|
||||||||||
|
Ongoing research by scientists of several
nations is currently focused on the factors
Marine life is abundant in the general
vicinity of the island. Fishing boats take tuna, shrimp, shark, mackerel,
snapper, and sardines in quantity. Manta rays are often seen breaching.
Dolphins are encountered daily, and
|
The Isla del Caņo lies 17 km. due west of
Marenco. The island and its environs invite study from several points of
view. It is Costa Rica's largest concentration of coral-building organisms
along the Pacific. Schools of tangs, jacks and needlefish present an
ever-changing panorama to those who venture below the surface. Boring
sponges, Diadema sea urchins, sea cucumbers, many crustaceans and
calcareous alga mats and balls add to the variety of life found among the
Porites and Pocillopora corals of these reefs.
surrounding coral die-off,
such as occurred in 1983-84, probably due to changes in water temperature
associated with "El Niņo"' the capricious current of Eastern Pacific
equatorial waters. Re-colonization and regrowth of the corals is being
studied intensively.
Olive Ridley sea turtles (
Lepidochelys olivacea) are commonly observed swimming and even mating as
they travel to and from the sandy beaches of the peninsula where they lay
their eggs. Humpback whales are seasonally present and often sighted from
Marenco Beach & Rain Forest Lodge, and the Sierpe River. Although rich
in marine resources, the area is little studied apart from the reefs of
the Isla del Caņo.
miles away. The island has
a resident insect fauna that is perhaps one percent as rich as that of the
mainland. Moreover, the forest on this island is a curiously impoverished
version of that on the mainland. The central plateau is a nearly
nonspecific stand of Brosimum utile, the white latex, fruits, and seeds
of which are readily edible to humans. Stone spheres and Indian graves
found all over the island suggest that this was an ancient cemetery. The
obviously heavy usage of the island by the aboriginal population, and the
fact that Brosimum utile is never found in monospecific stands on the
mainland indicate that the island may have been used as an orientation by
the Indians, a plantation free of mainland herbivores and seed predators,
such as agoutis, pacas, and insects. Whatever the origin of the present
flora and fauna, the low species diversity if the island throws the
richness of the peninsular plant and animal life into sharp
relief.
