Water parameters and primary productivity at four marine embayments of Costa Rica (2000-2002)

Abstract

The availability of baseline data on water parameters and primary productivity is essential in comparative studies aimed at identifying environmental trends, like eutrophication, in coastal embayments. In this context, the objetive of this work is to make accessible data, collected from 2000 to 2002, on 13 water parameters (Secchi depth, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, oxygen saturation, suspended matter, chlorophyll-a, phaeopigments, phosphate, silicate, ammonium, nitrite and nitrate) their temporal and spatial distribution, and primary productivity at four coastal sites of Costa Rica. The multi-parameter survey was conducted based on surface (1 m deep) water samples collected at a total of 128 stations at three Pacific and one Caribbean embayments: a bay under the influence of upwelling (Culebra Bay), a tidal estuary (Gulf of Nicoya), a semi-enclosed small coastal bay bordered by mangroves (Golfito Bay), and a Caribbean bay and port (Moin Bay). Graphic distributions of stations from the four embayments and for the Gulf of Nicoya were obtained by Principal Component Analysis (PCA).PCA Gabriel biplots were used to illustrate the relative importance of each parameter on the separation of stations. The four embayments were separated by PCA based on the 13 parameters. The maximum values recorded were: Secchi depth: 12.6 m; salinity: 35 psu; temperature: 32.5 oC; oxygen: 11.4 mg/L; oxygen saturation: 188 %; suspended matter: 156.04 mg/L; chlorophyll-a: 16.21 mg/m3; phaeopigments: 6.37 mg/m3; phosphate: 9.53 µmol/L; silicate: 156.11 µmol/L; ammonium: 2.66 µmol/L; nitrite: 2.47 µmol/L; and nitrate: 4.59 µmol/L. Salinity and several nutrients varied seasonally (dry vs rainy) in the Gulf of Nicoya estuary. Estimates of net primary productivity (Winkler oxygen method) produced a maximum 2 206 g C/m2/year at Culebra Bay. The maximum net PP (g C/m2/year) at the other three embayments, were: 1 601 (Gulf of Nicoya), 1 371 (Golfito Bay), and 1 100 (Moín Bay). Net PP values showed high variability in space and time, and ranged from negative to those associated with oligotrophic, eutrophic, and hypertrophic waters. In the Gulf of Nicoya 60 % of the values of net PP exceeded the reference value (500 g C/m2/year) to separate eutrophic from hypertrophic conditions. Rev. Biol. Trop. 66(Suppl. 1): S211-S230. Epub 2018 April 01.

Surface-Water Quality of the Gulf of Papagayo, North Pacific, Costa Rica

“…Additionally, the statistical analysis showed no significant differences between the seasons (n = 103, p > 0.05). The values found in this study are similar to those reported by Muller-Parker and Cortés [34] for the northern Pacific area of Costa Rica (28 • C), by Alfaro et al [12] (range between 24.85 ± 1.63 and 29.26 ± 0.51 • C, for the months of February-March and August) and by Vargas-Zamora et al [35] (between 24.0 and 32.5 • C, with an average of 28.7 ± 0.6 • C), both for Culebra Bay. It is important to remember that the Papagayo Gulf is influenced by coastal currents, coastal upwelling, and local and synoptic wind patterns.…”

“…It must be taken into consideration that the concentration of this parameter depends not only on temperature but also on salinity, although there are natural conditions that could have a greater influence on its concentration, such as primary productivity and the degradation of organic matter [11]. For this study in the Gulf of Papagayo, the dissolved oxygen concentration was slightly higher than that reported by Vargas-Zamora et al [35] for Culebra Bay (5.16-8.20 mg L −1 ). This discrepancy may be due to the fact that in some months of the dry season, there were strong winds where the variation was between 59 and 92 km h −1 .…”

“…This fresh water comes from small rivers and streams, some of which are seasonal [4]. According to Lizano [11] the distribution of surface salinity in the Gulf of Papagayo presents a minimum of 32.0 PSU, likewise, Muller-Parker and Cortés [34] and Vargas-Zamora et al [35] have reported salinities between 23.0 PSU and 35.0 PSU for Culebra Bay in the northern Pacific zone of Costa Rica, similar to those obtained for this study.…”

“…Likewise, the fact that the average concentrations of ammonium were lower in the rainy season is possible because during this season, the highest temperature values were presented in the surface layer, and in this layer, the phytoplankton grows and depletes the nutrients [40]. Muller-Parker and Cortés [34] and Vargas-Zamora et al [35] have reported concentrations of this analyte for the Pacific coast of Costa Rica (Culebra Bay, Guanacaste) between 5.04 and 7.98 µg N-NH 4 + L −1 and between 2.8 and 100.8 N-NH 4 + L −1 , respectively. For their part, Contreras et al [41] reported concentrations of 70-140 µg N-NH 4 + L −1 for Mexican coastal lagoons, Izaguirre-Flores et al [42] obtained values from 49 to 2954.56 µg N-NH 4 + L −1 for the Urias estuary, Mexico, while Vivas-Aguas et al [43] found concentrations between 4.2 and 447.16 N-NH 4 + L −1 for the Colombian Pacific coast.…”

Peces del Golfo de Nicoya, Pacífico, Costa Rica: actualización de las listas de los buques científicos Skimmer y Victor Hensen

“…Entre los posibles cambios en el funcionamiento del Golfo de Nicoya, hay evidencia de que el estuario ha superado los valores de productividad primaria asociados a condiciones eutróficas (Cloern, Foster, & Klechner 2014). Saturaciones de oxígeno superiores al 100 %, como la encontrada en la estación 06 del V. Hensen, además de concentraciones altas de clorofila-a y estimaciones de productividad primaria neta superiores a 500 g C /m 2 / año han sido documentadas en aguas superficiales del Golfo (Vargas-Zamora et al, 2018). Tal como lo ha indicado Jackson et al (2001) la extracción de organismos que se alimentan de fitoplancton (como los moluscos bivalvos y algunos peces) ha contribuido a la eutroficación en algunos estuarios en otras latitudes.…”