LA VEGETACION MARINA DEL PARQUE NACIONAL TAYRONA, COSTA CARIBE COLOMBIANA, II: TIPOS DE VEGETACION

Abstract

The benthic marine vegetation of the Parque Nacional Tayrona, Caribbean Coast of Colombia, II: Vegetation types. The benthic marine vegetation types of the littoral of the Parque Nacional Tayrona (Magdalena Department, Colombia) were studied during the rainy season. The methods used were modified from terrestrial phytosociology; appraisals of abundance and presence were made according to Braun-Blanquet (1965). Vegetation types are vertically distributed following the zonation patterns in each of the habitats studied: rocky, sandy-rocky and sandy-muddy. Habitats are divided according to the degree of surf exposure. The name of each vegetation type is that of the dominant species; a dominant species is considered to be the most outstanding one. 31 vegetation types have been described their distribution along the littoral in function of the ecological characteristics has been studied based on this description, the spatial complexity of the Tayrona littoral is great, as expresed by the irregular distribution of the species and vegetation types. The ecological characteristics of different areas of the Tayrona littoral, specially the bays ofChengue, Gayraca and Nenguange and the Cañaveral and Arrecifes sector, are analized and compared. The spatial complexity is atributed to oceanographic causes, specially the circulation patterns in the bays; Chengue is considered to have the most peculiar vegetation. Some considerations about the methods used and its convenience in ecological analysis are made.