Marine environments of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua (part one)

Abstract

Nicaragua's isolated East Coast is a mosaic of biologically rich and physiographical diverse environments typically found along the Central American coast.  However, three important features distinguish the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast from other environments along the isthmus: the magnitude of rainfall and river flow, the broad continental shelf, and an inadequately harvested marine fishery. Although most coastal environments are broadly classified as marine and brackish, the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast is best understood by distinguishing three main geographic zones: the coastal wetlands (rivers, lagoons and bays), the coastal boundary layer (a massive body of brackish and turbid water close to the coast) and the Nicaraguan shelf (including coral cays, atoll islands and the vast carbonate bottom province) that extends from the coast to the edge of the continental shelf. Wetlands are almost exclusively restricted to the interior, where torrential rains flood wide rivers that drain 90 percent of the country's river waters (Leonard 1981). Winding their way to the Caribbean through the vast lowlands of the area, these rushing rivers constantly introduce nutrients and organic materials to a series of coastal lagoons and estuaries along the coast.