Northern Pacific Research Articles

Correction of Empirical Equations Known as “Strickler-Type” for the Calculation of the Manning’s Roughness Coefficient for Costa Rica’s Northern Pacific Conditions

When using numerical models for hydraulic simulations of rivers, calibration is key to be able to reflect accurately the interaction of water flow in the channel and to make it resemble what is observed. In this study, a calibrated two-dimensional hydraulic model was created for two control paths located in the Ahogados and Tempisquito rivers. Paths were analyzed morphologically from a grain-size analysis and the different roughness coefficients were calculated through a numerical model using the empirical equations known as “Strickler-type” as a first approximation and later adjustment by a factor obtained from comparing the observed and simulated data. It was identified that both paths are mountain rivers with beds of coarse material, mostly boulders (cobble gravel) and pebble gravel. Calibrated roughness coefficients were determined with an error percentage between the area of the pattern formed by the simulated and observed of less than 10%, and new empirical equations adjusted to the characteristics of the riverbeds were formulated.

Neotype designation of the Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus (Pallas, 1769) (Aves: Procellariiformes: Diomedeidae).

The Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus (Pallas, 1769) is a threatened seabird widely distributed in the northern Pacific Ocean with its largest breeding sites on the Senkaku Islands and Torishima Island, Japan, which are separated by over 1700 km. A recent taxonomic revision based on morphological, behavioral, and DNA sequence evidence has revealed that this species consists of two cryptic species: a smaller species which breeds mainly in the Senkaku Islands, and a larger species which breeds mainly on Torishima Island. However, it has remained unclear to which of these species the scientific name Phoebastria albatrus applies, because the type specimens are lost. Here a neotype is designated to resolve this taxonomic issue. From now on, the scientific name Phoebastria albatrus should be applied only to the smaller species breeding on the Senkaku Islands. The name of the larger species is more problematic, as the types of each synonym of P. albatrus must be traced, found, and examined.

Understanding the Dominant Moisture Sources and Pathways of Summer Precipitation in the Southeast Prairie Pothole Region

AbstractSummer rainfall in the southeast Prairie Pothole Region (SEPPR) is an important part of a vital wetland ecosystem that various species use as their habitat. We examine sources and pathways for summer rainfall moisture, large‐scale features influencing moisture delivery, and large‐scale connections related to summer moisture using the Hybrid Single‐Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. Analysis of HYSPLIT back trajectories shows that land is the primary moisture source for summer rainfall events indicating moisture recycling plays an important role in precipitation generation. The Great Plains Low‐Level Jet/Maya Express is the most prominent moisture pathway. It impacts events sourced by land and the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), the secondary moisture source. There is a coupling between land, atmosphere, and ocean conveyed by large‐scale climate connections between rainfall events and sea surface temperature (SST), Palmer Drought Severity Index, and 850‐mb heights. Land‐sourced events have a connection to the northern Pacific and northwest Atlantic Oceans, soil moisture over the central U.S., and low‐pressure systems over the SEPPR. GoM‐sourced events share the connection to soil moisture over the central U.S. but also show connections to SSTs in the North Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and the GoM, soil moisture in northern Mexico, and 850‐mb heights in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Both types of events show connections to high 850‐mb heights in the Caribbean which may reflect a connection to Bermuda High. These insights into moisture sources and pathways can improve skill in SEPPR summer rainfall predictions and benefit natural resource managers in the region.

The Potential of 233U/236U as a Water Mass Tracer in the Arctic Ocean

AbstractThis study explores for the first time the possibilities that the 233U/236U atom ratio offers to distinguish waters of Atlantic or Pacific origin in the Arctic Ocean. Atlantic waters entering the Arctic Ocean often carry an isotopic signature dominantly originating from European reprocessing facilities with some smaller contribution from global fallout nuclides, whereas northern Pacific waters are labeled with nuclides released during the atmospheric nuclear testing period only. In the Arctic Ocean, 233U originates from global fallout while 236U carries both, a global fallout and a prominent nuclear reprocessing signal. Thus, the 233U/236U ratio provides a tool to identify water masses with distinct U sources. In this work, 233U and 236U were analyzed in samples from the GN01 GEOTRACES expedition to the western Arctic Ocean in 2015. The study of depth profiles and surface seawater samples shows that: (a) Pacific and Atlantic waters show enhanced signals of both radionuclides, which can be unraveled based on their 233U/236U signature; and (b) Deep and Bottom Waters show extremely low 233U and 236U concentrations close to or below analytical detection limits with isotopic ratios distinct from known anthropogenic U sources. The comparably high 233U/236U ratios are interpreted as a relative increase of naturally occurring 233U and 236U and thus for gradually reaching natural 233U/236U levels in the deep Arctic Ocean. Our results set the basis for future studies using the 233U/236U ratio to distinguish anthropogenic and pre‐anthropogenic U in the Arctic Ocean and beyond.

