COSTA RICA: Scientists from Latin America and New Zealand lead an expedition to study Costa Rica's Isla de Coco's underwater sea life

In the early 20th Century the Isla del Coco off the coast of Costa Rica was frequented by treasure hunters, searching for the jewels and riches rumoured to have been left behind by sea pirates years before. Recently a new expedition has set out to the island, but this time instead of treasure hunters a group of scientists is on board, and they say that the real treasure of Isla del Coco is its coral reefs. The reefs are some of the most extensive and richest coral formations in the South East Pacific, with 32 different species of coral and unusually large gatherings of pelagic sharks. Recent evidence also suggests that the zone plays a critical role as a distribution centre for the eggs of marine species coming from as far as the Indo-Pacific region. However the Latin American and New Zealand scientists aboard the "Proteus" expedition say that around 90 percent of the reef died in the early 1980s, when a climatic condition know as the "El Niño" heated up the world's oceans. So now, the scientists are going to the reef to make an inventory of the marine life in the area, to analyse how far the reef as recovered in the last few decades. "All of the planet has been hit already, all of the reefs in most of the world suffered from the "Nino". During the "Nino" the water heats up a lot, and kills (the reef)," University of Costa Rica Research Scientist Jorge Cortes said. "Firstly, for Costa Rica is very important because we are going to have studies that are going to back up the investigation in the Isla del Coco, so we are going to be able to better protect the Isla del Coco. We are going to have the arguments to be able to protect and conserve this National Park and simultaneously a regional project where we are going to monitor all of the coral reefs in the Eastern Pacific," Mar Viva Foundation Biologist Cindy Fernandez said. The island itself and 15km of reef surrounding it have been a nominated World Heritage Site since 1997. Therefore the data the scientists collect will allow them to analyse coral reefs cope with climatic changes when they are protected from industrial and commercial activities. The scientists will also study a variety of fungi, bacteria and other marine diseases and how they are affected the reef.

ITN Source | September 2, 2006

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