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Updated: May 14, 2026
06:48
Assessing Intertidal Populations of the Invasive European Green Crab
Published on: September 16, 2020
Crustaceans from a tropical estuarine sand-mud flat, Pacific, Costa Rica, (1984-1988) revisited
José A Vargas-Zamora1, Jeffrey A Sibaja-Cordero, Rita Vargas-Castillo
1Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR), Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060, San José, Costa Rica. javargasz@biologia.ucr.ac.cr
Revista De Biologia Tropical
|January 25, 2013
Summary
Tropical estuary crustaceans exhibit atypical population fluctuations, influenced by environmental factors like red tides and El Niño, with unique abundance patterns observed for endemic species.
Area of Science:
- Marine Biology
- Estuarine Ecology
- Crustacean Research
Background:
- Long-term ecological data from tropical environments are limited.
- Advances in data analysis enable re-evaluation of historical ecological datasets.
- Understanding population dynamics in tropical estuaries is crucial for conservation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To update and re-analyze crustacean diversity and population fluctuations in the Gulf of Nicoya estuary.
- To investigate atypical population oscillations in key crustacean species.
- To compare tropical crustacean data with global findings.
Main Methods:
- Re-analysis of core samples from 1984-1988 using updated taxonomic literature and software.
- Application of Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) in R for analyzing abundance patterns.
- Deployment of predator exclusion cages to assess crustacean responses.
Main Results:
- Identified 29 crustacean species out of 112 macroinvertebrate morphospecies.
- Observed atypical population oscillations in Pinnixa valerii, Cyprideis pacifica, and Coricuma nicoyensis, deviating from seasonal patterns.
- Recorded exceptionally high abundances for the endemic cumacean Coricuma nicoyensis.
Conclusions:
- Tropical estuarine crustacean populations can exhibit complex, non-seasonal oscillations influenced by external factors.
- The Gulf of Nicoya estuary supports high crustacean diversity and unique abundance patterns.
- Further comparative studies on tropical tidal flat crustaceans are needed.
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