Comparing quantitative and qualitative verbal and social autopsy tools for under-5 deaths in Uganda: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundUnderstanding biological causes of death and sociocultural factors that influence survival outcomes is crucial to reducing mortality in low-resource settings. Verbal and Social Autopsy instruments (VASAs) query family members about events leading up to an individual's death, resulting in quantitative, categorical data. We aimed to determine the value of a supplemental in-depth interview (known as VASA-QUAL) that generated detailed qualitative data in understanding childhood deaths. MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in Kawaala and Nakulabye in Kampala, Uganda between Feb 6 and March 7, 2020, using 20 village health team members to assist in the identification and recruitment of families within which a children younger than 5 years had died within the preceding 6 months. Family members were interviewed by a trained, local researcher who conducted the quantitative VASA and the VASA-QUAL in-depth interview. Quantitative data were analysed using Stata (v16.0), and qualitative data were transcribed into English and analysed using NVivo (v12.0). Three coders compared quantitative variables from the VASA with qualitative variables from the VASA-QUAL using a rubric of eight key indicators related to symptom recognition, decision making, care seeking, and treatments given, derived from the Pathways to Survival framework. Agreement across sources and new insights from qualitative data were recorded. Findings48 VASAs were conducted, reflecting 48 deaths of children between the ages of 1 month and 3 days to 52 months. Agreement on key indicators ranged from 77% (for illness recognition) to 100% (for following provider referral recommendations). The qualitative component added or clarified information about pediatric illness and care-seeking across all indicators, including information about recognition of illness (96% of cases), care-seeking decisions (81%), whether home care was provided (75%), and choice of outside care (92%). The qualitative interviews frequently included symptoms that were missing or denied in the quantitative VASA, and they often clarified the chronological order of symptoms identified via VASA. Many qualitative interviews described complicated mechanisms of decision making, involving multiple key players, which were not adequately captured in the quantitative survey. InterpretationSupplementing quantitative VASA tools with an in-depth VASA-QUAL interview provided important additional information. Supplemental qualitative interviews are an important tool for understanding the complexity of events leading up to childhood deaths. FundingThe Northern Pacific Global Health Research Training Consortium, Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health.

Decades-long phylogeographic issues: complex historical processes and ecological factors on genetic structure of alpine plants in the Japanese Archipelago

Mountain regions are important places for biodiversity, where organisms could persist throughout prolonged periods and accumulate genetic divergence as well as promote speciation. Roles of mountains for biodiversity have been exclusively discussed in regions that have specifically diverse species or covered with ice-sheets during the Pleistocene glacial periods, whereas the importance of mountainous regions in East Asia has been less disputed. High mountains in the Japanese Archipelago, located at the eastern edge of the Eurasia continent, have one of southernmost populations of alpine and arctic-alpine plants that are also distributed in the northern Pacific and/or the circumarctic regions. Phylogeographic studies on the Japanese alpine plants have excluded their possible ephemeral occurrence during the current warm period, and rather, suggest persistence of alpine plants throughout several cycles of climate changes in the Pleistocene on high mountains in central Honshu, the main island of the Japanese Archipelago. In this review, I look through decade long phylogeographic studies and show complicated patterns of range dynamics of Japanese alpine plants. In addition, I note recent findings of genetic relationships of Japanese populations of alpine and/or arctic-alpine plants with those in northern regions and their possible ecological divergence in the Japanese Archipelago. Taken together, I provide several issues for understanding historical processes that established distribution of alpine plants following climate changes as well as their diversification and propose importance of Japanese populations of alpine plants on biodiversity in alpine communities across broader range, especially in the northern Pacific region.

