The La Cordillera Reef Nature Reserve (Spanish: ''Reserva Natural Arrecifes de la Cordillera''), also known as the ''Reserva Natural Cayos de la Cordillera'' (Cordillera Cay Nature Reserve), is a nature reserve located 1.5 nautical miles off the coast of the

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

Cabezas Cabezas may refer to: Surname *Bryan Cabezas, Ecuadorian football player *Carlos Cabezas, Spanish basketball player * Luis Carlos Cabezas, Colombian footballer * Omar Cabezas, Nicaraguan author, revolutionary and politician * Salvador Cabezas, ret ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Fajardo Fajardo () is a Fajardo barrio-pueblo, town and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality part of the San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area, San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area in Puerto Rico. Fajardo is the hub of mu ...

in northeastern

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. It consists of a small chain of

cays A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

reefs A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition of sand or wave eros ...

, and

islets An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and ...

, collectively known as ''La Cordillera'' (''the mountain range'') or ''Cayos de la Cordillera'' (Cordillera Cays). From west to east, the archipelago comprises ''Las Cucarachas'' islets, ''Los Farallones'' islets, '' Icacos'' cay, ''Ratones'' cay, ''Lobos'' cay, '' Palominos'' island, ''Palominitos'' island, ''La Blanquilla'' cay and islets, ''Diablo'' cay, ''Hermanos'' reefs, and ''Barriles'' reefs. The nature reserve covers about 18 nautical miles and almost 30,000 acres between

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

''Las Cabezas de San Juan'' in Cabezas, Fajardo and the Spanish virgin island of Culebra. With the exception of '' Palominos'' island and ''Lobos'' cay, which are privately owned, all

, and

in the small chain are protected by the marine reserve. The total land area of the reserve is 218 acres. The nature reserve is also important for local fishermen and eastern coastal municipalities, including Fajardo,

Ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to Tropics, tropical and Subtropics, subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to northern Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall ...

, and Naguabo, which depend on the reserve for their fishing industries. Although occasionally included as part of the reserve, the cays and reefs outside the chain that lie immediately next and parallel to the main coastline of Puerto Rico in

and

are not strictly protected by the reserve. From north to south, these are: ''Obispo'' cay, ''Zancudo'' cay, ''Roncador'' reef, ''Mata Caballos'' reef, ''Corona Carrillo'' reef, ''Ahogado'' cay, ''Ramos'' island, ''Largo'' cay, ''Piñeros'' island, ''Cabeza de Perro'' cay, ''Piñerito'' cay, ''Cabritas'' cay, and ''Cabras'' island.

History

Before its preservation, '' Icacos'' cay was important for the extraction of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

for use in the sugarcane industry and construction in Puerto Rico. The conservation area that today encompasses the Cordillera Reef Nature Reserve was first designated on January 2, 1980, by the Coastal Zone Management Plan (Spanish: ''Plan de Manejo de la Zona Costanera'') with the goal of preserving the coral reefs and marine habitats surrounding the Cordillera Cays, a small reef archipelago consisting of cays such as '' Icacos'' cay, ''Ratones'' cay, ''Lobos'' cay, ''La Blanquilla'' reef, ''Diablo'' cay, and ''

Palomino Palomino is a equine coat color, genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane (horse), mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. The palomino color derived from the breeding of Spanish hor ...

'' island. Other protected areas include ''Los Farallones'', ''Barriles,'' and ''Hermanos'' reefs. Administration over the nature reserve was transferred to the

Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER) () is the executive department of the government of Puerto Rico tasked with protecting, conserving, developing, and managing the natural and environmental resources in P ...

(DRNA) in 1991. Management plans included the preservation of important bird nesting areas in some of the keys and the establishment of a marine wildlife refuge for the protection of endangered species such as green sea turtles and West Indian manatees. The reserve is considered today a prime eco-tourist destination where visitors can swim along coral reefs and visit the beaches located in some of the cays, particularly '' Icacos''.

Ecology

Some of the marine ecosystems found within the reserve are coral reefs, sandy seashores, and extensive seagrass prairies which are important for

sea turtles Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

and

manatees Manatees (, family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living spe ...

