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Peru is one of the twelve countries called mega divers. Together these countries hold about 60 % to 70 % of the world's species diversity. While the biodiversity of the Peruvian rain forest is well known, the knowledge about marine and aquatic habitats of Peru still is poor. Only so much is obvious that in these ecosystems still remains a lot to discover. The coastal areas The reason for the high biodiversity of Peru is the presence of many different ecoregions. An ecoregion is a geographical area that is characterized by homogeneous conditions of climate, soil, hydrology, flora and fauna. Five of the eleven ecoregions existing in Peru are located along the coast: El mThe cold sea of the Humboldt current: a part of the eastern Pacific - about 100 miles wide - that is influenced by the cold Humboldt current. The tropical sea: starts at 5º southern latitude and stretches up to California. Its characterized by warm water and tropical fauna. The pacific desert: extends along the Peruvian coast from about 5º southern latitude down to 27º southern latitude. While the width of this coastal desert varies it reaches its maximum altitude at around 1.000 meters above sea level. The equatorial dry forest: Growing on the western slopes of the Andes along the Peruvian coast with a width of 100 to 150 km in the departments of Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque and La Libertad till 7º southern latitude and in the valley of the Río Marañon till 9º of southern latitude. The tropical forest of the Pacific: Extends from the northern tip of the Peruvian coast till Central America. In Peru it only covers a small area within the department of Tumbes. Peru covers 3.097,5 km of southeastern pacific coastline. The coastal areas mainly consist of semiarid regions and coastal desert. Together - with a width between 40 and 80 km - they cover an area of 136 370 km2 interrupted by more than 50 rivers coming down from the Andes. A fog called "garúa" characterizes the Peruvian coastal desert. During the winter months the Humboldt Current cools down the warm Pacific air and this leads to the condensation of the humidity forming this fog. Some terrestrial plants have adapted themselves to the desert-climate and live from the humidity of the fog that condenses on the surface of stones. These plants form a special community of seasonal plants called "Loma-Vegetation". Marine areas The marine areas along the Peruvian coast are consisting of the cold Humboldt Current, the tropical sea and a zone of transition between both of them. The waters of the Humboldt Current are relatively cold with average temperatures between 13 a 14º C in winter (May to October) and 15 to 17º C in summer (November to April). The Humboldt Current moves from south to north and carries the cold sub-antarctic and subtropical waters to the coast of Peru causing the low water temperatures. At 5º southern latitude the currents starts moving away from the coast in direction of the Galapagos Islands. With its high salinity and the high content of oxygen and carbon dioxide the current creates special conditions resulting in a very high productivity of the system. The marine part of the Peruvian coast is one of the richest areas of the world in terms of biomass and diversity. Along the coastline one can find 900 species of fish, 917 species of mollusks, 502 species of crustacean and 687 species of marine algae. Many other groups of marine fauna are still poorly known. The Peruvian islands and beaches are inhabited by birds like the Humboldt penguin or visited by migratory species. In total one can encounter 175 species of marine birds, 95 of them being Peruvian species. Some of these are endemic species like the famous Inca tern (Larosterna inca). The other 89 species are migratory birds.
LIMA NAZCA PARACAS ICA
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