Occurrence, Demography, and Habitat Features ofPollicipes elegans(Pollicipedidae: Scalpelliformes), an Amphitropical Species at a Rocky Intertidal Shore, Costa Rica

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-461
Author(s):  
Cristian Mora-Barboza ◽  
Jeffrey A. Sibaja-Cordero
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Rocky Intertidal Shore

First study of the Polycladida (Rhabditophora, Platyhelminthes) from the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4964 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-381
Author(s):  
PATRICIA SOUTULLO ◽  
DANIEL CUADRADO ◽  
CAROLINA NOREÑA
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Intertidal Zone ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
New Records ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Invertebrate Diversity ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Rocky Intertidal Zone ◽  
The Pacific

In the present work was carried out in the intertidal zone of Las Baulas de Guanacaste National Marine Park (PNMB) located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.                The main objective was to contribute to knowledge about the invertebrate diversity of the park, one of the richest bioregions on the planet, about which little is known. This study assesses the Order Polycladida Lang, 1884, a cornerstone of this ecosystem and one of the most cosmopolitan and plastic invertebrate taxa in the animal kingdom.                In total, 57 individuals were collected in the rocky intertidal zone of Carbón and Langosta beaches. Nine different species were identified, of which four are new for Costa Rica: Semonia bauliensis n. sp.; Cryptostylochus sesei n. sp.; Paraplanocera angeli n. sp., Prostheceraeus fitae n. sp.; and five new records: Paraplanocera oligoglena (Schmarda, 1859); Marcusia ernesti Hyman, 1953; Enchiridium magec Cuadrado, Moro & Noreña, 2017; Pseudobiceros bajae (Hyman, 1953); and the genus Boninia spp. 

Species composition and vertical distribution of chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) in a rocky intertidal zone of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica

2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 807-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.M. Jörger ◽  
R. Meyer ◽  
I.S. Wehrtmann
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Vertical Distribution ◽  
Intertidal Zone ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Salinity Range ◽  
Tide Pool ◽  
Exposed Rock ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Peak Abundance

The present study describes the species composition and vertical distribution of chitons in tide pools and on exposed rock areas of the intertidal zone of Samara, Guanacaste, Pacific Costa Rica. Nine different species of chitons were recorded, and their densities and sizes were determined using quadrate sampling. Physical (period of emersion, temperature and salinity range) and biotic (presence and diversity of food resources) factors were examined to assess their influence on distribution and abundance of each species. Ischnochiton dispar was the predominant species with densities of up to 200 ind m−2, representing 85.4% of all sampled individuals (N = 4193). The size of I. dispar was positively correlated with the size of the inhabited boulders. Two species (I. dispar and Stenoplax limaciformis) showed segregation in size: I. dispar being negatively and S. limaciformis positively correlated to the distance from the shore. Two of the nine species (Chiton stokesii and Acanthochitona hirundiniformis) occurred mainly on rocky areas outside the tide pools with variable amounts of exposure to air during each tidal cycle. In both species the tide pool specimens were significantly smaller than those collected in the rocky areas. Distribution of all other species was restricted to the tide pools and species had their peak abundance in the zones with more moderate conditions and a higher diversity of algae, resulting in the highest chiton diversity in these areas.

Ecological impacts of two non-indigenous macroalgae on an urban rocky intertidal shore

2016 ◽  
Vol 163 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
María Gabriela Palomo ◽  
María Bagur ◽  
Marina Quiroga ◽  
Sabrina Soria ◽  
Ana Bugnot
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Rocky Intertidal Shore

scholarly journals Large-scale project ‘Chiton of the Mexican Tropical Pacific’: Chiton articulatus (Mollusca: Polyplacophora)

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Hernando Avila-Poveda
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Economic Importance ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Security Policies ◽  
Tourist Attraction ◽  
Field Sampling ◽  
Marine Mollusc ◽  
Rocky Intertidal Shore ◽  
Large Scale Project

The marine mollusc, commonly called sea cockroach or chiton Chiton articulatus, is a mollusc belonging to the group known as Polyplacophora because its shell is composed of eight individual plates. This mollusc inhabits the rocky intertidal shore of the Mexican Tropical Pacific, where it is endemic. It has ecological, but also economic, importance. Ecologically, it is the preferred food of the snail Plicopurpura pansa, a protected species, in the cultural heritage of the country. Additionally, it is a basibiont (generates substrate for other individuals) that maintains the biodiversity of the Region. Economically, it has changed from artisanal consumption to become a culinary tourist attraction, offered at restaurants as an exotic and aphrodisiac dish, in tourist places like Huatulco or Acapulco. Despite being an exploited resource for decades, little is known about its life history. The Mexican Authorities have not yet recognised this mollusc as a fishing resource, so that it does not have any law that controls its extraction, sale and consumption, putting at risk the recruitment, survival and permanence of this species. The goal of this project is the preservation and support for the management of the species. The Project "Quiton del Pacifico Tropical Mexicano" seeks to provide the biological, ecological, reproductive, genetic, anatomical and morphometric bases of the populations of Chiton articulatus. The project was structured in four stages: 1) field sampling and obtaining samples, 2) disclosure and presentation of the project, 3) inclusion of students at the undergraduate and graduate level, 4) application of results. The inclusion and recognition of C. articulatus as a fishing resource will achieve impact at the national and regional level through the implementation of laws that regulate its fishing, as well as its inclusion in management and food security policies. Additionally, this Mexican Chiton Project is currently replicating with chiton species in Galapagos, Ecuador.

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