Internal Wave Exposure in Eastern Tropical Pacific Panamá and Costa Rica is Coincident with Strong Vertical Gradients in Shallow Water Benthic Community Composition

Multi-year time series and hydrographic observations at near shore sites in Eastern Tropical Pacific Panamá and Costa Rica show regionally coherent internal wave exposure that is strongly modulated across seasons. Sites were sampled to the west of the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica and near Isla Coiba in Panamá with spatial separation of approximately 250 km. From approximately January through April each year, internal wave activity inferred from high frequency temperature variability is pronounced, associated with well developed and shallow density stratification. The occurrence of highly variable temperatures is correlated with shallow density stratification and oxygen concentrations as low as 1 to 1.5 µg L^-1 measured at the base of the thermocline at 50 to 60 m depth in the offshore water column during winter and spring conditions. The physical variability in the near shore corresponds to and appears to drive strong vertical gradients in the benthic community assemblages on rocky substrata. With increasing depth the benthic communities are dominated by scleractinian corals (predominantly in the genera Pocillopora, Pavona, and Porites) from near the surface to approximately 8 m depth, followed by of a range of sessile suspension feeders including sea fans and gorgonians at approximately 10 to 20 m depth, and predominantly rocky bare space with sporadic algal and isolated invertebrate communities to 30 m depth which was the limit of the current sampling. This vertical patterning of the benthic community appears to reflect the strong vertical gradients in hydrographic forcing. From May through December hydrographic conditions at the benthic study sites is significantly less variable, associated with deeper offshore stratification and a decrease in temperature variation driven by internal wave activity impinging on the shallow water ecosystems. The highly variable physical environment in these tropical settings sets a context for strong patterning of benthic communities that appear to be relatively consistent at a regional scale.