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ISRA FACTSHEETS

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN PACIFIC REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN PACIFIC REGION

Santa Elena Gulf ISRA

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Santa Elena Gulf ISRA

Santa Elena Gulf

Summary

Santa Elena Gulf is located in the north Pacific coast of Costa Rica. This area is influenced by the Costa Rica Thermal Dome (a dynamic area with strong currents, cold nutrient-rich waters, and coastal wind jets), and is subject to a strong seasonal coastal upwelling due to trade winds. Santa Elena Gulf has diverse habitats including a complex rocky platform, sand and mudflats, mangroves, and coral reefs. Within this area there are: threatened species (e.g., Largetooth Sawfish Pristis pristis); range-restricted species (e.g., Pacific Chupare Styracura pacifica); reproductive areas (Scalloped Hammerhead Sphyrna lewini); resting areas (e.g., Whitetip Reef Shark Triaenodon obesus); undefined aggregations (e.g., Munk’s Pygmy Devil Ray Mobula munkiana); distinctive attributes (e.g., Bull Shark Carcharhinus leucas); and this area sustains a high diversity of sharks (24 species).

Santa Elena Gulf

Santa Elena Gulf

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Santa Elena Gulf is located along the coast of Guanacaste in the north Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Situated within the Pacific Central-American Coastal Large Marine Ecosystem (LME), this area overlaps with the Bat Islands no-take Marine Protected Area, at the southern end of the Santa Elena Gulf, and the Santa Elena Bay Marine Management Area (both part of the Guanacaste Conservation Area), as well as an Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (EBSA), the Upwelling System of Papagayo and its Adjacent Seas.

This area is characterised by mangrove forests in relatively large and undisturbed bays and estuaries that are key habitats for many sharks. Other habitats such as coral and rocky reefs, coral patches, sandy shallow areas with warm waters, and soft/muddy and hard bottoms also provide refuge and food resources for many of these species. Santa Elena Gulf provides suitable habitat for a wide range of sharks and the similarity of the habitat and oceanographic conditions throughout the gulf makes this area important for the same species and purposes (Espinoza et al. 2020). This area is also defined by large mangrove and estuarine systems, which extend around Potrero Grande and Nancite in the southern end, Playa Blanca in the middle, and Santa Elena Bay, Cuajiniquil, and Thomas Bay in the northern end.

This Important Shark and Ray Area is delineated from surface waters (0 m) to a depth of 40 m based on the maximum depth range of the habitat used by the Qualifying Species.

CRITERION A

VULNERABILITY

Twenty-two Qualifying Species considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM regularly occur in this area. Threatened sharks comprise two Critically Endangered species, three Endangered species, and six Vulnerable species; threatened rays comprise one Critically Endangered species, one Endangered species, and nine Vulnerable species (IUCN 2022).

CRITERION B

RANGE RESTRICTED

Santa Elena Gulf holds the regular presence of Pacific Chupare and Leopard Round Ray as resident range-restricted species. These species occur in the Pacific Central-American Coastal LME, and have been recorded through fishery-independent surveys, Baited Remote Underwater Video Surveys (BRUVS), Underwater Visual Census (UVC), local ecological knowledge (LEK), and acoustic telemetry data.

The entire size range of Pacific Chupare and Leopard Round Ray are observed within this area. There is clear size segregation in Pacific Chupare, as smaller individuals (< 30 cm disc width [DW]) are mainly found using the mangrove areas (during the high tides for refuge) and larger individuals (> 60 cm DW) tend to be found in more open inshore coastal areas (Espinoza et al. unpubl. data 2022).

