The Pearl Cays wetlands

Abstract

We present a study of the arboreal plant component of the wetlands of the Pearl Cays in the Caribbean Sea of Nicaragua. The Pearl Cays are located on the Caribbean continental shelf of Nicaragua, which is the largest in Central America (Ryan 1992, Ryan and Zapata 2003) and is considered one of the most productive areas in the Caribbean Sea (Bradford et al. 2003). This productivity is due, in part, to the presence of photosynthetic algae in these marine and coastal ecosystems. The marine and coastal ecosystems are found in the area established as the Coastal Zone, which corresponds to the transition area between land and sea, with the terrestrial limit varying according to the influence of the tide and coastal wetlands, and the marine limit defined by 12 nautical miles from the coast (IEA-MARENA 2001).