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In the seasonal upwelling region of Gulf of Papagayo (Northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica), we evaluated and described two previously poorly known coral habitats, Punta Cacique and Bahia Guacamaya. Both localities differed in the extent of the frame-building coral communities and their composition. While Bahia Guacamaya and Punta Cacique had a similar number of coral species (16), live coral cover percent was higher in the coral reefs (ca. 50% vs. 90%) and coral communities (ca. 40% vs. 50%) of the latter. At both localities, branching species (Pocillopora spp.) contributed more as a group to the live coral cover than massive and encrusting corals. Bahia Guacamaya has the largest colonies found so far of two coral species (Pocillopora eydouxi and Pocillopora meandrina) with a limited distribution in Costa Rica. Using long-term records of environmental data, we characterized the seasonality of the upwelling and the dry and rainy seasons that partially explained the low suspension sediment loads and fresh water discharge into Papagayo’s coral habitats. The results of our study are important due to the rapid development of the coastal zone of Papagayo and because only a fraction of the littoral has been systematically surveyed. Therefore, we call for more studies that aim to produce baseline data of coral habitats in the area.En la region de afloramiento estacional del Golfo de Papagayo (Costa Rica), se evaluaron dos ambientes coralinos que nunca antes habian sido estudiados: Punta Cacique y Bahia Guacamaya. En ambas localidades, la extension y la composicion de las comunidades coralinas constructoras de la estructura arrecifal fueron diferentes. En tanto que el numero de especies coralinas (16) fue similar en ambas localidades, el porcentaje de cobertura de coral vivo fue mayor en los arrecifes (aproximamente 50% vs. 90%) y las comunidades (aproximadamente 40% vs. 50%) coralinas de Punta Cacique. En ambos sitios, las especies de corales ramificados (Pocillopora spp.) como grupo contribuyeron mas a la cobertura de coral vivo que otras formas (masivas e incrustantes).  La Bahia Guacamaya tiene las colonias mas grandes encontradas hasta el momento en Costa Rica de dos especies de distribucion limitada (Pocillopora eydouxi y Pocillopora meandrina). Se utilizaron series temporales extensas de datos ambientales para caracterizar la estacionalidad del afloramiento y la estacion seca y la lluviosa. Estos dos factores explican parcialmente la poca sedimentacion y descarga de agua dulce en los ambientes coralinos de Papagayo. Los resultados de nuestro estudio son importantes dado que apenas una pequena fraccion de la costa de Papagayo ha sido estudiada sistematicamente a pesar del rapido desarrollo costero que ocurre en el area. Por lo tanto, resaltamos la necesidad de realizar mas estudios, con el fin de obtener datos de linea base de los ambientes coralinos del area.

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CORAL COMMUNITIES AND REEFS OF TWO PREVIOUSLY UNDESCRIBED LOCATIONS IN THE UPWELLING REGION OF GULF OF PAPAGAYO (COSTA RICA)