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fourriére M, Alvarado JJ, Bocos AA, Cortés J (2016) Updated checklist and analysis of completeness of the fish fauna of Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Mar Biodivers

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraser CM (1943) General account of the scientific work of the Velero III in the eastern Pacific, 1931–1941, part III: a ten-year list of the Velero III collecting stations (charts 1–115). With an appendix of collecting stations of the Allan Hancock Foundation for the year 1942. Allan Hancock Pac Exped 1:259–431

    Google Scholar 

  • García-Méndez K, Camacho-García YE (2016) New records of heterobranch sea slugs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 64(Suppl 1):S205–S219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrison G (2005) Peces de la Isla del Coco/Isla del Coco Fishes, 2nd edn. Editorial INBio, Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica

    Google Scholar 

  • Glynn PW, Veron JEN, Wellington GM (1996) Clipperton Atoll (Eastern Pacific): oceanography, geomorphology, reef-building coral ecology and biogeography. Coral Reefs 15:71–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glynn PW, Wellington GM, Wieters EA, Navarrete SA (2003) Reef-building coral communities of Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Chile. In: Cortés J (ed) Latin American coral reefs. Elsevier Science BV, Amsterdam, pp 473–494

    Google Scholar 

  • Glynn PW, Wellington GM, Riegl B, Olson DB, Borneman E, Wieters EA (2007) Diversity and biogeography of the scleractinian coral fauna of Easter Island (Rapa Nui). Pac Sci 61:67–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glynn PW, Alvarado JJ, Banks S, Cortés J, Feingold JS, Jiménez C, Maragos JE, Martínez P, Maté JL, Moanga DA, Navarrete S, Reyes-Bonilla H, Riegl B, Rivera F, Vargas-Ángel B, Wieters EA, Zapata FA (2017) Eastern Pacific coral reef provinces, coral community structure and composition: an overview. In: Glynn PW, Manzello D, Enochs I (eds) Coral reefs of the eastern Pacific: persistence and loss in a dynamic environment, Coral reefs of the world 8. Springer Science+Business Media, Dordrecht, pp 107–176

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Graham MH, Kinlan BP, Druehl LD, Garske LE, Banks S (2007) Deep-water kelp refugia as potential hotspots of tropical marine diversity and productivity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104:16576–16580

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grigg RW, Hey R (1992) Paleoceanography of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. Science 255:172–178

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hinderstein LM, Marr JCA, Martinez FA, Dowgiallo MJ, Puglise KA, Pyle RL, Zawada DG, Appeldoorn R (2010) Theme section on “Mesophotic coral ecosystems: characterization, ecology, and management.” Coral Reefs 29:247–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahng SE, Copus JM, Wagner D (2014) Recent advances in the ecology of mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs). Curr Opin Environ Sust 7:72–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long DJ, McCosker JE, Blum S, Klapfer A (2011) Tropical eastern Pacific records of the prickly shark, Echinorhinus cookei (Chondrichthyes: Echinorhinidae). Pac Sci 65:433–440

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • López-Garro A, Zanella I, Martínez F, Golfín-Duarte G, Pérez-Montero M (2016) La pesca ilegal en el Parque Nacional Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 64(Suppl 1):S249–S261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manzello DP, Kleypas JA, Budd DA, Eakin CM, Glynn PW, Langdon C (2008) Poorly cemented coral reefs of the eastern tropical Pacific: possible insights into reef development in a high-CO2 world. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 105:10450–10455

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Manzello DP, Enochs C, Bruckner A, Renaud PG, Kolodziej G, Budd D, Carlton R, Glynn PW (2014) Galápagos coral reef persistence after ENSO warming across an acidification gradient. Geophys Res Lett 41:9001–9008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manzello DP, Eakin CM, Glynn PW (2017) Effects of global warming and ocean acidification on carbonate budgets of eastern Pacific coral reefs. In: Glynn PW, Manzello D, Enochs I (eds) Coral reefs of the eastern Pacific: persistence and loss in a dynamic environment, Coral reefs of the world 8. Springer Science+Business Media, Dordrecht, pp 517–533

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McCosker JE, Rosenblatt RH (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc California Acad Sci 4th Ser 61(Suppl II):167–195

    Google Scholar 

  • Montoya M, Kaiser KL (1988) Biogeographical notes on the genus Terebra (Gastropoda) at Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 36:569–574