New Data on Adelosebastes latens (Sebastidae) from the Region of the Underwater Elevations of the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain (Northern Pacific Ocean)

New Data on Adelosebastes latens (Sebastidae) from the Region of the Underwater Elevations of the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain (Northern Pacific Ocean)

Disentangling the effect of regional SST bias on the double-ITCZ problem

This study investigates the causes of the double intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) bias, characterized by too northward northern Pacific ITCZ, too dry equatorial Pacific, and too zonally elongated southern Pacific rainband. While the biases within one fully coupled model GFDL CM2.1 are examined, the large-scale bias patterns are broadly common to CMIP5/6 models. We disentangle the individual contribution of regional sea surface temperature (SST) biases to the double-ITCZ bias pattern using a series of slab ocean model experiments. A previously suggested Southern Ocean warm bias effect in displacing the zonal-mean ITCZ southward is manifested in the northern Pacific ITCZ while having little contribution to the zonally elongated wet bias south of the equatorial Pacific. The excessive southern Pacific precipitation is instead induced by the warm bias along the west coast of South America. The Southern Ocean bias effect on the zonal-mean ITCZ position is diminished by the neighboring midlatitude bias of opposite sign in GFDL CM2.1. As a result, the northern extratropical cold bias turns out to be most responsible for a southward-displaced zonal-mean ITCZ. However, this southward ITCZ displacement results from the northern Pacific branch, so ironically fixing the extratropical biases only deteriorates the northern Pacific precipitation bias. Thus, we emphasize that the zonal-mean diagnostics poorly represent the spatial pattern of the tropical Pacific response. Examination of longitude-latitude structure indicates that the overall tropical precipitation bias is mostly locally driven from the tropical SST bias. While our model experiments are idealized with no ocean dynamics, the results shed light on where preferential foci should be applied in model development to improve particular features of tropical precipitation bias.

Trend Pattern of Heavy and Intense Rainfall Events in Colombia from 1981–2018: A Trend-EOF Approach

The Andes mountain range divides Colombia into various climatic regions over the country, as the Andean, Caribbean, Pacific, Amazon, and Orinoco regions. Given this scenario, knowing the current change in total precipitation and their extremes values are relevant. In this study, the main goal is to assess the spatio-temporal trends of heavy and intense rainfall at a seasonal scale during the last 38 years (1981–2018) using the trend empirical orthogonal function (TEOF). An increase in maximum precipitation during five consecutive days (RX5day), Simple daily intensity index (SDII), and the number of days with precipitation above 20 mm (R20mm) and 30 mm (R30mm) during December–February and March–May was observed in most of the Colombian territory, except for the Amazon region for RX5day. A decrease in total rainfall in June–August was observed in the Andean, the Caribbean, and southern Pacific regions, while, in the northern Pacific, it increased, consistent with the trend patterns of RX5day, SDII, and R20mm. During September–November, there was a reduction in rainfall in the Amazon region and the South Pacific, and an increase in RX5day, SDII, R20mm, and R30mm in the Andean, the Caribbean, and North Pacific regions. The TEOF showed more pronounced spatial trend patterns than those obtained with the traditional Mann–Kendall test. The findings offer a better understanding of the climate extremes impacts in tropical latitudes and help planners to implement measures against the future effects of climate change.

Cover Image

The Pacific spiny lumpsucker (Eumicrotremus orbis) found in the subtidal of the Northern Pacific Ocean is a rotund fish covered with epidermal, cone‐shaped, enamel odontodes. The lumpsucker is a poor swimmer in the wave swept rocky intertidal, and this armor may be a lightweight solution to the problem of collisions with abiotic obstacles. In this issue of the Journal of Morphology, Woodruff and coauthors (pp. 164‐173) report about a study that used micro‐CT and scanning electron microscopy to reveal the morphology and ontogeny of the armor, and to quantify the amount of mineralization relative to the endoskeleton. The cover image shows µCT based reconstruction of the odontodes (color coded) of a 97 mm lumpsucker.

