Malpelo, a small rocky offshore island that supports one of the few coral populations in the eastern Pacific, was visited on June 1-5, 1999 with the purpose of evaluating the status of the coral communities. Using rapid visual methods, the cover of major categories of sessile organisms and the health condition of the coral species were assessed at 8 stations between 11 and 31 m depth. “El Arrecife”, which is the largest coral formation in Malpelo, seems to have suffered a 20% reduction of the live coral cover since 1972 when a mean value of 65% was recorded. This decline, which probably was originated by the 1982-83 strong bleaching event that affected widely the American Pacific, is reflected also by the present levels of recent coral mortality: mean of... |