Most previous studies on Caribbean flood and drought frequency have examined hydrological (e.g. MORRIS & VAZQUEZ 1990, GARCIA et al. 1996) rather than ecological effects (COVICH et al. 1998). We analyzed temporal and spatial distributions of rainfall, stream flow, and mean maximum pool depth over an 8-year period (1990–1997) to evaluate effects of variable flows. We examined the response of a biotic variable (the coefficient of variation in shrimp densities) to changes in water depth (coefficient of variation of maximum pool depth) along an elevational gradient.