(Programa de Restauración de Tortugas Marinas-PRETOMA, Costa Rica, pers.
comm. 2011), a recent study of artisanal fishery on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica
showed that every 1,000 hooks captured 15–20 sea stars (Astropecten aramatus,
Luidia tessella, L. superba, and Tethyaster canaliculatus, this last two new reports
for Costa Rica). Ingo Wehrtmann (Universidad de Costa Rica, pers.comm 2011)
pointed out that deep shrimp trawling (depth of 150–200 m) did not capture any
echinoderms. However, in shallow waters (depth of 20–50 m) there was a by-catch
of echinoderms (Allan Bolaños, pers. comm. 2011). In El Salvador asteroids are
captured during shrimp trawling activities (10–50 m). There are no studies on the
possible disturbances associated with this activity.
The natural direct threats to echinoderm populations are less numerous or
common in CA. The only well documented one has been over the mass mortality
of D. antillarum by a waterborne pathogen in the Caribbean (see ecology section).
For the Pacific side, there are no reports of disease or mass mortalities, or research
focused on test abnormalities, or parasites.
3.6 Concluding Remarks and Recommendations
CA is a region with high echinoderm diversity, a products of its rich evolutionary
and geological history and its particular geographical location. This fact has
attracted the attention of researchers for the last 150 years, as indicated in the
number of publications that we have reported. Nevertheless, these 150 years of
investigations have not been equal for all countries of the region. The scientific
history of the region cannot be separated from the political history. The various
armed conflicts and the political instability were factors that resulted in a low
priority given scientific research. Panama, Belize and Costa Rica have been relatively more stable compared to Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua
and they lead in research and consequently in greater numbers of publications, and
hence, more species reported. The case of the Caribbean of Honduras and Nicaragua is interesting. For example, the results of the RV John Elliot Pillsbury
expedition reported a high diversity of asteroids, however, the sampling was
limited to a few stations. Comparing the richness of species in the Caribbean,
Alvarado (2011) indicates that the number of species from Central America would
increase considerably if research increases. Moreover, Alvarado (2011) explains
that the richness of species in Belize, Costa Rica and Panama is a reflection of the
presence of important research centers like CIMAR, STRI and the station at Carrie
Bow. Nevertheless, the richness of environments that these countries possess also
contributes to the high numbers of species. Guatemala is a special case, since its
Caribbean coastline is very short and, its Pacific coast consists of sandy beaches.
This results in a smaller number of species.
This chapter has provided evidence that the great majority of investigations
have been focused on the Ophuiroidea and Echinoidea, but few efforts on Asteroidea and Holothuroidea and practically none on Crinoidea. Most of the research
98
J. J. Alvarado et al.
comm. 2011), a recent study of artisanal fishery on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica
showed that every 1,000 hooks captured 15–20 sea stars (Astropecten aramatus,
Luidia tessella, L. superba, and Tethyaster canaliculatus, this last two new reports
for Costa Rica). Ingo Wehrtmann (Universidad de Costa Rica, pers.comm 2011)
pointed out that deep shrimp trawling (depth of 150–200 m) did not capture any
echinoderms. However, in shallow waters (depth of 20–50 m) there was a by-catch
of echinoderms (Allan Bolaños, pers. comm. 2011). In El Salvador asteroids are
captured during shrimp trawling activities (10–50 m). There are no studies on the
possible disturbances associated with this activity.
The natural direct threats to echinoderm populations are less numerous or
common in CA. The only well documented one has been over the mass mortality
of D. antillarum by a waterborne pathogen in the Caribbean (see ecology section).
For the Pacific side, there are no reports of disease or mass mortalities, or research
focused on test abnormalities, or parasites.
3.6 Concluding Remarks and Recommendations
CA is a region with high echinoderm diversity, a products of its rich evolutionary
and geological history and its particular geographical location. This fact has
attracted the attention of researchers for the last 150 years, as indicated in the
number of publications that we have reported. Nevertheless, these 150 years of
investigations have not been equal for all countries of the region. The scientific
history of the region cannot be separated from the political history. The various
armed conflicts and the political instability were factors that resulted in a low
priority given scientific research. Panama, Belize and Costa Rica have been relatively more stable compared to Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua
and they lead in research and consequently in greater numbers of publications, and
hence, more species reported. The case of the Caribbean of Honduras and Nicaragua is interesting. For example, the results of the RV John Elliot Pillsbury
expedition reported a high diversity of asteroids, however, the sampling was
limited to a few stations. Comparing the richness of species in the Caribbean,
Alvarado (2011) indicates that the number of species from Central America would
increase considerably if research increases. Moreover, Alvarado (2011) explains
that the richness of species in Belize, Costa Rica and Panama is a reflection of the
presence of important research centers like CIMAR, STRI and the station at Carrie
Bow. Nevertheless, the richness of environments that these countries possess also
contributes to the high numbers of species. Guatemala is a special case, since its
Caribbean coastline is very short and, its Pacific coast consists of sandy beaches.
This results in a smaller number of species.
This chapter has provided evidence that the great majority of investigations
have been focused on the Ophuiroidea and Echinoidea, but few efforts on Asteroidea and Holothuroidea and practically none on Crinoidea. Most of the research
98
J. J. Alvarado et al.