A dead Central American coral reef tract: Possible link with the Little Ice Age

Radiocarbon analyses, stable isotopic measurements and extensive field observations were made of coral reefs off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama. These analyses showed that live coral reefs in the Gulf of Papagayo, Costa Rica, were severely depleted in number, size and variety of species, compared to reefs in the major upwelling zone of the Gulf of Panama. Coral growth in the Gulf of Papagayo consisted mainly of dead reefs that died from 150-300 years BP. -from Authors