Leopard Round Rays prefer rocky and coral reef habitats and flat rubble substrates. There are pregnant females (based on the visual appearance of extended abdomens) between January and March/April when water temperatures are lower due to the coastal upwelling, and smaller individuals shortly after (May-August), when water temperatures increase (Eisele et al. 2019; Espinoza et al. 2020; Madrigal-Mora et al. 2022; M. Espinoza et al. unpubl. data 2022).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C1 – REPRODUCTIVE AREAS

Santa Elena Gulf is an important reproductive area for one shark and two ray species. Data from fishery-dependent and independent surveys, landings data, BRUVS, UVC, LEK, and acoustic monitoring supports this area as important for the reproduction (e.g., mating, nursery grounds) of Bull Shark, Leopard Round Ray, and Spinytail Round Ray. Animals use the mangrove and estuarine habitats during their early life stages and connect to other nearby habitats (rocky coral reefs) as they grow larger (Espinoza et al. 2020; M. Lara, pers. comm. 2020; López-Garro and Zanella 2021; Madrigal-Mora et al. 2022; Espinoza et al. 2022; Farías-Tafolla et al. 2022).

Shortly before they pup, Leopard Round Rays and Spinytail Round Rays aggregate in groups of at least 20 individuals, which are often dominated by females. This includes pregnant individuals based on the visual appearance of extended abdomens. These are often observed at the end of the upwelling season when the water temperature starts to increase, and many of the pups are observed in very shallow waters, possibly looking for a warmer environment (Espinoza et al. 2020; Espinoza et al. unpubl. data 2022; S. Lara, pers. comms. 2022).

Female Bull Sharks with mating scars are regularly observed every year during UVC, BRUVS, and recordings from tourists at Bat Islands (Espinoza et al. 2020; Espinoza et al. unpubl. data; S. Lara, pers. comms. 2022). In addition, there are reproductive data from fishery-dependent and independent surveys that indicate this species is also reproducing in the north Pacific region of Costa Rica (Azofeifa et al. 2021; Clarke et al. 2014; Clarke et al. 2016).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C5 – UNDEFINED AGGREGATIONS

Santa Elena Gulf is an important aggregation area for one shark and two ray species. Small Lemon Sharks aggregate in groups of 15–20 individuals in coastal areas, predictably during warmer (non-upwelling) months at the beginning of the wet season (June/July) (M. Espinoza et al. unpubl. data 2022). This is a regular yearly occurrence based on ongoing surveys of coastal areas. Lemon Shark aggregations may be related to reproductive purposes, as large groups of small neonates and juveniles use coastal estuarine areas (M. Espinoza et al. unpubl. data 2022). Further research is required to determine the purpose of these aggregations.

Two ray species (Munk’s Pygmy Devil Ray and Pacific Cownose Ray) aggregate in large schools during upwelling months (December/January–March/April) within the area. These aggregations are a mix of small and large aggregations (M. Espinoza unpubl. data 2022; M. Lara, pers. comm. 2022), and there is ongoing investigation to determine potential other purposes of these aggregations in shallow coastal areas using BRUVS and LEK. Aggregations of these species are driven by coastal upwelling because of the seasonal fluxes of cool, nutrient-rich waters that enhance ocean productivity during this season (S. Lara, pers. comm. 2022; M. Espinoza et al. unpubl. data 2022).

CRITERION D

SUB-CRITERION D1 – DISTINCTIVENESS

Santa Elena Gulf is an important area for the distinctive behaviour of one species. Bull Sharks predictably use the San Pedrillo or El Gran Susto site within Bat Islands as a cleaning station between May and October (Espinoza et al. 2020; Madrigal-Mora et al. 2022; M. Lara, pers. comm. 2022). Bat Islands is an archipelago that consists of five islands and ten islets. During daytime visual surveys (07:00–14:00), 6–8 Bull Sharks were counted at the cleaning station, with observations of cleaning interactions with butterfly fish (Chaetodontidae) and angel fish (Pomacanthidae; Espinoza, unpubl. data 2022). Local tour operators have seen more than 10 Bull Sharks at once at the stations, and cleaning behaviour seems to be greater during morning hours (M. Lara, pers. comm. 2022).

CRITERION D

SUB-CRITERION D2 – DIVERSITY

Santa Elena Gulf sustains a high diversity of Qualifying Species (24 species). This exceeds the regional diversity threshold (17 species) for the Central and South Pacific American Region.

Santa Elena Gulf

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