Effect of the Limón earthquake (1991) on the biodiversity of marine macroalgae according to records from the USJ Herbarium for the Southern Caribbean of Costa Rica
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| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | artículo original |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de Publicación: | 2025 |
| Descrição: | Introduction: On April 22, 1991, the third strongest recorded earthquake in the history of Costa Rica wreaked havoc on communities in the Limón province. Along with a great cost to human life and the economy of the region, the earthquake had another interesting effect: the uplift of the coastline. The ecological consequences of this event are considered some of the most impactful of the Limón earthquake, however, little is known about the true changes that occurred within communities of aquatic organisms, including marine macroalgae in the aftermath of this event. Objective: To determine if there was an effect of the 1991 Limón earthquake on the composition of algal communities in the region extending from Limón to Manzanillo. Methods: Data of algal specimens collected in three Caribbean localities (Limón, Cahuita, Manzanillo) between 1962-2021 was analyzed from the USJ Herbarium database. Intervals of five years were used to evaluate disturbances before and after the 1991 earthquake. Geographic-temporal differences were assessed using Bray-Curtis index based on the transformed data. The matrix was analyzed implementing a nMDS and a PERMANOVA. A SIMPER test was applied to determine the families with most variation followed by an ANOSIM to describe it. Results: A total of 1086 algal specimens were analyzed. Among the sites, Punta Cahuita had the highest diversity and Punta Uva the lowest. The nMDS indicates that there is a difference in the composition of the algal communities in the locations consulted in the five year interval after the phenomenon compared to the other temporal periods. The Gracilariaceae family presented the most variation between sites. Conclusions: The changes found in the composition of the algal community in the Caribbean region cannot be attributed only to the natural phenomenon described previously. There are several other environmental or anthropogenic components that should be considered, as they might influence the dynamics seen within the community, causing changes individually or in interaction with other factors. |
| País: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Recursos: | Universidad de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Idioma: | Español |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:portal.ucr.ac.cr:article/64689 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/64689 |
| Palavra-chave: | phycology, ecology, disturbance, regeneration, coastline uplift, biological collections. ficología, ecología, perturbación, regeneración, levantamiento tectónico, colecciones biológicas. |