The identification of individuals with hatchery and natural origin in a mixed sample of Amur River chum salmon by Otolith microchemistry

We estimated the proportion of hatchery and natural fall spawning chum salmon returning to the Amur River using chemical markers specific to hatchery-origin fry. We used otolith microchemistry technique to identify fish with artificial origin among returning spawners. First, we found that juveniles of artificial origin had higher values of the Sr:Ca molar ratio of the otoliths’ edge zone compared with juveniles of natural origin, what can be related to the use of rearing feed produced from raw materials of marine origin rich in strontium. Then we observed that most of the spawners from Anyuisky Hatchery and from the Amur River mouth at the start of the spawning migration has also the higher value of Sr:Ca molar ratio of the juvenile zone of otoliths. Also, adults with higher values of the Sr:Ca molar ratio are characterized by a skewed right in the peak of the age distribution. Both, the age structure and phenological shift in the time of spawning migration of individuals with higher value of the used chemical marker corresponds to results of studies on hatchery-produced chum salmon completed at different parts on Northern Pacific. The results of this study will be used in the management of Amur fall chum salmon fisheries, and also demonstrates the necessity of the development of specific measures for increasing the survival of juvenile anadromous salmonids released at large rivers and exposed to prolonged freshwater migration to the ocean. As a further application of the methodology, we plan to identify the markers specific to each of the hatcheries and main spawning tributaries belonging to Amur River catchments. This will be an important step in the evaluation of the contribution of different stocks in mixed fisheries and also in the estimation of the effect of hatchery releases on naturally spawning stocks of Amur fall chum.Following to, our results may indicate the applicability of this approach for the determination of artificial-origin fish in a mixed sample of the Amur fall chum salmon.

Asterias amurensis (northern Pacific seastar)

This datasheet on Asterias amurensis covers Identity, Overview, Distribution, Dispersal, Diagnosis, Biology & Ecology, Natural Enemies, Impacts, Uses, Prevention/Control, Further Information.

Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker armor-Development, damage, and defense in the intertidal.

Predation, combat, and the slings and arrows of an abrasive and high impact environment, represent just some of the biotic and abiotic stressors that fishes are armored against. The Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker (Eumicrotremus orbis) found in the subtidal of the Northern Pacific Ocean is a rotund fish covered with epidermal, cone-shaped, enamel odontodes. The Lumpsucker is a poor swimmer in the wave swept rocky intertidal, and this armor may be a lightweight solution to the problem of collisions with abiotic obstacles. We use micro-CT and scanning electron microscopy to reveal the morphology and ontogeny of the armor, and to quantify the amount of mineralization relative to the endoskeleton. The non-overlapping odontodes are organized into eight rows-six rows on the body, one row surrounding the eye, and one row underneath the chin. Odontodes start as a single, hooked cone; and they grow by the addition of cusps that accrete into a spiral. The mineral investment in armor compared to skeleton increases over ontogeny. Damage to the armor occurs both through passive abrasion and breakage from impact; and there is no evidence of replacement, or repair of damaged odontodes.

