Trabajo en terreno, Region del Maule
Sorry this is a bit after the fact, just catching up
Between the 16th and 18th of October we made a quick trip to the Region del Maule to sample 5 sites. On the afternoon of the 15th we drove up to the most northerly site at Iloca (ILO, 34°55′03.0″S, 072°10′56.0″W) and stayed in a cabaña next to the site. The site was sampled at first light on the 16th. The majority of the coast of Maule is sandy beaches and there are few genuine rocky-shores, most rocky environments are out-croppings heavily influenced by sand. The site at Iloca was no exception and the low shore was effectively part of the adjacent beach.
The rocky-shore site at Iloca (ILO)
The second site was La Tinchera (TIN, 35°06′33.5″S, 072°12′12.2″W), this site was sampled in the afternoon of the 16th. At La Tinchera there is no rocky-shore, just a sandy beach that extends, north and south, as far as the eye can see. The sand was coarse but with a significant amount of cobbles derived from nearby rivers. The area behind the beach is flat with cliffs about 500-1000m inland, suggesting this area of the coast has undergone uplift.
The extensive sandy beach at La Tinchera (TIN)
The third site was located just to the south of the city of Constitución, at a place called Las Cables (CAB, 35°21′08.5″S, 072°26′44.3″W), the area is dominated by high steep cliffs at the base of which are rocky platforms and coarse sand reflective beaches. Again we stayed in a cabaña next to the site and sampled at first light.
Beach and rocky platform at Las Cables (CAB)
The fourth site sampled on this trip was just to the north of Curanipe (CUR, 35°49′34.0″S, 072°36′43.6″W). The coast consists of rocky outcrops and points of mica rock interspersed with largely reflective coarse sandy beaches. The rocky-shore at this site was one of the most heavily impacted by sand so far sampled in this project. This impact or influence of sand on the rocky-shore leads to a habitat poor site dominated by ephemeral algal species such as Porphyra sp.
The rocky-shore at Curanipe (CUR), the platform is dominated by ephemeral algae.
The final site on this trip was Buchupureo (BUC, 36°25′36.0″S, 072°02′24.9″W). This site is actually in the Region Bio Bio, but I wasn’t able to sample there on the last trip to the area. The site is at the southern end of a long beach and is divided by a small river. The beach is reflective in character at the southern end, but with an extensive back beach. The rocky-shore is to the south of the beach along a point popular with surfers. The site was sampled at first light on the 18th.
The beach at Buchupureo (BUC) and the rocky-shore beyond and to the right of the photo.
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