In Costa Rica, there has been a growing interest to use pineapple fiber from plant, for which current processes need to be improved or new processes need to be developed, with emphasis on drying methods. This work presents the design and evaluation of the behavior of a prototype portable solar dryer in four sites of Costa Rica. The design describes the main parts of the dryer, as well as how they were constructed. The behavior was evaluated according to temperature and relative humidity inside e outside the chamber, and the influence of direct and indirect solar radiation. In order to achieve improved dryer efficiency, a dehumidifier was used to control relative humidity, and a heating system was implemented during the hours of low temperature, low solar radiation and high relative humidity. Based on drying time, final moisture content of fibers of pineapple leaves from plant, and the varying hours when fibers were put to dry, the evaluation of the dryer revealed that the best fiber-drying interval is from 6h00 to 14h00, and after that, it is convenient to inject hot air and use a dehumidifier in the dryer in order to increase its efficiency.
Octocorals are characteristic and abundant components of shallow waters, rocky walls, and coral reef. Octocoral species richness of the Costa Rican Pacific has been addressed in several taxonomic publications. However, they have not been studied in terms of ecology, due to the problematic identification, especially in the field and the difficult access to specific localities for this type of research. In 2012 we explored some localities (less than 35 m deep) and evaluated the octocorallian fauna, recording species richness and occurrence. Our objective was to record octocoral species and to facilitate their identification by providing a taxonomic key for future studies We identified 10 species of Pacifigorgia, nine of Leptogorgia and four of Eugorgia. Here we include photographs of sclerites and of preserved and live octocorals.