Shaping the Future on Haida Gwaii: Life beyond Settler Colonialism

Shaping the Future on Haida Gwaii sits in the usually uncomfortable gap between history (past) and anthropology (current), with important forays into the future. Joseph Weiss weaves these time lines together to allow for places like the village of Old Masset—an Indian Reserve on Haida Gwaii, an archipelago on the northern Pacific coast of Canada—to be historical yet constantly undergoing processes of change and renegotiation. Weiss is a fantastic writer, and his focus on Haida future making offers refreshing insights to discussions of Indigenous identity and politics in British Columbia.After two introductory chapters that provide methodology and frameworks, part 2 discusses Haida mobility and homecoming (chapter 3) and the ways that various settler populations have altered Haida territory and threatened Haida agency and ownership of Haida Gwaii (chapter 4). This section describes island life in the northern Pacific—a place whose remoteness requires Haida residents to leave to obtain education while also drawing specific settler populations (hippies, off-the-grid seekers). Weiss skillfully articulates how settlers both conflict and cooperate with the Haida, finding unity in opposition to the Northern Gateway Project (a now rejected plan to build a natural gas and bitumen pipeline to northern British Columbia that would see increased tanker traffic around Haida Gwaii) but also contributing to the settler fantasy that calls non-Indigenous people to Haida Gwaii and robs the Haida of “the precise qualities that make the Island their home” (98).Part 3 focuses on Haida governance, namely the Council of Haida Nations (CHN). Weiss argues that the CHN formed in opposition to logging on Lyell Island and finds continued relevance in opposition to current and future environmental threats to Haida Gwaii. Weiss highlights the various roles that the CHN balances between local care and within multiple settler governments.The conclusion offers an insightful look into Indigenous sovereignty. Weiss argues that any achievable sovereignty needs to function within multiple spheres of settler governance. He proposes to “invert the order of settler domination through reconfiguring the shared futures of Indigenous and settler peoples,” which could “decisively overturn any settler colonial anticipations of the inevitable erasure of native peoples” (188). His analysis of sovereignty is refreshingly practical, and it seems much more achievable within current political structures than alternatives that call for total removal of Indigenous people from settler governance structures.My main critiques of this book are likely more of a reflection of disciplinary difference than of conscious omission. Many of the historical sources are presented using the “cited in” function, and I found myself wondering whether an analysis of the historical documentation might have added more nuance to Weiss’s discussion of future making. For instance, late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century government petitions, Indian Reserve negotiations, and Royal Commission transcripts from British Columbia are ripe with discussions of future making. Weiss has potentially missed a rich source of material to support his broader arguments in the context of Haida Gwaii. Weiss also missed citing a few key books in the British Columbia Indigenous history lexicon. Weiss speaks often of continuity and change yet fails to engage with Keith Thor Carlson’s Power of Place, The Problem of Time (2010)—a key text for understanding Indigenous identity and politics in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century British Columbia. Furthermore, Weiss’s rich discussion on the seasonality of life on Haida Gwaii could have drawn on John Lutz’s book Makúk (2008) and his theories on the emergence of an Indigenous “moditional” (modern and traditional) economy that formed in British Columbia after the arrival of settlers. Such omissions would be easier to forgive if Weiss were writing in a different context, but these texts are staples in discussions of Indigenous history in British Columbia.Overall, this is an engaging book that is a must-read for anyone interested in present and future Indigenous political structures and on how settler colonialism has shaped, and continues to shape, Indigenous lives in Canada’s Pacific province.

Increased summer electric power demand in Beijing driven by preceding spring tropical North Atlantic warming

By using electric power data, observational station temperature data in Beijing, CN05.1 temperature data, ERA5 atmospheric reanalysis data, and ERSST.v3b sea surface temperature (SST) data, it is found that summer (July–August) electric power demand in Beijing is remarkably positively correlated with the previous spring (March–April) tropical North Atlantic (TNA) SST anomaly (SSTA). The possible physical mechanism of the TNA SSTA affecting summer electric power in Beijing is also revealed. When a positive SSTA occurs in the TNA during spring, anomalous easterlies prevail over the tropical central Pacific, which can persist to the following summer. Trade winds are thus enhanced over the northern Pacific, which favors a strengthening of upwelling cold water in the tropical central-eastern Pacific. As a result, a negative SSTA appears in the central-eastern Pacific in summer, which means a La Niña event is triggered by the previous TNA SSTA through the Bjerknes feedback. During the La Niña event, an anomalous anticyclonic circulation occupies the northwestern Pacific. The southerly anomalies at the western edge of this anomalous anticyclone strengthen the transportation of warm and humid airflow from the low latitudes to North China, where Beijing is located, causing higher summer temperatures and increased electricity usage for air conditioning, and vice versa. The results of this study might provide a new scientific basis and clues for the seasonal prediction of summer electric power demand in Beijing.摘要本文利用北京市电力负荷资料, 北京市站点观测温度资料, CN05.1温度资料, ERA5大气再分析资料及ERSST v3b海表温度资料, 发现3–4月副热带北大西洋海温异常和北京市夏季电力呈很好的正相关关系, 并揭示了副热带北大西洋海温异常影响北京市夏季电力的可能物理机制. 春季副热带北大西洋海温异常偏暖, 热带中太平洋出现东风异常并持续至夏季, 太平洋信风增强, 热带中东太平洋冷水上翻增强, 通过Bjerkness正反馈机制激发了La Niña事件. La Niña事件时, 西北太平洋反气旋环流异常, 将低纬度暖湿气流输送至北京地区, 引起北京市夏季温度增高, 电力负荷需求增加. 反之亦然. 研究结果可为北京市夏季电力负荷需求的季节预测提供新的科学依据和线索.

