Abstract
Introduction: The marine biodiversity is well known in some areas and for some marine ecosystems of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The marine sector of Área de Conservación Guanacaste, in the North Pacific of the country, is a priority area for conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity.
 Objective: Our aim was to increase the knowledge of marine biodiversity in a conservation priority site in Costa Rica and in poorly or scarcely studied marine ecosystems, such as rocky reefs and Sargassum beds, respectively.
 Methods: The study was conducted in Bahía Salinas and Golfo de Santa Elena in 2013. In January, four rocky reefs were visited; while in February three rocky reefs and one Sargassum bed were visited. We identified the macroinvertebrates and conspicuous fish species through underwater visual census methods (timed swim and band transects). The mean density of each species was estimated through band transects method.
 Results: A total of 25 invertebrates and 34 fish species were identified. We found a high number of species of invertebrates (23) and fish species (33) in rocky reefs, but few species on Sargassum beds (eight invertebrates and ten fish species). Species composition differed between marine ecosystems.
 Conclusions: Our study further evidence the limited knowledge of invertebrates and fish communities in these marine ecosystems in the North Pacific of Costa Rica. Considerably more surveys and field work are required to support management decisions that are backed by sound scientific knowledge.
Highlights
The marine biodiversity is well known in some areas and for some marine ecosystems of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica
A total of 25 invertebrate species in 25 genera and 18 families were observed in Bahía Salinas (BSa) and Golfo de Santa Elena (GSE) (Table 2) with the combined use of timed swim (n = 3) and band transects methods (n = 21)
Our records of invertebrates and fish species in BSa and GSE are typical of the biogeographic province of the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) of Costa Rica (Alvarado, Chacón-Monge, Solís-Marín, Pineda-Enríquez, Caballero-Ochoa, Solano-Rivera & RomeroChaves, 2017; Alvarado & Chiriboga, 2008; Alvarado & Fernández, 2005; Alvarado, SolísMarín & Ahearn, 2010; Alvarado et al, 2015; Alvarado et al, 2018; Cordero-Umaña & Santidrián-Tomillo, 2020; Cortés, 2017; DominiciArosemena, Brugnoli-Olivera, Cortés-Núñez, Molina-Ureña & Quesada-Alpizar, 2005; Murase, Angulo, Miyazaki, Bussing & López, 2014;), the distribution geographic record of invertebrates and fishes observed in this study contribute to the knowledge of marine biodiversity in conservation priority areas (North Pacific of Costa Rica) and/or sites identified in the country (Alvarado et al, 2011; Cortés, 2012; Cortés, 2014; Cortés, 2017; SINAC-MINAET, 2008)
Summary
The marine biodiversity is well known in some areas and for some marine ecosystems of the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The marine sector of Área de Conservación Guanacaste, in the North Pacific of the country, is a priority area for conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity. Objective: Our aim was to increase the knowledge of marine biodiversity in a conservation priority site in Costa Rica and in poorly or scarcely studied marine ecosystems, such as rocky reefs and Sargassum beds, respectively. We identified the macroinvertebrates and conspicuous fish species through underwater visual census methods (timed swim and band transects). Results: A total of 25 invertebrates and 34 fish species were identified. Conclusions: Our study further evidence the limited knowledge of invertebrates and fish communities in these marine ecosystems in the North Pacific of Costa Rica. More surveys and field work are required to support management decisions that are backed by sound scientific knowledge
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