Investigación para la toma de decisiones de manejo en áreas marinas protegidas como la Isla del Coco, Costa Rica / Research for decision-making in marine protected areas such as Isla del Coco, Costa Rica

Introducción: En la práctica de la conservación biológica, a menudo se necesita de información científica para guiar las decisiones de manejo, pero esta información es especialmente escasa en áreas marinas protegidas. Las áreas marinas protegidas enfrentan el desafío de proteger especies pelágicas que se desplazan entre zonas protegidas de distintos países y zonas de pesca. En general, un obstáculo para generar la información que requieren las áreas protegidas es que comúnmente existe una disociación entre el sector académico y el sector de gestión, los cuales difieren en sus objetivos, forma de trabajo, y sistemas de recompensa. Esta situación se ve agravada en áreas marinas protegidas que se encuentran lejos de la costa, ya que los costos económicos y logísticos para realizar investigación son muy elevados. Objetivos: Utilizar el contexto del Parque Nacional Isla del Coco para ilustrar dificultades al momento de definir y recopilar la información necesaria para la gestión, y proponer posibles soluciones a este problema. Resultados: Para producir la información relevante, creemos que es necesario tomar en cuenta los siguientes aspectos: i) distinguir entre información biológica e información requerida para la gestión, ii) generar información sobre las amenazas a las especies, aún en ausencia de datos sobre las especies, iii) direccionar los planes de monitoreo, y iv) establecer una coordinación entre dos grupos de personas: las que frecuentan el área y las que están lejos del área en centros académicos. Además, debido a la naturaleza de la información que se requiere, y a la remotidad del sitio, se necesita de una articulación entre sectores (incluido el sector pesquero) para generar los datos. Conclusión: Parece indispensablelograr esta articulación entre sectores, lo cual conlleva grandes retos. Aún así, esta opción parece ser más viable desde el punto de vista logístico y económico que el intentar generar esta información desde una plataforma exclusivamente académica. Además, dicha articulación parece ser la única forma de generar información que es requerida para regular el manejo pesquero; por ejemplo la caracterización adecuada del esfuerzo de captura y de la biomasa extraída.

Introduction: Scientific information is often needed to guide management decisions, but marine protected areas usually lack such information. Further, these protected areas face the challenge of protecting highly-mobile pelagic species that move between protected areas in different countries and across fishing zones. In general, the dissociation that commonly exists between academic and conservation groups, which work under different objectives and reward systems, serves as an obstacle for producing the information that is needed by wildlife managers. This limitation is further enhanced in oceanic islands, such as Isla del Coco because of their mere remoteness, a condition that dramatically increases the economic and operational costs for doing research. Objective: To illustrate the challenge of generating useful scientific information for conservation decision making in protected areas, using Isla del Coco National Park in Costa Rica as a case study, and to propose possible solutions. Results: In order to produce the scientific information that these areas require, it is necessary to: i) distinguish between biologically relevant information, and information required for decision-making, ii) generate information about the threats to biodiversity, even in the absence of information about the species themselves, iii) establish clear goals and objectives for monitoring plans, and iv) build strong links between two types of groups: those that work from mainland and those that operate offshore; this includes working alongside fishing vessels. Conclusions: It will be a great challenge to articulate such relationships between groups, but this option seems more viable (in terms of associated logistic and economical costs) than attempting to collect the required data from an isolated academic platform. Also, this articulation appears to be the only way of generating information that is crucial for stock management, such as the accurate characterization of the fishing activity.

Extraction of hermit crabs from their shells by white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus).

We observed two capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) feeding on hermit crabs (Coenobita compressus) on the coast, and the tactics they used to extract this well-protected prey. The observations took place during the dry season at Playa Escondida beach, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The capuchins descended from trees at the back edge of the beach to capture passing hermit crabs. Both capuchins extracted the hermit crabs from their protective shells by holding the shell with one hand and pulling the crab out with the other. Even though this was accomplished within seconds, the extraction of hermit crabs from their shells did not appear to be a straightforward task. Once the capuchins succeeded in pulling the crabs out of their shells, they consumed the soft abdomen and discarded the rest of the crab's body. To our knowledge, the consumption of hermit crabs has not been previously reported for any capuchin monkey (Cebus or Sapajus). Our observations provide a new example of extractive foraging by capuchins, and thus an additional natural context for which fine motor skills (which are highly developed in capuchins) are necessary.

Infection and co-infection by the amphibian chytrid fungus and ranavirus in wild Costa Rican frogs.

Amphibian populations are globally threatened by emerging infectious diseases, and 2 pathogens in particular are recognized as major threats: the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and ranaviruses. Here, we evaluated the prevalence of infection by Bd and ranavirus in an assemblage of frogs from a lowland wet forest in Costa Rica. We found an overall prevalence of 21.3% for Bd and 16.6% for ranavirus, and detected both pathogens widely among our 20 sampled species. We found a positive association between ranavirus and Bd infection in one of our 4 most commonly sampled species. We also found a positive but non-significant association between infection by ranavirus and infection by Bd among species overall. Our study is among the first detailed evaluations of ranavirus prevalence in the American tropics, and to our knowledge is the first to detect a positive association between Bd and ranavirus in any species. Considerable research attention has focused on the ecology of Bd in tropical regions, yet we argue that greater research focus is necessary to understand the ecology and conservation impact of ranaviruses on amphibian populations already decimated by the emergence of Bd.