. La Cordillera Reef is also one of the largest preserved coral areas in the territory of Puerto Rico; the reefs are of high importance due to their high coverage of living coral. The three types of coral reef found in the reserve are rocky reef, consisting of coral growing on aeolianite and cemented sand, barrier reef, consisting of coral growing along keys and coastlines, and patch reef, consisting of patches of coral colonies growing on sandy seafloor. Some of the most common types of coral found in the area are ''

Montastraea ''Montastraea'' is a genus of colonial stony coral found in the Caribbean seas. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Montastraeidae and contains a single species, ''Montastraea cavernosa'', known as great star coral. It forms into massive ...

'', ''

Diploria ''Diploria'' is a monotypic genus of massive reef building stony corals in the family Mussidae. It is represented by a single species, ''Diploria labyrinthiformis'', commonly known as grooved brain coral and is found in the western Atlantic Oce ...

'', ''

Acropora ''Acropora'' is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. ''Acropora'' species are some of the major reef corals ...

'', ''

Colpophyllia ''Colpophyllia'' is a genus of stony corals in the family Mussidae. It is monotypic with a single species, ''Colpophyllia natans'', commonly known as boulder brain coral or large-grooved brain coral. It inhabits the slopes and tops of reefs, to a ...

'' and ''

Porites ''Porites'' is a genus of stony coral; they are small polyp stony (SPS) corals. (Also referred to as finger coral or hump coral) They are characterised by a finger-like morphology. Members of this genus have widely spaced calices, a well-de ...

''.

Fauna

There are more than 83 documented fish species in the reserve, 33 of which are of importance for the regional fishing industry. The spiny lobster (''

Panulirus argus ''Panulirus argus'', the Caribbean spiny lobster, is a species of spiny lobster that lives on reefs and in mangrove swamps in the western Atlantic Ocean. Anatomy ''P. argus'' have long, cylindrical bodies covered with spines. Two large spines ...

'') and the queen conch (''

Strombus gigas ''Aliger gigas'', originally known as ''Strombus gigas'' or more recently as ''Lobatus gigas'', commonly known as the queen conch, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family of true conches, the Strombidae. This ...

'') are also important species for fishing. The reserve also sustains keystone species that are responsible for important ecological processes such as "reef cleaning" which allows for the settlement, development and growth of new coral polyps; one of these keystone species is the black urchin (''

Diadema antillarum ''Diadema antillarum'', also known as the lime urchin, black sea urchin, or the long-spined sea urchin, is a species of sea urchin in the family Diadematidae. This sea urchin is characterized by its exceptionally long black spines. It is th ...

''). In addition to the submerged fauna, this reserve is an important bird area with species such as the brown noddy (''

Anous stolidus The brown noddy or common noddy (''Anous stolidus'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related black noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black. The ...

''), the bridled tern ('' Sterna anaethetus''), the sooty tern ('' Sterna fuscata''), the brown booby (''

Sula leucogaster The brown booby (''Sula leucogaster'') is a large seabird of the booby family Sulidae, of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species. It has a pantropical range, which overlaps with that of other booby species. The gregarious brow ...

''), the laughing gull ('' Larus atricilla'') and the roseate tern ('' Sterna dougalli''), all of which are protected on the territorial and federal level.

Humpback whales The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...

are also common throughout the winter months of December, January and February.

Flora

The most important flora in the reserve is the seagrass ''

Thalassia testudinum ''Thalassia testudinum'', commonly known as turtlegrass, is a species of Marine (ocean), marine seagrass in the family Hydrocharitaceae. It forms meadows in shallow sandy or muddy locations in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Turtle gras ...

'' and ''

Syringodium filiforme ''Syringodium filiforme'', commonly known as manatee grass, is a species of marine seagrass. It forms meadows in shallow sandy or muddy locations in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and is also found in the Bahamas and Bermuda. It occur ...

'', which form important seagrass prairies that sustain many marine species such as turtles and manatees. This ecosystem sustains one of the largest manatee populations in the archipelago of Puerto Rico.

References

{{Protected areas of Puerto Rico Coral reefs of the United States Protected areas of Puerto Rico Reefs of the Atlantic Ocean Tourist attractions in Puerto Rico Fajardo, Puerto Rico 1978 establishments in Puerto Rico Protected areas established in 1978

History

Ecology

Fauna

Flora

See also

References