Distribution of Algae of the Genus Savoiea M.J.Wynne (Ceramilaes, Rhodophyta) in the Northern Pacific

Distribution of Algae of the Genus Savoiea M.J.Wynne (Ceramilaes, Rhodophyta) in the Northern Pacific

American Russia: Fur Seals, Empire, and Conflict in the Northern Pacific after 1867

American Russia: Fur Seals, Empire, and Conflict in the Northern Pacific after 1867

Biological indicator of warming events: Presence of the Cortez angelfish Pomacanthus zonipectus at temperate conditions of Bahía de San Quintín, Baja California, México

An individual of the Cortez angelfish, Pomacanthus zonipectus (Gill, 1862) was obtained at the temperate Bahía de San Quintín, Baja California, México (Lat. 30.428343, Long. 115.987014), on May 15, 2021. All counts, morphological descriptions, and colors of the specimen caught agree with the previous descriptions for the species P. zonipectus. The Cortez angelfish is a tropical fish species, and its presence at the temperate environment may possibly be associated with warming events, The Blob-El Niño 2013-2016, or the most recent moderate El Niño 2018-2019. This occurrence constitutes the first record for the Cortez angelfish in the San Quintín area, northern Pacific off Baja California, and after thousands of samplings with different fishing gears beginning in 1993. The Cortez angelfish was recently recorded in August 25, 2016 as a new occurrence in Laguna Ojo de Liebre, Baja California Sur, México, also in the same warming event of The Blob-El Niño 2013-2016; from Ojo de Liebre to Bahía de San Quintín represents a northward movement of 355 kilometers and a new record in its distribution.

First report of Hyssuridae (Isopoda: Anthuroidea) from Japan, with the description of a new Kupellonura species

We describe Kupellonura tamago sp. nov., collected from the North Pacific off the southern coast of the Boso Peninsula, Japan, at a depth of 445-407 m. This is the first record of Hyssuridae not only for Japan but also for the Temperate Northern Pacific ecoregion. Female K. tamago closely resembles Kupellonura gidgee Poore and Lew Ton, 1988 and Kupellonura indonesica Annisaqois and Wägele, 2021 in the shape of the uropodal exopod but differs from them in having a broader uropodal exopod (length/width ratio 1.47), a broader uropodal endopod (length/width ratio 1.64), and the telson margins smooth. We transfer Kupellonura flexibilis (Pasternak, 1982), originally described in Ananthura Barnard, 1925 but provisionally transferred to Kupellonura Barnard, 1925, to Anthelura Norman and Stebbing, 1886 in Antheluridae, as Anthelura flexibilis (Pasternak, 1982) comb. nov.

First characterization of seagrasses at Sámara Bay, Pacific coast of Costa Rica

Seagrasses are found at limited locations in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP). Here, we provide the first characterization of seagrasses at Sámara Bay, on the northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Sampling was carried out in August 2018 and March 2019. We measured seagrass biomass, shoot density, leaf area, stable isotope composition (δ13C, δ15N), carbon content, bulk density, and grain size. We also measured water clarity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and nutrient concentrations. Two seagrass species were found, Halophila baillonii and Halodule beaudettei, which are commonly found in the ETP. Sediment grain size at Sámara was mostly composed of fine and very fine sand. Total seagrass biomass was 31.9 ± 28.7 g DW m−2 and density was 2136 ± 1576 shoots m−2. Halophila bailloni leaf blade length (1.1 ± 0.3 cm) and width (0.5 ± 0.1 cm) were within ranges for the sizes reported for this species, and were similar to other locations. Halodule beaudettei leaf length (5.0 ± 3.8 cm) and width (0.09 ± 0.02 cm), were larger than at other seagrass meadows on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica yet smaller than in Brazil. Seagrass biomass and density at Sámara were higher in the sampling during the dry season, a pattern also found on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and in Brazil. We recommend further study of seagrasses at this site and the ETP, including temporal and spatial variability and associated environmental factors. Seagrass presence at Sámara should be considered in local management and conservation initiatives.