La Parguera Nature Reserve
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| La Parguera Nature Reserve | |
|---|---|
| Reserva Natural de la Parguera | |
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
 La Parguera cays | |
  Location in Puerto Rico | |
| Location | Parguera, Lajas, Puerto Rico |
| Nearest city | Lajas, Puerto Rico |
| Coordinates | 17°58′36″N 67°00′44″W / 17.9767°N 67.0122°W |
| Area | 652.03 cda (633.27 acres) |
| Established | September 20, 1979 |
| Governing body | Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA) |
La Parguera Nature Reserve (Spanish: Reserva Natural de la Parguera) is a protected area located in southwestern coast of the main island of Puerto Rico, primarily in the municipality of Lajas but also covering cays and islets under the municipal jurisdictions of Guánica and Cabo Rojo.[1] The nature reserve is itself a unit of the Boquerón State Forest and it protects the Bahía Montalva mangrove forest in addition to mangrove bays, salt marshes and lagoons located along the coast of the Parguera barrio of Lajas, including its numerous cays and coral reefs.[2] The reserve is mostly famous for its bioluminescent bay, locally called Bahía Fosforecente, (Spanish for 'phosphorescent bay'), one of the three of its kind in Puerto Rico and one of the seven year-round places where bioluminescent can be seen in the Caribbean.[3]
Geology
The nature reserve is centered around La Parguera Bay, a large body of located immediately south of the town of Parguera (Poblado de Parguera). This body of water is surrounded by heavily forested bays, some of which include Puerto Quijano, Bahía Fosforecente, Bahía Monsio José, and Bahía Montalva. It also contains numerous cays and islets, such as Isla Mata la Gata, Cayo Caracoles, Cayo Media Luna, Cayo El Palo, Cayo San Cristóbal, Cayo Laurel, Cayo El Turrumote and Isla Mattei.[2] The general area is bound to the north by the Sierra Bermeja and the Lajas Valley, and to the south by the Caribbean Sea.
The reserve is located in the Southern Puerto Rico karst region, characterized by reddish limestone. The area is also traversed by the recently discovered Punta Montalva fault, which was responsible for the 2019–20 Puerto Rico earthquakes.[4]
Ecology
The environment of the nature reserve belongs to the Puerto Rican dry forest and Greater Antilles mangroves ecoregions.[5] Administratively, La Parguera Nature Reserve is intended to protect an ecological corridor between the Boquerón and Guánica State Forests.[1] The bay is also rich in coral reefs such as La Pared, a 20-mile-deep outcrop notable for its coral colonies and numerous fish and stingrays.[3]
Fauna
Some of the most common animal species in the reserve include Adelaide's warbler (Setophaga adelaidae), brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis), mangrove cuckoos (Coccyzus minor), Puerto Rican crescent sphaero (Sphaerodactylus nicholsi) and the Puerto Rican tody (Todus mexicanus). The protection of several endangered animal species such as manatees (Trichechus manatus), Cook's anole (Anolis cooki), the Puerto Rican nightjar (Antrostomus noctitherus) and the Yellow-shouldered blackbird (Agelaius xanthomus) was another reason for the official nature reserve designation.[1]
Flora
Key plant species in the nature reserve include the almacigo (Bursera simaruba), bullet trees (Terminalia buceras), guayacan (Guaiacum sanctum), key thatch palms (Thrinax morisii), pink manjack (Tabebuia heterophylla), pipe organ cacti (Pilosocereus armatus, syn. P. royenii var. amatus), Turk's cap cacti (Melocactus intortus), and the endangered species guaiacwood (Guaiacum officinale), the sebucan (Leptocereus quadricostatus) and uña de gato (Pithecellobium unguis-cati). The area is also home to the extremely rare and critically endangered Psychilis krugii orchid.[1]
