Abstract
Isla del Coco (also known as Cocos Island) is an oceanic island in the Eastern Tropical Pacific; it is part of the largest national park of Costa Rica and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The island has been visited since the 16th Century due to its abundance of freshwater and wood. Marine biodiversity studies of the island started in the late 19th Century, with an intense period of research in the 1930’s, and again from the mid 1990’s to the present. The information is scattered and, in some cases, in old publications that are difficult to access. Here I have compiled published records of the marine organisms of the island. At least 1688 species are recorded, with the gastropods (383 species), bony fishes (354 spp.) and crustaceans (at least 263 spp.) being the most species-rich groups; 45 species are endemic to Isla del Coco National Park (2.7% of the total). The number of species per kilometer of coastline and by square kilometer of seabed shallower than 200m deep are the highest recorded in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Although the marine biodiversity of Isla del Coco is relatively well known, there are regions that need more exploration, for example, the south side, the pelagic environments, and deeper waters. Also, several groups of organisms, such as the flatworms, nematodes, nemerteans, and gelatinous zooplankton, have been observed around the Island but have been poorly studied or not at all. Citation: Cortés, J. 2012. Marine biodiversity of an Eastern Tropical Pacific oceanic island, Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (Suppl. 3): 131-185. Epub 2012 Dec 01
Highlights
Marine biodiversity studies at Isla del Coco started in the late 19th Century with the expedition of the US Fisheries Commission Steamer Albatross (see a history of marine research at what is Parque Nacional Isla del Coco (Isla del Coco National Park) in Cortés 2008)
Isla del Coco National Park has a rich marine biodiversity with some groups having been studied for many years and numerous scientists
Fishes and mollusks, especially gastropods, are relatively well known while other groups such as cyanobacteria, gelatinous zooplankton, nematodes and flatworms have been poorly studied or never at all even though we know they are on the island
Summary
Published records of marine species of Parque Nacional Isla del Coco (PNIC) were searched and species lists compiled. The number of species from PNIC is compared to the numbers from the rest of the Pacific of Costa Rica. The Coco Volcanic Cordillera, the pelagic areas, and the Costa Rica Thermal Dome. To calculate the LBI, the number of species was divided by the perimeter of the island. The ABI was calculated by dividing the number of species by the area down to the 200m isobaths; the depth within which almost all the species had been recorded. At least 1688 species of marine organisms (Appendix 1) have been reported from Isla del Coco National Park (PNIC). Close to 4,700 species of marine organisms have been reported for Costa.
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