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Coral Reefs Of Miskitus Cays, Nicaragua, Ana C. Fonseca

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The Miskitus Cays, on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, consist of eighty mangrove and two sand and gravel cays, surrounded by seagrass beds, octocoral gardens, patch reefs, reef crests, extended algae platforms, short reef walls, and two marginal reefs around the sand cays. Seventy sites were inspected and eighteen sites were selected for rapid assessments in order to determine the status of the coral reefs. Linear transects and the intercept point methods were used to determine the relative benthic cover, and the density, size and health of coral colonies was estimated following the AGRRA protocol. Water was highly turbid due …