    Google Scholar 

  • Norzagaray-López CO, Hernández-Ayón JM, Calderon Aguilera LE, Reyes-Bonilla H, Chapa-Balcorta C, Ayala-Bocos A (2017) Aragonite saturation and pH variation in a fringing reef are strongly influenced by oceanic conditions. Limnol Oceanogr 62:2375–2388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poss SG, McCosker JE, Baldwin CC (2010) A new species of Scorpaenodes (Pisces: Scorpaenidae) from the Galápagos and Cocos Islands with discussions of the limits of Scorpaenodes and Thysanichthys. Proc California Acad Sci 61:235–267

    Google Scholar 

  • Reiswig HM (2010) A new species of Tretodictyum (Porifera: Hexactinellida: Tretodictyidae) from off Cocos Island, tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. Proc Biol Soc Washington 123:242–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rixen T, Jiménez C, Cortés J (2012) Impact of upwelling events on the sea water chemistry in the Gulf of Papagayo (Culebra Bay), Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 60(Suppl 2):187–195

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Jiménez A, Naranjo-Elizondo B, Rodríguez-Arrieta A, Quesada AJ, Blum S, McCosker JE, Robertson DR, Auster PJ, Cortés J (2018) Updated catalogue of bony fishes observed in deep waters at Isla del Coco National Park and Las Gemelas seamount, Costa Rica (Eastern Tropical Pacific). Rev Biol Trop 66(Supl 5):S1–S113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidtko S, Stramma L, Visbeck M (2017) Decline in global oceanic oxygen content during the past five decades. Nature 542:335–339

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Semmler RF, Hoot WC, Reaka ML (2017) Are mesophotic coral ecosystems distinct communities and can they serve as refugia for shallow reefs? Coral Reefs 36:433–444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sibaja-Cordero JA, Cortés J, Dean HK (2012) Depth diversity profile of polychaetes worms in Bahía Chatham, Parque Nacional Isla del Coco, Pacific of Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 60(Suppl 3):293–301

    Google Scholar 

  • Sibaja-Cordero JA, Troncoso JS, Gómez-Ramírez E (2014) Recent surface marine sediments of Cocos Island in Costa Rica. Int J Sed Res 29:59–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starr RM, Cortés J, Barnes CL, Green K, Breedy O (2012a) Characterization of deepwater invertebrates at Cocos Island National Park and Las Gemelas Seamounts, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 60(Suppl. 3):303–319

    Google Scholar 

  • Starr RM, Green K, Sala E (2012b) Deep-water fish assemblages at Coco Island National Park and Las Gemelas Seamounts, Costa Rica. Rev Biol Trop 60(Suppl. 3):347–362

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuhldreier I, Sánchez-Noguera C, Rixen T, Cortés J, Morales A, Wild C (2015) Effects of seasonal upwelling on inorganic and organic matter dynamics in the water column of eastern Pacific coral reefs. PLoS ONE 10(11):e0142681

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells JW (1982) Notes on indo-Pacific scleractinian corals. Part 9. New corals from the Galapagos Islands. Pac Sci 36:211–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells JW (1983) Annotated list of the scleractinian corals of the Galapagos. In: Glynn PW, Wellington GM (eds) Corals and coral reefs of the Galapagos Islands. University of California, Berkeley, pp 212–291

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This chapter is based primarily on observations and collections using the DeepSee submersible of the Undersea Hunter Group, which I greatly appreciate. Catalina Benavides drafted Fig. 26.1, Omar G. Lizano provided the data for Fig. 26.2, and Celeste Sánchez-Noguera provided useful information on aragonite saturation properties in the ETP. Beatriz Naranjo-Elizondo helped with the selection and preparation of the figures. Reviews of an early draft by Peter W. Glynn and Joanie Kleypas, a later draft by Derek Manzaello, Joanie Kleypas, and two anonymous reviewers, plus the final draft by Peter J. Auster and Lisa A. Levin, greatly improved the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR), Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica

    Jorge Cortés

  2. Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica

    Jorge Cortés

Authors
  1. Jorge Cortés
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jorge Cortés .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Yossi Loya

  2. National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Kimberly A. Puglise

  3. Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, Museum of Tropical Queensland, Queensland Museum Network, Townsville, QLD, Australia

    Tom C.L. Bridge

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Cortés, J. (2019). Isla del Coco, Costa Rica, Eastern Tropical Pacific. In: Loya, Y., Puglise, K., Bridge, T. (eds) Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems. Coral Reefs of the World, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92735-0_26

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation